bedizen

[bih-dahy-zuh n, -diz-uh n]

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verb (used with object)

to dress or adorn in a showy, gaudy, or tasteless manner.

Origin of bedizen

First recorded in 1655–65; be- + dizen

Related formsbe·di·zen·ment, nounun·be·di·zened, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bedizen

bedeck, embellish, festoon, beautify, embroider, adorn, drape, swaddle, swathe, fit, cloak, disguise, attire, equip, dress, trim, illuminate, deck, brighten, grace

Examples from the Web for bedizen

Historical Examples of bedizen

When I was young they died for that with which they now bedizen themselves.'
Hypatia
Charles Kingsley
If Julia Cunningham chooses to bedizen herself in it, she is welcome to it—flounces and all.
At Last
Marion Harland
Prithee, young one, who art thou, and what has ailed thy mother to bedizen thee in this strange fashion?
The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne
A refined woman will always look neat; but, on the other hand, she will not bedizen and bedeck herself with a view to display.
How to be Happy Though Married
E. J. Hardy.
I will so bedizen your virile, though somewhat crassly practical gifts—— Why, women are my long suit.
Free Air
Sinclair Lewis

British Dictionary definitions for bedizen

bedizen

verb

(tr) archaic to dress or decorate gaudily or tastelessly

Derived Formsbedizenment, noun

Word Origin for bedizen

C17: from be- + obsolete dizen to dress up, of uncertain origin

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 bedizen

1660s, from be- + dizen "to dress" (1610s), especially, from late 18c., "to dress finely, adorn," originally "to dress (a distaff) for spinning" (1520s), and evidently the verbal form of the first element in distaff.

It is remarkable that neither the vb., nor the sb. as a separate word, has been found in OE. or ME., and that on the other hand no vb. corresponding to dizen is known in L.G. or Du. [OED]