decorate synonyms

decorate

v.

adorn, beautify, ornament, embellish, bedeck, deck, garnish, trim, furnish, paint, color, renovate, redecorate, refurbish, enrich, brighten, gild, burnish, enhance, festoon, illuminate, spangle, dress up, trick out, array, emblazon, elaborate, furbish, enamel, polish, varnish, chase, grace, finish, bejewel, encrust, emboss, embroider, beribbon, bedizen, make more beautiful, add the finishing touches, perfect, put up decorations, fix up, deck out*, pretty up*, spruce up*, gussy up*.

decorate implies the addition of something to render attractive what would otherwise be plain or bare to decorate a wall with pictures; adorn is used of that which adds to the beauty of something by gracing it with its own beauty roses adorned her hair; ornament is used with reference to accessories that enhance the appearance a crown ornamented with jewels; embellish suggests the addition of something highly ornamental or ostentatious for effect; to beautify is to lend beauty to, or heighten the beauty of to plant trees to beautify the neighborhood; bedeck emphasizes the addition of showy things bedecked with jewelry

Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.