preen
To tidy and admire your own appearance.
preen in a sentence
- The peacock stopped to preen its shining feathers in front of the pond as if it were a mirror.
- The swans stopped to preen by the lake, smoothing their white feathers until they gleamed.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to preen?
- Agroom
- Bruffle
- Cneglect
Show the answer
A: groom. The other three mean the opposite of preen.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to preen?
- Agroom
- Btidy
- Csmarten
- Dneglect
Show the answer
D: neglect. The other three mean nearly the same as preen.
Words that mean something similar
groom, tidy, smarten
Words that mean the opposite
neglect, ruffle
More words about appearance & looks
- pristine: Perfectly clean and unspoilt, like new.
- prominent: Easy to see or notice; standing out.
- quizzical: Showing that you are puzzled or curious, often in a joking way.
- rickety: Old, weak and likely to fall apart.
- rotund: Round and plump in shape.
- scowl: To make an angry, cross face by pulling your eyebrows down; or that angry face itself.
- shabby: Old, worn out and scruffy-looking.
- sleek: Smooth, shiny and well cared for.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test