adorn

American  

[uh-dawrn] / əˈdɔrn /

verb (used with object)

1. to decorate or add beauty to, as by ornaments.

   garlands of flowers adorning their hair.

   Synonyms:

   array, bedizen, bedeck, deck, beautify

2. to make more pleasing, attractive, impressive, etc.; enhance.

   Piety adorned Abigail's character.

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adorn British  

/ əˈdɔːn /

verb

1. to decorate

   she adorned her hair with flowers

2. to increase the beauty, distinction, etc, of

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Other Word Forms

• adorner noun
• adorningly adverb
• adornment noun
• nonadorner noun
• nonadorning adjective
• overadorn verb (used with object)
• preadorn verb (used with object)
• readorn verb (used with object)
• readorning adjective
• self-adorning adjective
• superadorn verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of adorn

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English adornen, from Latin adōrnāre, equivalent to ad- ad- + ōrnāre “to dress” ( ornate ); replacing late Middle English aourne, from Middle French, from Latin

Example Sentences

OSLO—The director of the Nobel Peace Prize works behind an ornate wooden desk next to a wall adorned with the black-and-white portraits of his seven predecessors.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s a sunny December day, but he’s dressed all in black with glasses to match, slim fingers adorned with a custom silver skull ring.

From Los Angeles Times

It adorns an elaborate “Altar of Sin,” surrounded by classical statuary and shells.

From The Wall Street Journal

For example Queen Anne, a style, can adorn a worker’s cottage, a type.

From The Wall Street Journal

The vast glass-domed exhibition space became a wonderland, with pink weeping willows and oversized toadstools adorning the runway.

From BBC

Related Words

• beautify
• bedeck
• deck
• dress up
• embellish
• grace
• spruce up
• trim