Synonyms of beautify

beautify

verb

ˈbyü-tə-ˌfī 

as in to decorate

to make more attractive by adding something that is beautiful or becoming

volunteers beautified the roadside landscape by planting flowers

Synonyms & Similar Words

• decorate
• adorn
• enrich
• embellish
• drape
• trim
• ornament
• paint
• dress
• deck
• festoon
• grace
• bedeck
• garnish
• pretty (up)
• array
• emboss
• fancify
• do
• brighten
• blazon
• accessorize
• freshen
• gussy up
• bedizen
• caparison
• glitz (up)
• doll up
• fancy up
• emblaze
• embroider
• trick (out)
• do up
• smarten
• trap
• gild
• spruce (up)
• chase
• hang
• dress up
• ribbon
• redecorate
• braid
• figure
• fringe
• garland
• wreathe
• fillet
• gem
• diamond
• redo
• boss
• jewel
• pearl
• feather
• lace
• frill
• appliqué
• swag
• filigree
• furbelow
• impearl
• flounce

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• disfigure
• simplify
• deface
• spoil
• scar
• mar
• streamline
• display
• reveal
• expose
• dismantle
• uncover
• blemish
• bare
• strip
• divest
• denude
• uglify

Synonym Chooser

How is the word beautify different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of beautify are adorn, deck, decorate, embellish, garnish, and ornament. While all these words mean "to enhance the appearance of something by adding something unessential," beautify adds to embellish a suggestion of counterbalancing plainness or ugliness.

will beautify the grounds with flower beds

Where would adorn be a reasonable alternative to beautify?

Although the words adorn and beautify have much in common, adorn implies an enhancing by something beautiful in itself.

a diamond necklace adorned her neck

When is deck a more appropriate choice than beautify?

In some situations, the words deck and beautify are roughly equivalent. However, deck implies the addition of something that contributes to gaiety, splendor, or showiness.

a house all decked out for Christmas

When could decorate be used to replace beautify?

The synonyms decorate and beautify are sometimes interchangeable, but decorate suggests relieving plainness or monotony by adding beauty of color or design.

decorate a birthday cake

When is it sensible to use embellish instead of beautify?

The meanings of embellish and beautify largely overlap; however, embellish often stresses the adding of superfluous or adventitious ornament.

embellish a page with floral borders

When can garnish be used instead of beautify?

While in some cases nearly identical to beautify, garnish suggests decorating with a small final touch and is used especially in referring to the serving of food.

an entrée garnished with parsley

How do ornament and embellish relate to one another, in the sense of beautify?

Both 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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of beautify

Most of the 2nd Ave mural funding came from Clean California, a $1.2 billion effort led by Caltrans to beautify public spaces near freeways across California. —Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 13 Mar. 2025

The group has beautified the beach since 1964. —Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2025

Seeking to beautify your tablescape for Easter or Mother’s Day brunch? —Stacia Datskovska, WWD, 17 Mar. 2025

The very strange thing is that when it is beautified, my brain very easily gets used to that and attached to that. —Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025