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
Her paintings adorn the walls. the Sultan's tent was richly adorned with thick tapestries and gleaming gold candlesticks
Recent Examples on the WebHats, gloves, and sweaters with complex color sequences adorn hooks in the lookout. Noah Davis, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Aug. 2022 Meanwhile bucolic scenes adorn bakeries, stables, barns and hotels, including the historic Hotel Wolf and tavern Zum Turm. Silvia Marchetti, CNN, 11 Aug. 2022 Jackets in the new collection had a bell shape that hovered over mini skits; straight coats had built-in capes, worn over short flouncy skirts; flat bows adorn shift dresses on the straps or across the front. Colleen Barry, ajc, 26 Feb. 2022 The cabinets were painted vibrant blue, and antique Portuguese plates adorn the walls. Sofia Quintero, ELLE Decor, 3 Aug. 2022 Artworks often adorn our walls and sit on our mantels and shelves. Jamie Gold, Forbes, 17 May 2022 Championship banners for such winners as Evil Geniuses and powerhouse Team SoloMid adorn the walls.Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2022 Nostalgic murals and artwork adorn the walls of the space. Anne Nickoloff, cleveland, 9 Mar. 2022 Billboards of Gu posing for brands adorn the walls of supermarkets, elevators, subway stations and airports. Rachel Bachman, WSJ, 13 Feb. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English aournen, adournen, borrowed from Anglo-French aurner, adourner (with d restored from Latin), going back to Latin adōrnāre "to get ready, prepare, decorate, embellish," from ad-ad- + ōrnāre "to prepare, equip, embellish" — more at ornate