adorn

[uh-dawrn]

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verb (used with object)

to decorate or add beauty to, as by ornaments: garlands of flowers adorning their hair.
to make more pleasing, attractive, impressive, etc.; enhance: Piety adorned Abigail's character.

Origin of adorn

1325–75; Middle English adornen < Latin adōrnāre, equivalent to ad- ad- + ōrnāre to dress (see ornate); replacing late Middle English aourne < Middle French < Latin

Related formsa·dorn·er, nouna·dorn·ing·ly, adverbnon·a·dorn·er, nounnon·a·dorn·ing, adjectiveo·ver·a·dorn, verb (used with object)o·ver·a·dorned, adjectivepre·a·dorn, verb (used with object)re·a·dorn, verb (used with object)re·a·dorn·ing, adjectiveself-a·dorn·ing, adjectivesu·per·a·dorn, verb (used with object)un·a·dorned, adjectivewell-a·dorned, adjective

Synonyms for adorn

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1. beautify; deck, bedeck; bedizen, array.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for adorned

decorated, embellished, enhanced

Examples from the Web for adorned

Contemporary Examples of adorned

Missy, 37, is a petite, bespectacled gal with a green pixie cut, and her arms are adorned with tattoos.
Masters of Alt Sex: SuicideGirls Hits Puberty and Wants to Invade Your TV Set
Marlow Stern
December 9, 2014
In return we lent the hospitable Post our halftones, and they adorned its first city edition next morning.
The Stacks: H.L. Mencken on the 1904 Baltimore Fire
H.L. Mencken
October 4, 2014
Fans will doubtless flock to Austin to see that dress and two others that adorned Vivien Leigh.
How 'Gone With the Wind' Got Made
Helen Anders
September 10, 2014
Finally, we came to the ornately carved temple portal itself, adorned with an image of a snake to its side.
Fighting Back With Faith: Inside the Yezidis’ Iraqi Temple
Michael Luongo
August 21, 2014
The adorned temple of Haldi was described as having multiple gates, where large numbers of animals were sacrificed.
Iraq’s Long-Lost Mythical Temple Has Been Found…and Is In Danger of Disappearing Again
Nina Strochlic
July 24, 2014

Historical Examples of adorned

It was built of gold and silver, and adorned with pearls and precious stones.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
Suddenly the whole face of it was adorned with a verdant, undulating robe.
Imogen
William Godwin
The Gallic chieftains were adorned with gold necklaces, bracelets, and rings.
Introductory American History
Henry Eldridge Bourne
All along the walls were numerous prayer-barrels, adorned with ribbons.
The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ
Nicolas Notovitch
The stem is equal, stuffed, adorned often with pits of a darker color.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard

British Dictionary definitions for adorned

adorn

verb (tr)

to decorateshe adorned her hair with flowers
to increase the beauty, distinction, etc, of

Derived Formsadornment, noun

Word Origin for adorn

C14: via Old French from Latin adōrnāre, from ōrnāre to furnish, prepare

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for adorned

adorn

late 14c., "to decorate, embellish," also "be an ornament to," from Old French aorner "to order, arrange, dispose, equip; adorn," from Latin adornare "equip, provide, embellish," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + ornare "prepare, furnish, adorn, fit out," from stem of ordo "order" (see order (n.)). The -d- was reinserted by French scribes 14c., in English from late 15c. Related: Adorned; adorning.