beautify

verb

beau·​ti·​fy ˈbyü-tə-ˌfī 

beautified; beautifying

transitive verb

: to make beautiful or add beauty to

intransitive verb

: to grow beautiful

beautification

ˌbyü-tə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

noun

beautifier

ˈbyü-tə-ˌfī(-ə)r 

noun

Synonyms

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

Choose the Right Synonym for beautify

adorn, decorate, ornament, embellish, beautify, deck, garnish mean to enhance the appearance of something by adding something unessential.

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 Web

The city of Palo Alto’s looking to beautify its streets by adding art to utility boxes. —Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024

Their end goals might be somewhat different: to beautify the world, offer resources to others or create a space to share an urgent message. —Chicago Tribune, Orange County Register, 1 Feb. 2024

In strictly physical terms, no article of clothing does more to articulate and augment the line of our bodies — to beautify us or deform us — than pants. —Jonah Weiner, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024

Some cities have even used the practice to beautify their downtowns. —Jeff McMurray, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2024

After his morning discussion with his mother, Wooden often continues to beautify the landscape. —C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 18 Feb. 2024

Graffiti at its worst does nothing to beautify neighborhoods. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2024

This 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

Word History

Etymology

Middle English bewtyfien, from beaute beauty + -fien -fy

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

beautify

verb

beau·​ti·​fy ˈbyüt-ə-ˌfī 

beautified; beautifying

: to make beautiful or more beautiful

beautification

ˌbyüt-ə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

noun