2025-03-25 Verbs to use with ‘image’ – English In A Minute

Introduction

If an image gets tarnished, you might want to clean it up or enhance it. People do different things to polish their image so they project the one they want. All these verbs are common collocations with ‘image’ – learn how to use them with Phil in this video.

Common collocations with ‘image’

project an image
present an image
If you decide to project or present a particular image, you manage your appearance or behaviour to appear in a particular way.

• It’s important to present a professional image when you meet a potential client. Wearing something smart and making sure you look organised helps you project the right image.

keep an image up
If you keep your image up, it means that you don’t act in a way that would make people change their opinion of you. 

• I want people to see me at my desk – I need to keep up my image as a hard worker.

live up to an image
If you live up to your image, then you act in a way that people expect you to act.

• He ran to work! He’s really living up to his image as a fitness fanatic!

clean an image up
If you clean up your image, you address a problem with how other people see you.

• People think our products are unreliable so we need to find a way to clean up our image.

enhance an image
polish an image
If you enhance or polish your image, you do something to make people see you more positively.

• I’m trying to complete all my work ahead of schedule, I want to polish my image with the boss!

tarnish an image
If something tarnishes your image, it makes people think badly of you. 

• The pollution caused by the accident has really tarnished the image of the company. Customers are abandoning us!

TRANSCRIPT

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Phil
What can you tarnish, polish or project? Let’s learn verbs we use with ‘image’.

When we choose how people see us, we’re deciding what image to project, or present.

If I want to project a serious image, I need to buy some smart clothes!

Businesses design branding to present the image they want their customers to see.

Once you’ve chosen it, you need to keep your image up, or live up to your image.

He really lives up to his bad boy image, it’s not just for show!

It takes a lot of money to keep up this stylish image.

If you don’t like it, then you can try and clean your image up. We can also use enhance or polish to talk about making your image better.

After all the negative stories, the company was desperate to clean up their image.

I’m trying to polish my image. What do you think is the best way to enhance it?

Something that makes your image worse, tarnishes your image.

Losing the final tarnished his image as a winner. 

Our videos can help you keep up your image as a great English speaker. Keep watching them!