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

And I feel like it’s a trap a lot of actors fall into, is thinking they’re not enough and you have to adorn a performance to be really seen or heard or impress.

From Los Angeles Times

The change could benefit the Reel Inn Malibu, a family-owned seafood restaurant adorned with surfboards and string lights that had operated for 36 years before it was destroyed in the fire.

From The Wall Street Journal

Pink appears to have been a favorite hue for Plaza, with the primary bathroom painted a very pale rose and adorned with fun lighting fixtures in a similar color.

From MarketWatch

Here is Melville’s literary leviathan fantastically adorned with more than 270 of Kent’s black-and-white illustrations, many of them a full page in size.

From The Wall Street Journal

Red and white caution tape, flowers and candles adorned the street where the tragedy occurred, while police shielded the site with white screens.

From Barron's

Related Words

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