embellishment

[ em-bel-ish-muhnt ]

/ ɛmˈbɛl ɪʃ mənt /

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See synonyms for: embellishment / embellishments on Thesaurus.com

noun

an ornament or decoration.

a fictitious addition, as to a factual statement.

Music.

the act of embellishing.

state of being embellished.

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Origin of embellishment

First recorded in 1615–25; embellish + -ment

OTHER WORDS FROM embellishment

non·em·bel·lish·ment, nouno·ver·em·bel·lish·ment, noun

Words nearby embellishment

embedded, embedded microchips, embedding, embelin, embellish, embellishment, ember, Ember day, Ember days, ember goose, emberizine

How to use embellishment in a sentence

Some barely provide any protection at all, while others overpower the Apple Watch’s understated design with overly gaudy embellishments.
The best Apple Watch case to protect the computer on your wrist|Stan Horaczek|August 23, 2021|Popular-Science
Her writing style as a lower-court judge was explanatory, and with little rhetorical embellishment.
In Amy Coney Barrett’s first signed majority opinion, Supreme Court sides with government over environmentalists|Robert Barnes|March 4, 2021|Washington Post
At the same time, he artfully exploits the power of simplicity by letting the imagery speak for itself, without embellishment.
Firth, Tucci face tragedy with restraint in ‘Supernova’|John Paul King|January 26, 2021|Washington Blade
In 2020, designing wasn’t about styling or embellishment but about coming up with down and dirty solutions.
2020 is the year when the public learned how vital design is for survival|Anne Quito|December 23, 2020|Quartz

It was similar to the way a pianist plays chords with the left hand, while using the right hand to play the melody and improvised embellishments.
Candido Camero, ‘father of modern conga drumming,’ dies at 99|Matt Schudel|November 12, 2020|Washington Post
She veers towards the avant-garde, using metal-powder deformed silicone piercings as textural embellishment and digital printers.
The New Queens of Haute Couture|Sarah Moroz|January 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The following looks—everything from eveningwear to denim jeans—dripped and dazzled with embellishment.
Marc Jacobs Leaves Louis Vuitton After 16 Years|Alice Cavanagh|October 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Sets start at $1,500 and top out at about $6,000, depending on the level of embellishment.
Lingerie for the 1 Percent|CNBC|August 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Soon they jolted the audience to attention with black trousers dripping in metallic embellishment—like high-end punk rockers.
Raf’s Ready-to-Wear Debut at Dior|Robin Givhan|September 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
With the embellishment stripped bare, the diaries present a nastier, more easily irritated side of the man.
Orwell’s Lies: His Diaries Reveal Problems with the Truth|Jimmy So|August 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
For the embellishment of this city, many Toltecs are said to have been called in from various towns, by the orders of Quinantzin.
The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 5|Hubert Howe Bancroft
Heaven forfend that change in any shape, whether of embellishment or of decay, should fall upon that cottage!
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. VII, December 1850, Vol. II|Various
Archelaus, king of Macedon, made use of Zeuxiss pencil for the embellishment of his palace.
The Book of Curiosities|I. Platts
But the question arises, whether this is an historical land-mark, or a poetical embellishment?
Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, Vol. 1 of 3|W. E. Gladstone
The question will, of course, remain—In what proportions has he mixed history with imaginative embellishment?
Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, Vol. 1 of 3|W. E. Gladstone