verb
-
to improve or beautify by adding detail or ornament; adorn
-
to make (a story) more interesting by adding detail
-
to provide (a melody, part, etc) with ornaments See ornament
Other Word Forms
- embellisher noun
- embellishment noun
- nonembellished adjective
- nonembellishing adjective
- overembellish verb (used with object)
- reembellish verb (used with object)
- unembellished adjective
Etymology
Origin of embellish
1300–50; Middle English embelisshen < Anglo-French, Middle French embeliss- (stem of embelir ), equivalent to em- em- 1 + bel- (< Latin bellus pretty) + -iss- -ish 2
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.
She has created large canvases, embellished formal gloves and a gown, and—most shockingly—a decorated taxidermied goat covered in a menagerie of stitched animals, including a mischievous red-winged blackbird and a cheery possum.
Though the novel is steeped in research, the island kingdom it portrays predates written records, so Mr. Johnson freely embellishes his intense tale with magic and mythology.
The sprouts are more like the main event than a side when generously embellished the way these are, with creamy béchamel, Parmesan and pancetta.
Spending time with his clothes — pinstriped suits accented with sinewy leather, belts embellished with coins and cowrie shells, or delicate yet stiff snakeskin pants — one is struck by the immeasurable depths of his inspiration.
From Los Angeles Times
He said he was "embellishing the account of an actual stop and search and he was doing so for comedic effect".
From BBC
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.
