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.
Florent Montaclair, from Besançon in eastern France, was decorated with the Gold Medal of Philology in 2016 at a ceremony held at the National Assembly in Paris, attended by ministers and Nobel laureates.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
Another, decorated with hand drawn foxgloves, hedgehogs and birds, declares: "We need homes too!"
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
Together, he and Watts would go on to form one of rock’s most decorated rhythm sections.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026
That was the same year that that Bryant retired and that the Auburn Tigers football team beat its more decorated rival for the first time in a decade.
From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026
While she was certain the Tome of Ushers said nothing about a heavily decorated pigeon arriving in Deadwood, the bird seemed to know something Gingersnipes did not.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
