adorn
Americanverb (used with object)
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adorns,
present (3rd person singular)
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adorned,
past participle, past
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adorning
present participle
verb
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to decorate
she adorned her hair with flowers
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to increase the beauty, distinction, etc, of
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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adornernoun
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adornmentnoun
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nonadornernoun
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overadornverb (used with object)
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preadornverb (used with object)
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readornverb (used with object)
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superadornverb (used with object)
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nonadorningadjective
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readorningadjective
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self-adorningadjective
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adorninglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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adornsimple
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adornssimple
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have adornedperfect
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has adornedperfect
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am adorningprogressive
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are adorningprogressive
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is adorningprogressive
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have been adorningperfect progressive
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has been adorningperfect progressive
Past
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adornedsimple
-
had adornedperfect
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was adorningprogressive
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were adorningprogressive
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had been adorningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of adorn
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English adornen, from Latin adōrnāre, equivalent to ad- ad- + ōrnāre “to dress” ( see ornate); replacing late Middle English aourne, from Middle French, from Latin
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing adorn
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
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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.
See Examples For:
A giant guitar sculpture dominates the central square, guitar murals adorn walls and pavements and even the rubbish bins are shaped like guitars.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
His signature will soon adorn our paper currency — a presidential first — and his face will appear on coins.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
Nailed on to adorn bedroom walls from Buenos Aires to Barcelona and be splashed across billboards the world over.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
A video from 2015 shows how, in Ojibwe tradition, dancers provide healing through the rhythmic music created, with every step they take, by the numerous cone-shaped bells that adorn their jingle-dresses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Beautiful flowers adorn the platters—roses, edelweiss, bloodroot, violets, laurels, and tulips.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
It’s not just about attracting casual fans to watch the icon whose face adorns everything from airplanes to skin care products.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Being the kind of person who adorns themselves compulsively opens you up to a slew of corny metaphors that, against your will, feel deeply relevant to you.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Abehsera said he struck a deal with local partners, an Albanian conglomerate called Kastrati, whose name adorns gas stations around the country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
It was Brown, a Rhode Island blue blood whose name now adorns an Ivy League university, who in 1790 financed Slater’s stolen ideas for a state-of-the-art cotton mill.
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
Simple makeup adorns her face, and her hair is flawless in its high ponytail.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
Rick Johnson, who served in the Marines, has a porch adorned with flags.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
An AFP photographer on Thursday saw that the diplomatic emblem and a plaque that adorned the consulate's facade had been removed.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
There were handheld American flags on skinny sticks, midsize ones to display on a wall and majestic formal flags adorned with silky gold fringe.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
Before entering a heavily gilded Oval Office, Trump walked Xi along a renovated colonnade now adorned with gold-framed portraits of U.S. presidents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Buck’s Peak looked the way it always did at Christmas—a snowy spire, adorned with evergreens—and my eyes, increasingly accustomed to brick and concrete, were nearly blinded by the scale and clarity of it.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
It’s not necessarily a perspective one expects to be accompanied by the kind of scorching guitar riffs adorning “Date Night.”
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
We would be sipping ice-cold spritzes at cafés overlooking the Mediterranean, frolicking down cobblestone streets lined with charming boutiques, and marveling at the frescoes and marble sculptures adorning grand cathedrals.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
There are no betting odds adorning the scrolling scoreboard.
From Slate ● Jun. 10, 2026
She described the ladies loos as having a tropical feel with birds and plants adorning the walls and doors, and red velvet furniture available for customers to sit on.
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026
Sarah’s wearing a high-waisted mint green chiffon dress paired with a taupe hijab tied short and close to her face, with a chunky white-and-gold necklace, a statement piece, adorning her neckline.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
