embellish
verb /ɪmˈbelɪʃ/
/ɪmˈbelɪʃ/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they embellish | /ɪmˈbelɪʃ/ /ɪmˈbelɪʃ/ |
| he / she / it embellishes | /ɪmˈbelɪʃɪz/ /ɪmˈbelɪʃɪz/ |
| past simple embellished | /ɪmˈbelɪʃt/ /ɪmˈbelɪʃt/ |
| past participle embellished | /ɪmˈbelɪʃt/ /ɪmˈbelɪʃt/ |
| -ing form embellishing | /ɪmˈbelɪʃɪŋ/ /ɪmˈbelɪʃɪŋ/ |
- embellish something to make something more beautiful by adding decoration to it synonym decorate
- The huge carved door was embellished with brass door knockers.
- embellished with gold lettering/golden embroidery/jewellery/precious metal/sweeping chintz curtains
- embellish something to make a story more interesting by adding details that are not always true synonym embroider
- His account of his travels was embellished with details of famous people he met.
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French embelliss-, lengthened stem of embellir, based on bel ‘handsome’, from Latin bellus.