embellish

verb

em·​bel·​lish im-ˈbe-lish 

embellished; embellishing; embellishes

transitive verb

1

: to make beautiful with ornamentation : decorate

a book embellished with illustrations

2

: to heighten the attractiveness of by adding decorative or fanciful details : enhance

embellished our account of the trip

embellisher noun

Did you know?

Embellish is related to the French word for "beautiful," bel, and, traditionally, it has been used to imply beautifying an object with the addition of things unessential. That's still true; however, it is equally appealing as an adjective for making statements or stories sound more entertaining.

Synonyms

• color
• elaborate (on)
• embroider
• exaggerate
• hyperbolize
• magnify
• pad
• stretch

Choose the Right Synonym for embellish

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 embellish in a Sentence

a book embellished with colorful illustrations

He embellished his speech with a few quotations.

Recent Examples on the Web

Ballerini closed out the evening in a La Pointe blazer dress embellished with feathers. —Glamour, 8 Apr. 2024

Also within her grid carousel, the Peaky Blinders star included a photo of herself walking through an old cathedral in a tan wedding dress embellished with flowers and birds and a long, floor-sweeping veil. —Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 2 Apr. 2024

The singer and Rare Beauty founder sported a black, off-the-shoulder dress by Oscar de la Renta embellished with mounds of bows along the bust. —Christian Allaire, Vogue, 1 Apr. 2024

Thermae embodied the imperial essence of the Roman Empire, grand in scale and embellished with stucco reliefs and mosaics. —Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 26 Mar. 2024

One of the first times Picasso spotted Maar was at a café in Paris, wearing black gloves embellished with pink flowers. —Angelica Aboulhosn, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024

The land slopes down from that house with a series of broad grassy terraces embellished by long stretches of stone and brick balustrade atop stone ramparts. —Mark David, Robb Report, 22 Mar. 2024

Its website, embellished with wholesome photos of families watching TV, invites you to join the millions of people saving money by cutting the cord. —Brian X. Chen, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024

The simple sweater fits oversized but not too baggy and is embellished with a pleat in the back that turns it into an office-ready layer. —Gabriela Izquierdo, Southern Living, 19 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French embeliss-, stem of embelir, from en- + bel beautiful — more at beauty

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

embellish

verb

em·​bel·​lish im-ˈbel-ish 

: to make beautiful with ornamentation : decorate

a book embellished with pictures

embellishment

-mənt

noun