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

Small red and yellow flowers and a trail of ivy spill out of the basket beneath them, and a tiny model of the medicine wheel on a spike adorns the center of the arrangement.

From Literature

Giant red lanterns adorned the outdoor courtyard, and the guests inside treated themselves to food stalls akin to a Taiwanese night market.

From The Wall Street Journal

Far from the “wastelands” where these wading birds lived, urban women adorned their hats with showy feathers as marks of status.

From The Wall Street Journal

Some Iranian embassies have yet to hang portraits of him even though images of Iran’s supreme leader typically adorn most rooms.

From The Wall Street Journal

The museum is adorned with the 36 letters of the Armenian alphabet and a glass hazarashen skylight, inspired by traditional roofs in homes across the Armenian Highlands.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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