decorate
Americanverb (used with object)
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decorates,
present (3rd person singular)
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decorated,
past participle, past
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decorating
present participle
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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decoratesimple
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decoratessimple
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have decoratedperfect
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has decoratedperfect
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am decoratingprogressive
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are decoratingprogressive
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is decoratingprogressive
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have been decoratingperfect progressive
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has been decoratingperfect progressive
Past
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decoratedsimple
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had decoratedperfect
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was decoratingprogressive
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were decoratingprogressive
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had been decoratingperfect progressive
Future
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 ( see decent) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Putting up paintings, stringing up lights, and getting some flowers are all ways to decorate a house. When you decorate, you make things look better or at least more interesting. Even an attractively furnished home can be decorated for a holiday or party. That means you dress up your house to celebrate the special occasion. Decorate is also used to describe certain kinds of success. A famous athlete might decorate a gym with trophies and championship rings. We say a person in the military, like a general, is decorated when he or she is given medals for bravery or other accomplishments.
Vocabulary lists containing decorate
Easter Vocabulary
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Lesson 3
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"Making Faces"
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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.
See Examples For:
Roberts said she had originally visited the library after seeing a poster advertising an activity where children could decorate their own bags.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
With a budget of $70, Trinyce and Ijeoma, two women in their twenties, said they were trying to find something to decorate their apartment.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
While the area may not have been his favorite, the Brolins certainly made the home their own, tapping celebrated interior design studio, Pierce and Ward, to decorate it with a traditional, baronial aesthetic.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
The Clippers still don’t have an actual championship banner to decorate the Intuit Dome — and pursuing a title will be harder now, of course.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
“Oh, I brought sugar skulls we can decorate, too!”
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Rather, she takes a plain white bag and decorates it to the max — an “Easter basket of sorts,” as she describes the final product.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 2, 2026
“She said, ‘I love that Christmas tree’ and asked me if I knew anybody who decorates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2025
Notwithstanding some clunky moments, Mr. Ansari not only engineers up-to-the-minute twists on the musty Hollywood angel movie, but decorates his story with clever dialogue and wicked observations about street-level existence in the City of Angels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
But the epiphanic ding! hits her as she’s smoothing a Band-Aid onto her forehead wound, and considers the superhero that decorates it: the Incredible Hulk.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2024
He decorates his apartment, pinning some Japanese prints on the walls, and he sets up a tiny studio—a “cubby-hole”—in the same building as his flat.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
“You’ve made all Italians dream,” said speedskater Arianna Fontana, the country’s most decorated Olympian.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Thousands of polished stone axes and other tools have been discovered, along with finely made pottery, sometimes decorated with painted patterns.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
The decorated performer also nabbed a Grammy for spoken word, for his narration of "Prokofiev: Peter And The Wolf."
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Before offloading the mobile home, Johnson spent over $500,000 turning it into a playful wonderland decorated with countless bohemian prints, florals, and electric colors.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
The whole living room is decorated, and everybody’s smiling.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
For many Halloween lovers, decorating is a passion that can’t be stifled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
For this kind of gathering, my decorating instincts tend toward three descriptors: Short, fat and fall-colored.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
And some like to start celebrations as early as possible, like Catarina Vieira, who lives in Swindon and started decorating her house last week.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Also offered: a straw maze, pumpkin decorating, a petting zoo, giant rocking horses, slides and more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Other than the brand-new color television they bought, I don't pay attention to my parents' decorating choices.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
