decorate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to furnish or adorn with something ornamental or becoming; embellish.
to decorate walls with murals.
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to plan and execute the design, furnishings, and ornamentation of the interior of (a house, office, apartment, etc.), especially by selecting colors, fabrics, and style of furniture, by making minor structural changes, etc..
Their house is decorated in French Provincial style.
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to confer distinction upon by a badge, a medal of honor, etc..
to decorate a soldier for valor.
verb
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(tr) to make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc
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to paint or wallpaper (a room, house, etc)
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(tr) to confer a mark of distinction, esp a military medal, upon
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(tr) to evaporate a metal film onto (a crystal) in order to display dislocations in structure
Other Word Forms
- overdecorate verb
- redecorate verb
- undecorate verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of decorate
1375–1425; late Middle English (adj.) < Latin decorātus (past participle of decorāre ), equivalent to decor- (stem of decus ) an ornament, splendor, honor ( decent ) + -ātus -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Just this week, Richard Axel, a Nobel laureate Columbia professor, and Lawrence Summers, the decorated economist and former Harvard president, stepped down from positions at their institutions because of their Epstein ties.
“They didn’t only steal our coconuts, they stole Daisy’s ribbons, too. They decorated that sycamore tree with them. Isn’t it pretty?”
From Literature
Katie Taylor has confirmed she will bring the curtain down on her decorated career after a farewell fight in Dublin this summer.
From BBC
Former NBA Most Valuable Player Harden, who was brought in from the Los Angeles Clippers this month, has never won a championship despite being one of the most decorated players in the league.
From Barron's
Svihovec had to replace much of the materials that once decorated the cluster of cottages that make up the center.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
