adornment
Americannoun
-
something that adds attractiveness; ornament; accessory.
the adornments and furnishings of a room.
-
ornamentation; embellishment.
personal adornment.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of adornment
1470–80; adorn + -ment; replacing late Middle English aournement < Middle French
Explanation
An adornment is some ornament or accent that makes a person or thing look more attractive. You might check out your hair in the mirror before a party and decide it needs an adornment — a hat or a glittery barrette. Tinsel draped on a Christmas tree is an adornment, and so are the fuzzy dice hanging on your car's rear view mirror. Lipstick is an adornment, and so is a polka dotted bow tie, since they both dress a person up a little bit. Another way to use adornment is to mean the act or process of decorating: "The adornment of the high school gym had transformed it into a winter wonderland." The Latin root is adornare, "equip or embellish."
Vocabulary lists containing adornment
"The Gift of the Magi"
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"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d" by Walt Whitman
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The Witch of Blackbird Pond
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Adornment with ample, lavish fabric indicated that one had wealth and a high rank.
From Slate • Nov. 17, 2015
Tribal Adornment, design your own tribal bracelet based on Native American symbols.
From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2014
Its four divisions are the Object as Statement, the Object Made for Use, the Object as Vessel and the Object for Personal Adornment.
From Time Magazine Archive
Adornment of all India, heave to, or I'll bang every toe off your fat fore-foot!'
From Life's Handicap by Kipling, Rudyard
Devoted to the cultivation of Flowers and Plants, Gardening and Home Adornment in general.
From The Mayflower, January, 1905 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
