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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of beautify Brown mascara, on the contrary, still enhances and beautifies the lashes but with a softer shade that is complimentary to all. Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 5 Mar. 2025 Long before the shuttlecocks landed at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art — and before, even, Henry Moore’s sculptures beautified its lawn — another Kansas City park, for a brief two weeks, captured the eyes of art lovers worldwide. Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 8 May 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for beautify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beautify
Verb
  • The 10-screen theater at the Village at San Antonio Center is decorated with robot toys, a wall of movie posters featuring robots and even has Dumbots, an upstairs lounge with a name inspired by some of the less-intelligent bots in movie history.
    Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 21 June 2025
  • The nymphs look like large black ticks decorated with white spots.
    Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner, 18 June 2025
Verb
  • The living quarters center around a cloister courtyard that is lined with dramatic arched colonnades and adorned with a stone wishing well.
    Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 20 June 2025
  • The hats’ modern shape take inspiration from the traditional Panama hat, updated and adorned with wide ribbons — a signature of the Sant Angelo brand.
    Tonya Blazio-Licorish, Footwear News, 20 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Beautify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beautify. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.

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