Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb work_up

4 senses of work up

Sense 1
build up, work up, build, progress -- (form or accumulate steadily; "Resistance to the manager's plan built up quickly"; "Pressure is building up at the Indian-Pakistani border")
       => develop -- (grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment; "A flower developed on the branch"; "The country developed into a mighty superpower"; "The embryo develops into a fetus"; "This situation has developed over a long time")

Sense 2
work up, get up -- (develop; "we worked up an as of an appetite")
       => grow, develop, produce, get, acquire -- (come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes); "He grew a beard"; "The patient developed abdominal pains"; "I got funny spots all over my body"; "Well-developed breasts")

Sense 3
build up, work up, build, ramp up -- (bolster or strengthen; "We worked up courage"; "build up confidence"; "ramp up security in the airports")
       => increase -- (make bigger or more; "The boss finally increased her salary"; "The university increased the number of students it admitted")

Sense 4
work out, work up -- (come up with; "His colleagues worked out his interesting idea"; "We worked up an ad for our client")
       => develop, make grow -- (cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development; "The perfect climate here develops the grain"; "He developed a new kind of apple")