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 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

• 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

a book embellished with colorful illustrations

He embellished his speech with a few quotations.

Recent Examples on the Web

The look was tied together with a cape embellished with 3D rose petals and ankle strap stilettos. —Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025

The bodice features a twist detail with dark, leaf-like appliqués embellished with metallic sequins. —Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 24 Oct. 2025

In London, Di Petsa recreated the look of sandy beaches with two tan denim frocks, embellished with frayed seams and hems. —Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 22 Oct. 2025

Some cultures’ memories extend back to the deep past, handed down, repeated, and embellished over thousands of years. —Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025

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

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