furnish

verb

fur·nish ˈfər-nish

furnished; furnishing; furnishes

Synonyms of furnish next

transitive verb

: to provide with what is needed

especially : to equip with furniture

The inn is beautifully furnished.

: supply, give

furnished food and shelter for the refugees

furnisher noun

Choose the Right Synonym for furnish

furnish, equip, outfit, appoint, accoutre mean to supply one with what is needed.

furnish implies the provision of any or all essentials for performing a function.

a sparsely furnished apartment

equip suggests the provision of something making for efficiency in action or use.

a fully equipped kitchen

outfit implies provision of a complete list or set of articles as for a journey, an expedition, or a special occupation.

outfitted the family for a ski trip

appoint implies provision of complete and usually elegant or elaborate equipment or furnishings.

a lavishly appointed apartment

accoutre suggests the supplying of personal dress or equipment for a special activity.

fully accoutred members of a polar expedition

Examples of furnish in a Sentence

The inn is beautifully furnished. He has enough money to furnish the apartment nicely. We'll furnish the food for the party. Can he furnish the information to us?

Recent Examples on the Web He was told the cache had recently been turned over to the National Archives, which furnished Barnouw with copies. —

Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2023 Like all the supportive-housing apartments in the building, it was furnished with a full-sized bed, a small table, and two chairs. —

Jennifer Egan, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023 The space is furnished throughout with art by current and former residents, retaining the spirit of the 19th-century landmark hotel while bringing its food and beverage program firmly into TikTok-trending territory. —

Sean Santiago, ELLE Decor, 8 Sep. 2023 Third, the filing argues Hill furnished false information about a juror to the judge, which resulted in her being removed on the last day of the trial. —

Shawn Nottingham, CNN, 5 Sep. 2023 The event, however, is a charity event to benefit Kips Bay, a nonprofit, as well as local charities Dwell With Dignity, which furnishes homes for families facing homelessness and poverty, and the Crystal Charity Ball, which supports Dallas County children’s charities. —

Mitchell Parton, Dallas News, 29 Aug. 2023 The hope was that some might fit into today’s devices, which can furnish perhaps 100 raw qubits. —

Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 25 Aug. 2023 As Luther points out, the Fed furnishes its own answer. —

Shawn Tully, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2023 His place was only halfway furnished, but Ren had done a decent job of cleaning up after Kota. —

Bryan Washington, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'furnish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English furnisshen, from Anglo-French furniss-, stem of furnir, fournir to complete, equip, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German frummen to further, fruma advantage — more at foremost

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of furnish was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century