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
I always enjoy decorating the Christmas tree. I decorated my apartment in dark colors.
Recent Examples on the WebLearn how to decorate with sage green using tips from the experts. Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Aug. 2022 While there are many gold standards and rules of hosting (such as being attentive to your seating charts and personally greeting each of your guests), how a host chooses to decorate isn’t as rigid. Isiah Magsino, Vogue, 15 Dec. 2021 Let your kids stuff them with their favorite Halloween candies and then decorate the outside. Jessica Leigh Mattern, Country Living, 24 Aug. 2022 Prequel is an increasingly popular photo and video-editing app for iOS and Android devices that offers a library of ‘aesthetic filters’ that can be used to adjust, alter and decorate digital imagery. Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 11 Aug. 2022 Visitors come decked out in costumes, decorate campsites and enjoy trick-or-treating, hay rides, pumpkin carving and contests. Tanya Wildt, Detroit Free Press, 10 Aug. 2022 The skirt is made of satin in bright colors and the figures of peaks that decorate it are called grecas; each one is made from a pleated ribbon and guipure lace. Fernanda Pérez Sánchez, Vogue, 8 Aug. 2022 Companies like Scottsdale Bachelorette and Girl About Town — another bachelorette planning and decorating service — stock fridges, help book events through other vendors and decorate Airbnbs before groups arrive. Sofia Krusmark, The Arizona Republic, 25 July 2022 The chairs, which come in a variety of colors, decorate yards, decks and patios seemingly everywhere. Bruce Vielmetti, Journal Sentinel, 8 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Latin decoratus, past participle of decorare, from decor-, decus ornament, honor — more at decent