straighten out

Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.

Related to straighten out: straighten up, mistook, hunker down, worse for wear

straight·en

(strāt′n)

tr. & intr.v. straight·ened, straight·en·ing, straight·ens

To make or become straight or straighter.

Phrasal Verb:

straighten out

1. To resolve (a confusion or conflict).

2. To make less confused or troubled: tried to straighten out the problem student.

straight′en·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

straighten out

vb (adverb)

1. to make or become less complicated or confused: the situation will straighten out.

2. US and Canadian to reform or become reformed

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	straighten out - settle or put right; "we need to iron out our disagreements" iron out, put right ameliorate, improve, meliorate, amend, better - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes"
	2.	straighten out - extricate from entanglement; "Can you disentangle the cord?" unsnarl, disentangle order - bring order to or into; "Order these files" tease apart, loosen, tease - disentangle and raise the fibers of; "tease wool" ravel, ravel out, unravel - disentangle; "can you unravel the mystery?"
	3.	straighten out - change for the better; "The lazy student promised to reform"; "the habitual cheater finally saw the light" see the light, reform ameliorate, improve, meliorate, better - get better; "The weather improved toward evening" reform, regenerate, reclaim, rectify - bring, lead, or force to abandon a wrong or evil course of life, conduct, and adopt a right one; "The Church reformed me"; "reform your conduct"
	4.	straighten out - make straight straighten alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" untwist - cause to become untwisted unbend - free from flexure; "unbend a bow" extend - open or straighten out; unbend; "Can we extend the legs of this dining table?" channelise, channelize - cause to form a channel; "channelize a stream" untwine - undo what has been twined together; "untwine the strings" unweave - undo strands that have been woven together comb - straighten with a comb; "comb your hair"
	5.	straighten out - make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear; "Could you clarify these remarks?"; "Clear up the question of who is at fault" crystalise, crystalize, crystallise, shed light on, sort out, crystallize, elucidate, illuminate, enlighten, clear up, clear clarify, clear up, elucidate - make clear and (more) comprehensible; "clarify the mystery surrounding her death"
	6.	straighten out - put (things or places) in order; "Tidy up your room!" clean up, neaten, square away, tidy, tidy up, straighten make up, make - put in order or neaten; "make the bed"; "make up a room" order - bring order to or into; "Order these files" clean house, houseclean, clean - clean and tidy up the house; "She housecleans every week"

straighten

verb

1. To make even, smooth, or level:

even, flat, flatten, level, plane, smooth.

2. To make or keep (an area) clean and orderly.Also used with up:

clean (up), clear (up), neaten (up), police, spruce (up), tidy (up).

phrasal verb
straighten out

To bring (something) into a state of agreement or accord:

reconcile, rectify, resolve, settle, smooth over.

Translations

drizzare

w>straighten out

vt sep

(= make straight) legs etc → gerade machen; road → begradigen; wire → gerade biegen; rope → gerade ziehen; hair → glätten

(= put right) problem, situation → klären; one’s ideas → ordnen; one’s affairs, the economy → in Ordnung bringen; misunderstanding → (auf)klären; person (by discipline) → auf die richtige Bahn bringen; to straighten oneself out → ins richtige Gleis kommen; the problem will soon straighten itself out → das Problem wird sich bald von selbst erledigen; to straighten things out → die Sache geradebiegen or in Ordnung bringen; (= clarify) → Klarheit in die Sache bringen

vi (road etc) → gerade werden; (hair) → glatt werden

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in classic literature ?

And when the tinsmiths came, bringing with them all their tools in baskets, she inquired, "Can you straighten out those dents in the Tin Woodman, and bend him back into shape again, and solder him together where he is broken?"

View in context

Reirs also emphasized that the closing down of this bank is in no way connected to the activities currently being carried out to straighten out the financial sector in the country or the Moneyval report.

ECB decision on PNB Banka will not impact Latvian banking sector - Reirs

Straighten out your left leg out, while simultaneously turning your upper body to the right, bringing your left elbow toward your right knee.