decorate

verb

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dec·o·rate | \ ˈde-kə-ˌrāt

decorated; decorating

Definition of decorate

transitive verb

1 : to add honor to decorated commerce with the splendid virtues of honor and loyalty— Geoffrey Household

2 : to furnish with something ornamental decorate a room with artwork decorating the Christmas tree

3 : to award a mark of honor to a soldier decorated for valor highly decorated war veterans

intransitive verb

: to furnish something with ornamentation decorating for the party

Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about decorate

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Choose the Right Synonym for decorate

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 decorate in a Sentence

I always enjoy decorating the Christmas tree. I decorated my apartment in dark colors.

Recent Examples on the Web Black-and-white photos of old New York decorate the walls. — Winnie Hu, New York Times, "Is This New York City’s Nicest Public Bathroom?," 14 Feb. 2020 Instead, each host decorated his or her table with literary-theme accents in mind. — Amber Elliott, Houston Chronicle, "Inprint Poets & Writers Ball taps The Annie chef Robert Del Grande for gala dinner at the Houstonian," 13 Feb. 2020 The staff decorated the restaurant with Adelaide's favorite color, pink, and made her favorite food - biscuits. — Francisco Guzman And Brian Ries, CNN, "A restaurant opened early to serve a 3-year-old cancer patient her favorite meal," 9 Feb. 2020 That image decorated Perry's body Saturday morning. — Miriam Marini, Detroit Free Press, "First female and openly lesbian bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan ordained," 8 Feb. 2020 Dancers also decorate their hoops to feature the seasons. — Cliff Summerhill, azcentral, "The best hoop dancer in the U.S. will be decided in Phoenix. Here's how to watch," 3 Feb. 2020 For the awards show, nail artist Eri Ishizu decorated Lizzo’s tips with glitter-eights in honor of the singer receiving eight Grammy nominations. — Jennifer Ford, Essence, "Lizzo Has The Best Nail Designs and Here's Proof," 28 Jan. 2020 Engraved, high-fashion chinoiserie scenes decorate the body of the caddies. — Brian T. Allen, National Review, "The Winter Show’s Many Small Treasures," 28 Jan. 2020 Close by, a stall selling flowers had decorated chrysanthemums into LinPigs. — Tripti Lahiri, Quartz, "Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year pop-ups defy the government with protest-themed goods," 20 Jan. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'decorate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.