stew up
C1 informal separable both
In simple words
Let bad feelings like worry or anger build up inside you slowly, like food cooking in a pot.
Literal meaning: To cook something slowly in liquid until it becomes a stew.
Meanings
1 C1
idiomatic
informal
To allow negative feelings such as worry or resentment to build up slowly without resolution.
"She had been stewing up her frustration for weeks before she finally said something."
Grammar: separable
2 C1 neutral
To prepare food by slowly cooking it in liquid.
"She stewed up a pot of vegetables to last the whole week."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Quite rare. The emotional sense echoes 'stew' meaning to worry or simmer with resentment. More commonly encountered as 'stew (on something)' or 'stew in one's own juices'. The culinary sense (to prepare by stewing) is literal but very uncommon as a phrasal verb.
Commonly used with
worry resentment anger anxiety feelings tension
Forms
Base
stew up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
stews up
he/she/it
Past simple
stewed up
yesterday
Past participle
stewed up
have + pp
-ing form
stewing up
continuous
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Synonyms
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