beautify

verb

beau·​ti·​fy ˈbyü-tə-ˌfī 

beautified; beautifying

transitive verb

: to make beautiful or add beauty to

tips on how to beautify your home

intransitive verb

: to grow beautiful

beautification

ˌbyü-tə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

noun

beautifier

ˈbyü-tə-ˌfī(-ə)r 

noun

Synonyms of beautify

• decorate
• adorn

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

Adopting a bench costs $7,517 for a 10‑year lease, and the program helps beautify public spaces while creating lasting tributes. — Debby Rice, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026

In 2019, city officials wanted to beautify the lake and promote additional recreational activity. — Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026

As Washington is beautified at great expense, officials told me, vital needs at dozens of national parks are not being filled. — Michael Scherer, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2026

But Trump has been relentless in his quest to beautify the nation’s capital, an overall effort that early estimates have calculated will cost over $1 billion. — News Desk, Artforum, 19 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for beautify

• acidify
• alveoli
• antinomy
• areolae
• demystify
• detoxify
• disqualify
• diversify
• electrify
• exemplify
• fasciculi
• identify

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