embellish

verb

em·​bel·​lish im-ˈbe-lish How to pronounce embellish (audio)
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.

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
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Adele donned a sweeping black gown with a portrait neckline, embellished with glistening black baubles, her hair long and loose. Kim Willis, USA TODAY, 27 Oct. 2024 Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Valentino resort 2025, look 62 Photo: Ola Rindal / Courtesy of Valentino The semi-sheer floor-length dress is festooned with scalloped tiers, embellished with silvery sequins and rhinestones. Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2024 Lothar offered Reuss the job, and Reuss moved into a room rented from a concert pianist, all while continuing to embellish his role as Brandhofer. Tomas Weber, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024 This work is part of a long-running series in which Simpson cuts advertising images out of old issues of Ebony magazine, collages them on paper and embellishes them with ink. Dean Baquet, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for embellish 

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of embellish was in the 14th century

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Dictionary Entries Near embellish

Cite this Entry

“Embellish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/embellish. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

embellish

verb
em·​bel·​lish im-ˈbel-ish How to pronounce embellish (audio)
: to make beautiful with ornamentation : decorate
a book embellished with pictures
embellishment
-mənt
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on embellish

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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