verb
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to improve or beautify by adding detail or ornament; adorn
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to make (a story) more interesting by adding detail
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to provide (a melody, part, etc) with ornaments See ornament
Other Word Forms
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
Explanation
The word "bell" shows up in the middle of embellish, and bells are something that decorate, or embellish something, making it more attractive. If you embellish speech, though, it can get ugly if you add a lot of details that aren't true. Embellish often has the positive meaning of adding something to make it more handsome or beautifully decorated. But, while adding bells to something looks great at first, after a couple of hours of bells ringing in the ears, what was meant to embellish and beautify can get annoying. That's what can happen when you embellish by adding too many false or exaggerated details to a story. Embellishing with true, colorful details and vivid descriptions is what can really enhance the beauty of a story.
Vocabulary lists containing embellish
List 5
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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The Fault in Our Stars
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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.
The 48-year-old American has long been a controversial figure, often criticized for an overly defensive style, and accused by some of dodging the most dangerous opponents simply to embellish his record.
From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026
Along with the 13 who told the BBC they were pressured to embellish their evidence or lie, that means the evidence of 15 key prosecution witnesses has now been discredited or undermined.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026
So when you can take something that’s actually happened to them and have that be the seed of a story and embellish on that, I think people create really interesting projects.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2024
But as Kaufman read on, he noticed Audubon’s penchant not just to embellish, but to make up tales from whole cloth.
From New York Times • May 8, 2024
“I was always encouraged to embellish my flower painting with caterpillars, summer birds and such little animals, in the same manner as landscape painters do, to enliven the one through the other.”
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
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.
