embellishment
Americannoun
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embellishments
plural
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an ornament or decoration.
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a fictitious addition, as to a factual statement.
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Music.
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the act of embellishing.
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state of being embellished.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of embellishment
Explanation
Does your cupcake have chocolate icing on top, plus chocolate sprinkles AND a swirl of white chocolate? If so, that swirl of white chocolate is considered an embellishment — an unnecessary decorative detail designed purely to attract you. Also, can we have a bite? Anything can have an embellishment, not just a cupcake; a building can have an unnecessary decorative element, and so can an explanation or a story. There is often a sense of deception implied by the word: it may be a harmless swirl of white chocolate but it can also be a detail designed to fool someone. Real estate agents are experts at adding embellishments to their descriptions of properties that may not be entirely true. Watch out for embellishments.
Vocabulary lists containing embellishment
Just Mercy
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
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The Night Circus
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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.
See Examples For:
Most notably, the display of military trophies that decorates the back wall was entirely Trumbull’s own embellishment, as he himself said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
Her prose has an apt amount of literary embellishment: Jaguars are “light-footed dancers” and a snake bulges “like Saint-Exupéry’s hat.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
The embellishment was so far-fetched, its chances of being believed were less than a wing and a prayer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
Abdullah recounts what he saw plainly, without embellishment.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2025
Ralph Myers's story of the crime was pretty far-fetched; his knack for dramatic embellishment made even the most basic allegations unnecessarily complicated.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
It’s where I spend the most time, too, brainstorming stretch meals and challenging myself to piece together a culinary puzzle of shelf-stable ingredients and other embellishments.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
He has added gold trim to the crown molding, smothered the walls with gold-framed artworks and gold-painted embellishments, placed inch-thick gold coasters on the desk, and lined up gold urns on the mantel.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
When the 12 Vuori students got to making garments for the first fitting, they went all out: heavy embellishments, oversize collars, extra pockets.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
Alan Cumming was the host with the most, certainly when it came to hair embellishments and his sparkling brooch.
From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2026
Mom’s embellishments and half-truths usually equip her to tell a good story, though.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
