bejewel

American  

[bih-joo-uhl] / bɪˈdʒu əl /

verb (used with object)

bejeweled, bejeweling, bejewelled, bejewelling

1. to adorn with or as if with jewels.

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bejewel British  

/ bɪˈdʒuːəl /

verb

1. (tr) to decorate with or as if with jewels

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Etymology

Origin of bejewel

First recorded in 1550–60; be- + jewel

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Explanation

To bejewel something is to decorate it with sparkly gems. You could make your plain tote bag more exciting if you bejewel it with shiny sequins and beads. You might bejewel a young friend's crown so she'll look more like a queen in her Halloween costume, or you could use a hot glue gun and bejewel some barrettes for your sister, who loves to dress in sparkly gowns. The word bejewel dates from the 1500s, with the jewel part rooted in the Old French word jouel, "ornament," possibly from the Latin jocus, "pastime," or in Vulgar Latin, "that which causes joy."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bejewel bejeweled bejeweling bejewelled bejewelling

Through six editions now, their clear, planed prose has proved an essential reference for Angelenos in search of all the treasures that bejewel L.A.’s rumpled topography.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2023

Yet so strong are her sublimation abilities that the beads of sweat appear to bejewel her.

From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2018

This past season, the franchise with enough World Series rings to bejewel a small army failed to make the playoffs for the second straight year.

From New York Times ● Nov. 5, 2014

But Daniel Wende of Germany, you cannot bejewel a gladiator outfit.

From Time ● Feb. 16, 2010

The King paid nine thousand pounds for the hire of jewels; indeed, last time, it cost my father fourteen hundred to bejewel my Lady Orford.

From Letters of Horace Walpole — Volume I by Horace Walpole

Among the earliest Buddhist artworks made in Korea, it is the only known example with a bejeweled bodhisattva flanked by two monk attendants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

It included biker jackets adorned with bejeweled crosses and, in the finale, a halter top that featured the Virgin Mary made out of a mosaic of jewels.

From Salon ● May 17, 2026

In a bejeweled white pantsuit and towering stiletto pumps, Megyn Kelly tried to work the crowd like a rock star.

From Slate ● May 6, 2026

She stunned fashionistas in a diamond skeleton gown, with skin-toned mesh underneath, the bejeweled bones showing to the tips of her fingers.

From Barron's ● May 5, 2026

I look up and Cora Phillips is hovering near me, twisting the toes of her bejeweled sneakers in the dust.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

That’s a lot of friendship bracelets and bejeweling.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2024

It is with bittersweet joy that I watch the bejeweling of new junior scythes at the end of each conclave.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

“Candidates for scythehood, will you accept the judgment of the MidMerican bejeweling committee?” he asked—as if it were possible not to accept their decision.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

“I have friends on the bejeweling committee. The boy is smart, but too quick to anger. It’s a fatal flaw that cannot be tolerated.”

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

“The bejeweling committee has studied your apprenticeships,” Scythe Mandela announced to them, although it was meant more for the entire conclave.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

Across the bank holiday weekend, more than two million people were expected to join in the celebrations, featuring thousands of parade performers in sequins, feathers and bejewelled headpieces.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

"Do you know about the goddess phones?" she asked, sitting down in what she called her "throne" next to a collection of bejewelled old-fashioned telephones.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Designed by luxury watchmaker Jacob & Co, the bejewelled timepiece has sculpted figures of a lion and a Bengal tiger placed around Anant's statue seated on a chair.

From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026

But after Nawat called for security to intervene, the besashed Bosch staged a walkout flanked by Miss Iraq, who wore a bejewelled floor-length robe.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2025

Had I really ever been Deirdre Saurin, the petted and pampered and bejewelled heiress who had announced to her mother, showering laughter: “Life shall never make a tragedy of me!”

From The Claw by Cynthia Stockley

He described watching a raincloud float in and burst like a confetti cannon above the hangars to the east while the sun sparked like an elevated train over the western parking lot, bejewelling car windshields.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 12, 2017

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