adorn

adorn
transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Latin adornare, from ad- + ornare to furnish — more at ornate Date: 14th century 1. to enhance the appearance of especially with beautiful objects 2. to enliven or decorate as if with ornaments <
people of fashion who adorned the Court
> Synonyms: 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
>.

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Adorn — Río de El Señor de los Anillos Creador(es) J. R. R. Tolkien Información Localización Rohan Nacimiento Montañas Blancas Desembocadura Río Isen El Adorn es un río ficti …   Wikipedia Español

  • Adorn — may refer to:*Adorn (Middle earth), a river of J. R. R. Tolkien s Middle earth legendarium *Barnstar, a decorative piece in the shape of a five point star used to adorn the barn *Fretwork, an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in… …   Wikipedia

  • Adorn — A*dorn , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Adorned}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Adorning}.] [OE. aournen, anournen, adornen, OF. aorner, fr. L. aaornare; ad + ornare to furnish, embellish. See {Adore}, {Ornate}.] To deck or dress with ornaments; to embellish; to set… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • adorn — adorn; adorn·ment; re·adorn; un·adorn·ed·ness; …   English syllables

  • adorn — (v.) late 14c., to decorate, embellish, also be an ornament to, from O.Fr. aorner to order, arrange, dispose, equip; adorn, from L. adornare equip, provide, embellish, from ad to (see AD (Cf. ad )) + ornare prepare, furnish, adorn, fit out, from… …   Etymology dictionary

  • adorn — adorn, decorate, ornament, embellish, beautify, deck, bedeck, garnish mean to add something unessential in order to enhance the appearance. These words and especially the first five are often used interchangeably; certain distinctions, however,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • adorn — [ə dôrn′] vt. [ME adornen (altered after L) < OFr aourner < L adornare < ad , to + ornare, to fit out: see ORNAMENT] 1. to be an ornament to; add beauty, splendor, or distinction to 2. to put decorations on; ornament SYN. ADORN is used… …   English World dictionary

  • Adorn — A*dorn , n. Adornment. [Obs.] Spenser. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Adorn — A*dorn , a. Adorned; decorated. [Obs.] Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • adorn — index embellish, meliorate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • adorn — [v] decorate array, beautify, bedeck, deck, doll up*, dress up, embellish, enhance, enrich, fix up, furbish, garnish, grace, gussy up*, ornament, spruce up, trim; concepts 162,177 Ant. damage, deform, hurt, leave plain, mar …   New thesaurus

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