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

But that’s just it: they’re integrated into our city’s infrastructure, hiding in plain sight, doing double duty — the way all our infrastructure must — to beautify these neighborhoods and keep us safer against deluge. —Jeff Roth, New York Daily News, 23 Apr. 2025

What a wonderful journey awaits any San Diegan who wants to design a garden to beautify the campus of a church, synagogue or mosque, tying their faith to modern plants that echo a hallowed past. —The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2025

Grenell, who spent the Biden years developing luxury tourist sites in Serbia and Albania, suggested at a recent meeting that Trump’s plans to beautify the center were advancing; a proposal was under way to refurbish the lounges in front of the main theatres. —Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2025

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