decorate

verb

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

By distinguishing the aesthetic differences of each of her homes, the lifestyles are categorized to reflect the way Martha lives, entertains, and decorates in each respective space. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "You Can Now Live Like Martha Stewart With Her New Lifestyle Lines," 21 Mar. 2019 Instead of historically accurate Christmas decor, Donahue uses modern holiday decorating styles. — Robert Khederian, Town & Country, "How Newport's Gilded Age Mansions Are Decorated for Christmas," 13 Dec. 2018 For his part, Dixon was commissioned to produce several new works to decorate the space. — Parker Bowie Larson, ELLE Decor, "The New Versace Home Collection Is the Fantasy of Our Candy-Colored, Neon-Tinged Dreams," 9 Apr. 2019 Those very same images were chosen by Dior’s artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri to decorate the pavilion erected in the Musée Rodin’s gardens in Paris for her Fall 2019 collection last month. — Tiziana Cardini, Vogue, "In Milan, A New Exhibition Celebrates Italian Feminist Artists of the 1970s," 5 Apr. 2019 Use royal icing to decorate small cookies and place on top. — Woman's Day Kitchen, Woman's Day, "Carrot Cookie Cake," 7 Mar. 2019 Thank you to the many volunteers and staff who worked hard to decorate the halls of the People’s House in Christmas cheer. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Melania Trump Just Unveiled This Year's White House Christmas Decorations," 26 Nov. 2018 But there’s no need for panic buying on Black Friday as industry experts say consumers will end up with something to decorate this holiday season. — Lisa Rathke, The Seattle Times, "It may be harder to find the perfect Christmas tree," 21 Nov. 2018 Over the summer, a handful of teachers and staffers at Warren Middle School in Forney volunteered and broke out art supplies to decorate the girls and boys lavatories with positive, uplifting messages. — Janine Puhak, Fox News, "Texas middle school's 'bathroom inspiration project' aims to empower students," 13 Sep. 2018

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.