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beautify

[byoo-tuh-fahy]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR beautify ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with or without object), beau·ti·fied, beau·ti·fy·ing.

to make or become beautiful.

RELATED WORDS

bedeck, decorate, adorn, trim, deck, gild, ornament, embellish, enhance, array, garnish, grace, improve, prettify, glamorize

Origin of beautify

First recorded in 1520–30; beauty + -fy
Related formsbeau·ti·fi·ca·tion [byoo-tuh-fi-key-shuhn] /ˌbyu tə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən/, nounbeau·ti·fi·er, nounun·beau·ti·fied, adjective
Can be confusedbeatify beautify

Synonyms for beautify

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR beautify ON THESAURUS.COM
adorn, embellish, enhance; bedeck, array.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for beautify

Historical Examples of beautify

  • To beautify it is to take away its character of complexity—it is to destroy it.

    The Secret Agent

    Joseph Conrad

  • Now he's going to beautify himself—here's a precious locksmith!'

    Barnaby Rudge

    Charles Dickens

  • No effort could be too great or painful to beautify oneself for Him.

    The Golden Fountain

    Lilian Staveley

  • I want to beautify Wakefield, and as near as I can remember there is room for improvement.

    In a Little Town

    Rupert Hughes

  • Reflect that you may gladden and beautify your lives, or embitter them, according as you now act.

    The Home

    Fredrika Bremer

British Dictionary definitions for beautify

beautify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied

to make or become beautiful
Derived Formsbeautification (ˌbjuːtɪfɪˈkeɪʃən), nounbeautifier, 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
Word Origin and History for beautify
v.

mid-15c., "to make beautiful," from beauty + -fy. Intransitive sense, "to become beautiful," is recorded from 1590s. Related: Beautified; beautifying.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper