embellish

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verb

Definition of EMBELLISH

1

to add to the interest of by including made-up details <the story of the comic marriage proposal was embellished as it passed from one generation to the next in the family>

Synonyms color, elaborate (on), embellish, exaggerate, hyperbolize, magnify, pad, stretch

Related Words dress up, gussy up; amplify, enhance, enlarge (on or upon), expand, flesh (out); fudge, hedge; overdo, overdraw, overemphasize, overplay, overstate; emphasize, play up, stress; caricature; satirize

Near Antonyms belittle, minimize, play down, understate

2

to make more attractive by adding something that is beautiful or becoming <the walls of the French restaurant are embellished with scenes of Parisian life>

Synonyms adorn, array, beautify, bedeck, bedizen, blazon, caparison, deck, do, doll up, do up, drape, dress, embellish, emblaze, emboss, enrich, fancify, fancy up, festoon, garnish, glitz (up), grace, gussy up, ornament, pretty (up), trim

Related Words accessorize, dress up, trap, trick (out); brighten, freshen, smarten, spruce (up); boss, chase; braid, embroider, feather, figure, filigree, fillet, flounce, frill, fringe, furbelow, garland, hang, lace, ribbon, swag, wreathe; appliqué, gild, paint; diamond, gem, impearl, jewel, pearl; redecorate, redo

Near Antonyms simplify, streamline; bare, denude, dismantle, display, divest, expose, reveal, strip, uncover; uglify

Antonyms blemish, deface, disfigure, mar, scar, spoil