adorn
Other forms: adorned; adorning; adorns
To adorn is to dress something up by decorating it. You might adorn your poncho with fringe or your poodle's dog collar with rhinestones.
Adorn shares some Latin roots with words like ornament and ornate. So it makes sense that some people adorn their Christmas trees with tinsel and lights. Others adorn their eyelids with glitter. In any case, if you want to adorn yourself with all kinds of fabulous baubles, it might be wise to follow Coco Chanel's advice: take at least one accessory off before you walk out the door.
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make more attractive by adding ornament, color, etc.ornamentbe an ornament totypes:wreathedecorate or deck with wreathsbraiddecorate with braids or ribbonsstickcover and decorate with objects that pierce the surfaceillustratesupply with illustrationsgarlandadorn with bands of flowers or leavesfoliatedecorate with leavesflagdecorate with flagsbeaddecorate by sewing beads ontopipetrim with pipingappliquesew on as a decorationvermiculatedecorate with wavy or winding linessmockembellish by sewing in straight lines crossing each other diagonallyhangdecorate or furnish with something suspendedprankdress or decorate showily or gaudilytinseladorn with tinseltart updecorate in a cheap and flashy waystuccodecorate with stucco workredecorateredo the decoration of an apartment or housepaneldecorate with panelsscallopdecorate an edge with scallopsbedizendecorate tastelesslydress shipdecorate a ship with flagstrimdecorate, as with ornamentsfestoondecorate with strings of flowersenamelcoat, inlay, or surface with enamelinlaydecorate the surface of by inserting wood, stone, and metallacquercoat with lacquerilluminateadd embellishments and paintings to (medieval manuscripts)fringeadorn with a fringefretdecorate with an interlaced designlandscapeembellish with plantsmonogrammark, print, or embroider with one’s initials or other letterspurlembroider with gold or silver threadpurledge or border with gold or silver embroideryplumedeck with a plumehatchinlay with narrow strips or lines of a different substance such as gold or silver, for the purpose of decoratingdamasceneinlay metal with gold and silverjapancoat with a lacquer, as done in Japanminiatepaint with red lead or vermilion
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be beautiful to look at
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furnish with power or authority; of kings or emperors
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Vocabulary lists containing adorn
What better way to prepare for the sentence completion and passage-based questions on the SAT than to commit yourself to completing our alphabetically organized SAT lists?
Find lists of SAT words organized by every letter of the alphabet here: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K & L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, and W, X, Y & Z.
In this much-imitated short story, a young couple makes sacrifices in the name of true love. Read the full text here. Here are links to our lists for other works by O. Henry: The Ransom of Red Chief, A Retrieved Reformation
Mathilde Loisel covets an extravagant lifestyle she can't afford. In order to fit in at a high-society party to which she is invited, she borrows a necklace from a friend—a decision that will change her life forever. Read the full text of the story here.