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
Example Sentences
Noun She wore a hair ornament. The columns are there purely as ornament—they have no structural function. Verb flower patterns used to ornament boxes delicate crystal figurines ornament the mantel over the fireplace
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Vladimir Putin, for his part, has attempted to claim Rachmaninoff as a personal ornament. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2022 Simply add a name and pick from several different designs to customize this wooden ornament to your liking. Ysolt Usigan, Woman's Day, 16 Aug. 2022 Choose you and your sister's hairstyles, hair colors and skin tones to truly customized this sweet ornament. Michelle Manetti, Good Housekeeping, 11 July 2022 The popular Holiday Express Train and walk-through ornament also will return. Carol Kovach, cleveland, 23 Aug. 2022 This gift is both a baby block and a tree ornament. Annie O’sullivan, Woman's Day, 6 May 2022 Karlie Kloss in a diamond hair ornament and pieces from Muzo including Muzo Nova Collection 18K antique style earrings with round Muzo emeralds and round brilliant diamonds. Beth Bernstein, Forbes, 3 May 2022 Although Zellweger was not in any of the pictures, Anstead did honor their relationship with a special ornament. Jessica Booth, Peoplemag, 16 Aug. 2022 Sarah even made her own fascinator from a children’s flower ornament and other materials from Hobby Lobby. Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, 6 May 2022
Verb
Then, a few weeks later, Middleton stunned in another Jane Taylor design—this time a striking white and black piece to ornament her look for Anzac Day services. Roxanne Adamiyatt, Town & Country, 20 May 2022 Dancing flames cast an orange glow on the side of the boy’s face; silhouettes of bare trees ornament the distance. Clint Smith, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2022 The key turned out to be feathers, which have long been known to ornament many cavity-loving species’ nests. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 Nov. 2021 The Baroque Hôtel d’Ecquevilly, built in 1638 as a private residence for a Parisian aristocrat, was later the home of Louis XV’s master of the hunt, who commissioned the elaborate bas-reliefs of boars and dogs that still ornament its exterior.New York Times, 7 Sep. 2021 The picture that has emerged is of an aging emperor, surrounded by a harem of nubile women paid to ornament his dinner table, boost his ego, and dance around in their underpants. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2021 The second-floor master suite incorporates a bedroom with new oak floors, a bow window and a walk-in closet with mirrored doors ornamented with etched glass. Julie Lasky, New York Times, 13 May 2020 In the 1920s, Cleveland’s wealthy lined Shaker Boulevard in Shaker Heights and Fairmount Boulevard in Cleveland Heights with richly ornamented, neo-Tudor or neoclassical mansions that openly flaunt the wealth of their owners. Steven Litt, cleveland, 3 May 2020 This is the basic three-color version of the bread plate, but there was also a six-color variant and a version ornamented with opaque maiolica glazes. Catherine Bindman, The New York Review of Books, 17 Apr. 2020 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Anglo-French urnement, ornement, from Latin ornamentum, from ornare