embellish

[em-bel-ish]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR embellish ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to beautify by or as if by ornamentation; ornament; adorn.

to enhance (a statement or narrative) with fictitious additions.

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- -ish²

Related formsem·bel·lish·er, nounnon·em·bel·lished, adjectivenon·em·bel·lish·ing, adjectiveo·ver·em·bel·lish, verb (used with object)re·em·bel·lish, verb (used with object)un·em·bel·lished, adjective

Synonyms for embellish

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR embellish ON THESAURUS.COM

1. decorate, garnish, bedeck, embroider.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for embellish

bedeck, exaggerate, gild, overstate, festoon, embroider, adorn, trim, magnify, deck, color, enrich, elaborate, ornament, beautify, enhance, array, garnish, fudge, grace

Examples from the Web for embellish

Contemporary Examples of embellish

If the actual facts are so repugnant to you, then why embellish them?
The Woody Allen Allegations: Not So Fast
Robert B. Weide
January 27, 2014
Why did you feel the need to embellish and lie about your involvement in the UOF?
Rogue L.A. Cop’s Facebook Manifesto: ‘You Will Now Live the Life of Prey’
The Daily Beast
February 8, 2013
And like all bad liars, immediately gave into the urge to embellish.
Friday Forum: What's the Biggest Lie You've Ever Told?
Megan McArdle
January 18, 2013
He loved to embellish and we were determined not to let him slip one past us.
Hollywood's Loosest Cannon
Kim Masters
April 15, 2009

Historical Examples of embellish

Since it was he, there was nothing to be feared for the window; were he to touch it, he would only embellish it.
The Dream
Emile Zola
"It is you, Prince, who embellish everything," I answered him.
The Memoirs of Madame de Montespan, Complete
Madame La Marquise De Montespan
A wife like that and a country-house is all one can wish for to embellish one's life.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola
He was about to embellish this when she nodded with satisfaction.
Louisiana Lou
William West Winter
Everything must be done to embellish the theme or general idea.
The Art of Stage Dancing
Ned Wayburn

British Dictionary definitions for embellish

embellish

verb (tr)

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 ornamentsSee ornament (def. 5)

Derived Formsembellisher, nounembellishment, noun

Word Origin for embellish

C14: from Old French embelir, from bel beautiful, from Latin bellus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for embellish

mid-14c., "to render beautiful," from Old French embelliss-, stem of embellir "make beautiful, ornament," from em- (see en- (1)) + bel "beautiful," from Latin bellus (see bene-). Meaning "dress up (a narration) with fictitious matter" is from mid-15c. Related: Embellished; embellishing.