embellish

• POS: Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: em=bel=lish

CIDE DICTIONARY

embellish, v. t. [OE. embelisen, embelisshen, F. embellir; pref. em- (L. in) + bel, beau, beautiful. See Beauty.].

 To make beautiful or elegant by ornaments; to decorate; to adorn; as, to embellish a book with pictures, a garden with shrubs and flowers, a narrative with striking anecdotes, or style with metaphors.

Syn. -- To adorn; beautify; deck; bedeck; decorate; garnish; enrich; ornament; illustrate. See Adorn.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

embellish, v.tr.
1 beautify, adorn.
2 add interest to (a narrative) with fictitious additions.

Derivative

embellisher n. embellishment n.

Etymology

ME f. OF embellir (as EN-(1), bel handsome f. L bellus)

THESAURUS

embellish

adorn, apparel, array, beautify, bedeck, bedizen, belie, blazon, camouflage, caparison, color, convolute, cultivate, dandify, deck, deck out, decorate, develop, disguise, distort, dizen, doll up, dress, dress up, elaborate, emblazon, embroider, enhance, enrich, evolve, exaggerate, falsify, festoon, fig out, finish, fix up, flourish, fudge, furbish, furbish up, garble, garnish, gild, gild the lily, gloss, gloss over, grace, gussy up, improve, involve, load with ornament, magnify, mask, mature, miscite, miscolor, misquote, misreport, misrepresent, misstate, ornament, overcharge, overdo, overdraw, overlay, overload, overpaint, overstate, pad, paint, perfect, pervert, polish, prank, prank up, preen, prettify, primp, primp up, prink, prink up, redecorate, redo, refine, refurbish, ripen, season, set off, set out, slant, smarten, smarten up, spruce up, strain, titivate, trick out, trick up, trim, twist, understate, varnish, warp, whitewash

ROGET THESAURUS

embellish

Ornament

VB ornament, overlay with ornament, overcharge, smell of the lamp, ornament, embellish, enrich, decorate, adorn, bead, beautify, adonize, smarten, furbish, polish, gild, varnish, whitewash, enamel, japan, lacquer, paint, grain, garnish, trim, dizen, bedizen, prink, prank, trick out, fig out, deck, bedeck, dight, bedight, array, begawd, titivate, dress, dress up, spangle, bespangle, powder, embroider, work, chase, emboss, fret, emblazon, illuminate, illustrate, become.