decorated
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of decorated
Explanation
When something is embellished or made more beautiful, it's decorated, like the elaborately decorated cookies you made your parents for their anniversary. Besides things that are ornamented or adorned with decorations, you can also use this adjective for people who are honored, particularly soldiers who have served heroically. A decorated war veteran has received medals, awards, and honors from the military. Decorated soldiers often wear their medals on their uniforms. The Latin root of decorated is decus, "an ornament."
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.
One of the most decorated Olympic nations of all time, Russia had been stuck in a sanctions net of its own making.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 8, 2026
In Tehran, a flatbed truck, decorated with intricate latticework and Arabic Islamic script, carried five caskets, painted in the green, red and white of Iran's flag, including the smallest for Khamenei's 14-month-old granddaughter Zara.
From BBC • Jul. 7, 2026
The room, which doubles as a kitchen and bedroom, was decorated with flowers drawn by Habiba's 11-year-old daughter, Nahida, who was practising English that she had learnt at the village school.
From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026
Dana Andrews is a decorated bombardier who returns to the same soda fountain job he held before the war, discovering that military heroism doesn’t necessarily translate into peacetime opportunity.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2026
“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 "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
