adorn

[ uh-dawrn ]

See synonyms for adorn on Thesaurus.com

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

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

Other words for adorn

1	beautify; deck, bedeck; bedizen, array

See synonyms for adorn on Thesaurus.com

Other words from adorn

a·dorn·er, noun
a·dorn·ing·ly, adverb
non·a·dorn·er, noun
non·a·dorn·ing, adjective
o·ver·a·dorn, verb (used with object)
pre·a·dorn, verb (used with object)
re·a·dorn, verb (used with object)
re·a·dorn·ing, adjective
self-a·dorn·ing, adjective
su·per·a·dorn, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use adorn in a sentence

Clad in a blue, striped button-down, a silver watch adorning his left wrist, Huckabee beams on the cover.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner! | Olivia Nuzzi | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
A petrified grimace wrinkles the white clay adorning her face.
Hallucinating Away a Heroin Addiction | Abby Haglage | May 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The images adorning these walls contribute a welcome bout of color to a show dominated by black and white.
David Bailey’s ‘Stardust’ Shows a Keen Eye for Fine Faces | Chloë Ashby | February 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Beck takes the stage in blue jeans, sneakers, and a loosened tie adorning his dress shirt.
Is Glenn Beck a Fake? | Dana Milbank | October 4, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
Mingled in the stew of fabrics were delicate floral prints adorning dresses, pants, and bandaged around bodies.
Fashion Week Day 6 | Isabel Wilkinson | February 16, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST

Jansoulet adorning himself with Jenkins's ribbon might very well have been guilty of illegality.
The Nabob | Alphonse Daudet
The adorning of themselves was for this express and particular end.
Xerxes | Jacob Abbott
Thomas, being summoned, proved to be a tall lad possessing an honest and ingratiating smile, adorning a fair and open countenance.
Mrs. Vanderstein's jewels | Mrs. Charles Bryce
I amused myself in adorning them with all the charms of the sex I had always adored.
The Confessions of J. J. Rousseau, Complete | Jean Jacques Rousseau
He is here, adorning, by a life of severe simplicity and divine benevolence, the doctrine he has espoused.
Aurelian | William Ware

British Dictionary definitions for adorn

adorn

/ (əˈdɔːn) /

verb(tr)

to decorate: she adorned her hair with flowers
to increase the beauty, distinction, etc, of

Origin of adorn

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

Derived forms of adorn

adornment, noun

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

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