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
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.
We build a little set and furnish it and decorate it.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
“My ancestors made things like this to wear and decorate their bodies,” Saar says.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
One parent told me how teachers in one Beijing kindergarten banned parents from bringing Christmas-related items to decorate classrooms for the new year.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
Researchers believe it may have been used to decorate bodies, possibly serving as a way to express identity or distinguish between groups.
From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2026
She watched the two children decorate the dead branches with paper flowers, and wondered if that was the most that Weep could ever hope for.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
