adorn implies an enhancing by something beautiful in itself.
a diamond necklace adorned her neck
decorate suggests relieving plainness or monotony by adding beauty of color or design.
decorate a birthday cake
ornament and embellish imply the adding of something extraneous, ornament stressing the heightening or setting off of the original
a white house ornamented with green shutters
, embellish often stressing the adding of superfluous or adventitious ornament.
embellish a page with floral borders
beautify adds to embellish a suggestion of counterbalancing plainness or ugliness.
will beautify the grounds with flower beds
deck implies the addition of something that contributes to gaiety, splendor, or showiness.
a house all decked out for Christmas
garnish suggests decorating with a small final touch and is used especially in referring to the serving of food.
an entrée garnished with parsley
Examples of beautify in a Sentence
Fresh flowers beautify every room.
volunteers beautified the roadside landscape by planting flowers
Recent Examples on the WebThis innovative solution not only beautifies homes but also reduces energy costs and contributes to sustainability.—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Feb. 2024 The interconnectedness of our diverse skills and perspectives forms a mosaic that beautifies the world.—Hilary Tetenbaum, USA TODAY, 24 Jan. 2024 Even folks who make a living beautifying homes espouse the virtues of the laundry chair.—Rachel Kurzius, Washington Post, 29 Jan. 2024 The plan is to beautify, upgrade and add green spaces along Western Avenue between 119th Street and 135th Street.—Hank Sanders, Chicago Tribune, 28 Jan. 2024 Look ‘Natural and Healthy’ Is on Sale Today Hearth & Hand with Magnolia Metal Christmas Tree Collar
Tree skirts can get tangled and dusty, but this tree collar beautifies the bottom of your Christmas tree without the fuss.—Rachel Trujillo, Peoplemag, 27 Nov. 2023 Try Antik Batik placemats to beautify her place settings.—Laura Jackson, Vogue, 10 Nov. 2023 This is a rain-or-shine event, and proceeds go to beautifying Georgetown’s public green spaces.—Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 11 May 2023 The public is invited to one of 14 county parks to help beautify these areas by removing invasive species and planting trees.—Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beautify.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English bewtyfien, from beautebeauty + -fien-fy
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