straighten (redirected from straightened)

straighten someone out

to cause someone's behavior or character to improve. I thought marriage would straighten him out but it hasn't. He plays the part of an uncle trying to straighten out a troubled teenager.

straighten something out

1. to arrange or organize something that is in disorder. It took her a while to straighten out her father's accounts. When her husband died, there were problems with his will, and it took her a year to straighten them all out.

2. to end uncertainty or confusion about something. I'm sorry if our letter was confusing, but I'll straighten that out now. Sometimes I'll feel there's something I need to straighten out because no one's sure what to expect.

straighten up

to start behaving in a more acceptable or correct way. If you don't straighten up, I'm going to suspend you from this school.

straighten up something

to make things neat. Be sure to straighten up your room before you leave. It was only four-thirty, and she still had time to straighten things up before the guests arrived.