embellishment
Americannoun
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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
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.
But the beauty of this little summer meal is that it doesn’t require much embellishment.
From Salon • Jun. 2, 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
We know embellishment is one of the biggest trends for next spring and summer - with extravagantly textured items also seen across many runways.
From BBC • Dec. 27, 2025
This is war writing at its best, brutally and straightforwardly told because the events and deeds Sledge recounts require no embellishment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 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
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.
