embellish

embellish
embellish mid-14c., "to render beautiful," from O.Fr. embelliss-, stem of embellir "make beautiful, ornament," from em- (see EN- (Cf. en-) (1)) + bel "beautiful," from L. bellus (see BENE- (Cf. bene-)). Meaning "dress up (a narration) with fictitious matter" is from mid-15c. Related: Embellished; embellishing.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Embellish — Em*bel lish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Embellished}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Embellishing}.] [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;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • embellish — I verb add details, adorn, array, beautify, bedeck, bedizen, bejewel, beribbon, bespangle, better, blazon, chase, dandify, deck, decorare, decorate, dizen, dress up, elaborate, emblazon, emboss, embroider, encrust, enhance, enrich, exornare, fix… …   Law dictionary

  • embellish — beautify, deck, bedeck, garnish, *adorn, decorate, ornament Analogous words: enhance, heighten, intensify: apparel, array (see CLOTHE) Contrasted words: denude, *strip, bare, divest …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • embellish — [v] make beautiful; decorate add bells and whistles*, adorn, amplify, array, beautify, bedeck, color, deck, dress up*, elaborate, emblaze, embroider, enhance, enrich, exaggerate, festoon, fix up*, fudge*, garnish, gild, give details, grace, gussy …   New thesaurus

  • embellish — ► VERB 1) make more attractive; decorate. 2) add extra details to (a story or account) for interest. DERIVATIVES embellisher noun embellishment noun. ORIGIN Old French embellir, from bel handsome …   English terms dictionary

  • embellish — [em bel′ish, imbel′ish] vt. [ME embelishen < extended stem of OFr embellir < em (L in) + bel < L bellus, beautiful] 1. to decorate or improve by adding detail; ornament; adorn 2. to add grace notes, syncopated accents, trills, etc. to (a …   English World dictionary

  • embellish — [[t]ɪmbe̱lɪʃ[/t]] embellishes, embellishing, embellished 1) VERB If something is embellished with decorative features or patterns, it has those features or patterns on it and they make it look more attractive. [be V ed with n] The stern was… …   English dictionary

  • embellish — UK [ɪmˈbelɪʃ] / US verb [intransitive/transitive] Word forms embellish : present tense I/you/we/they embellish he/she/it embellishes present participle embellishing past tense embellished past participle embellished 1) to make a story more… …   English dictionary

  • embellish — verb /ɪmˈbɛlɪʃ/ a) To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate. The old book cover was embellished with golden letters b) To make something sound or look better or more acceptable than it is in reality, to dist …   Wiktionary

  • embellish — verb Embellish is used with these nouns as the object: ↑story …   Collocations dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”