decorate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
decorates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
decorated,
past participle, past
-
decorating
present participle
-
to furnish or adorn with something ornamental or becoming; embellish.
to decorate walls with murals.
-
to plan and execute the design, furnishings, and ornamentation of the interior of (a house, office, apartment, etc.), especially by selecting colors, fabrics, and style of furniture, by making minor structural changes, etc..
Their house is decorated in French Provincial style.
-
to confer distinction upon by a badge, a medal of honor, etc..
to decorate a soldier for valor.
verb
-
(tr) to make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc
-
to paint or wallpaper (a room, house, etc)
-
(tr) to confer a mark of distinction, esp a military medal, upon
-
(tr) to evaporate a metal film onto (a crystal) in order to display dislocations in structure
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
decoratesimple
-
decoratessimple
-
have decoratedperfect
-
has decoratedperfect
-
am decoratingprogressive
-
are decoratingprogressive
-
is decoratingprogressive
-
have been decoratingperfect progressive
-
has been decoratingperfect progressive
Past
-
decoratedsimple
-
had decoratedperfect
-
was decoratingprogressive
-
were decoratingprogressive
-
had been decoratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of decorate
1375–1425; late Middle English (adj.) < Latin decorātus (past participle of decorāre ), equivalent to decor- (stem of decus ) an ornament, splendor, honor ( see decent) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Putting up paintings, stringing up lights, and getting some flowers are all ways to decorate a house. When you decorate, you make things look better or at least more interesting. Even an attractively furnished home can be decorated for a holiday or party. That means you dress up your house to celebrate the special occasion. Decorate is also used to describe certain kinds of success. A famous athlete might decorate a gym with trophies and championship rings. We say a person in the military, like a general, is decorated when he or she is given medals for bravery or other accomplishments.
Vocabulary lists containing decorate
Easter Vocabulary
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Lesson 3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Making Faces"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
While the area may not have been his favorite, the Brolins certainly made the home their own, tapping celebrated interior design studio, Pierce and Ward, to decorate it with a traditional, baronial aesthetic.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Chandeliers, poetry and flower arches decorate a government marriage registry, and officials hope baby carriages will follow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
This time round each competing team was given its own baton to decorate rather than transporting one across the Commonwealth.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The Lauensteins, who spent years scouring architectural salvage sites for items including wrought iron, hardware, lighting and doors to decorate their home, largely stewarded the transformation, with occasional guidance from interior designers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Lori and Brian and I would use the rocks to decorate the graves of our pets that had died or of the dead animals we found and decided should get a proper burial.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Most notably, the display of military trophies that decorates the back wall was entirely Trumbull’s own embellishment, as he himself said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
Rather, she takes a plain white bag and decorates it to the max — an “Easter basket of sorts,” as she describes the final product.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 2, 2026
He often takes to the field with painted nails, which he decorates to bond with four-year-old daughter Leila.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2025
“She said, ‘I love that Christmas tree’ and asked me if I knew anybody who decorates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2025
A shimmering lake decorates the center of the property, fringed with more greenery.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
The elaborate art of painted-wood furniture from in and around present-day Hungary is on display in objects like a richly decorated 19th-century dining set.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Before offloading the mobile home, Johnson spent over $500,000 turning it into a playful wonderland decorated with countless bohemian prints, florals, and electric colors.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
The desert's exceptionally arid conditions have helped preserve materials that would normally deteriorate over time, including hair, bones, clothing, leather, pigments, and decorated pottery.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
Trucks bearing the nations' flags began moving in both directions late morning, AFP reporters at the scene said, some of the North Korean vehicles decorated with flowers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
The city constructed a large pavilion in a park, and the casket lay on a platform decorated with flowers.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
For this kind of gathering, my decorating instincts tend toward three descriptors: Short, fat and fall-colored.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
And some like to start celebrations as early as possible, like Catarina Vieira, who lives in Swindon and started decorating her house last week.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Also offered: a straw maze, pumpkin decorating, a petting zoo, giant rocking horses, slides and more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Krispy Kreme now does 15 to 20 special runs of doughnuts a year, plus a collection for each season, with staff decorating them by hand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
I frame a shot of a woman in niqab, a face covering, decorating Julies freckled arm with intricate designs of henna.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
