embellish

1 of 2

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

embellisher

2 of 2

noun

em·​bel·​lish·​er

-shə(r)

plural -s

: one that embellishes

Did you know?

Embellish came to English, by way of Anglo-French, from the Latin word bellus, meaning "beautiful." It's in good company: modern language is adorned with bellus descendants. Examples include such classics as beauty, belle, and beau. And the beauty of bellus reaches beyond English: its influence is seen in the French bel, a word meaning "beautiful" that is directly related to the English embellish. And in Spanish, bellus is evidenced in the word bello, also meaning "beautiful."

Synonyms of embellish

Verb

• exaggerate
• enhance
• pad

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

Verb

a book embellished with colorful illustrations

He embellished his speech with a few quotations.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The show was named after one of these ships, The Terror (the second was The Erebus) and it’s all based on a true story, though wildly embellished both out of necessity and for entertainment purposes. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026

With Larsson leading denim’s biggest trends including low-rise fits, colorful denim, micro shorts and denim decorated with charms and trinkets, the collection reflects this level of pop-star glam with standout items like red ombré flare denim and embellished denim with crystal detailing. —Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 11 June 2026

Spielberg’s first fully theatrical feature, the lovers-on-the-run chase film The Sugarland Express from 1974, was based on a true story in Texas that Spielberg, along with screenwriters Matthew Robbins and Hal Barwood, embellished to turn into a big moving Hollywood entertainment. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 June 2026

It was embellished with lace buttons and drawstring ties finished with gold-tone tips. —Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 9 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for embellish

• hellish
• relish

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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