INDEX:
1. to decorate something
2. decorated in a particular way
3. used to decorate something
4. having a lot of decoration
5. someone who decorates
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ PAINT
↑ DESIGN
↑ PATTERN
↑ SIMPLE
◆◆◆
1. to decorate something
▷ decorate /ˈdekəreɪt/ [transitive verb]
to improve the way something looks by painting it or adding something attractive to it :
▪ The children always enjoy decorating the Christmas tree.
decorate something with something
▪ Tom had decorated his room with a series of photos of Naples.
▷ garnish /ˈgɑːʳnɪʃ/ [transitive verb]
to make food look nice or to add taste to it by adding a small amount of another type of food, often of a different colour :
▪ Before serving the pie, add a little parsley to garnish it.
garnish something with something
▪ Garnish the salad with tropical fruits and sautéed wild mushrooms.
▷ tart up /ˌtɑːʳt ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb] British informal
to decorate a place so that it looks bright and new, but often in a way that looks cheap and unpleasant :
tart up something
▪ I don’t like the way they’ve tarted up our office. It looked better the way it was before.
tart something up
▪ ‘The Waggon and Horses’ used to be a really rough pub but now they’ve tarted it up.
2. decorated in a particular way
▷ decorated /ˈdekəreɪtɪd, ˈdekəreɪtəd/ [adjective]
▪ On the table was an ancient book with a decorated cover.
decorated with
▪ The little mirror was decorated with shells and beads.
▪ She wore a wide-brimmed straw hat decorated with colored ribbons.
richly/elaborately decorated
▪ Sabina stood in the centre of an elaborately decorated living room.
▷ be decked out /biː ˌdekt ˈaʊt/ [verb phrase]
to be specially and colourfully decorated, especially for a celebration or party :
be decked out with
▪ The whole street was decked out with flags and streamers to celebrate the wedding.
be decked out for
▪ Behind the door was another table, all decked out for the party.
▷ adorn /əˈdɔːʳn/ [transitive verb] formal
to decorate something in a beautiful or artistic way :
▪ Rings and gems adorned the fingers of both her hands.
adorn something with something
▪ The bridesmaids had adorned their heads with flowers.
be adorned with something
▪ The walls of the church were richly adorned with carvings and pictures.
▷ be festooned with /biː feˈstuːnd wɪð/ [verb phrase]
if a place is festooned with something, it has long chains of flowers, flags, or material hanging all around it, giving a bright and cheerful appearance :
▪ On the day of the festival the streets were festooned with flags and banners.
▷ decor /ˈdeɪkɔːʳǁdeɪˈkɔːr/ [uncountable noun]
the particular way that a room or building is decorated, including all the colours, furniture, pictures etc :
▪ It was a comfortable enough room, but I didn’t like the decor very much.
▪ The hotel’s decor is dark and museum-like.
3. used to decorate something
▷ decorations /ˌdekəˈreɪʃ ə nz/ [plural noun]
things that you use to decorate a place, object, piece of furniture etc especially for a special occasion :
▪ Have you put up your Christmas decorations yet?
▪ The bride’s mother had made all the table decorations.
▷ decoration /ˌdekəˈreɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
designs and patterns used to decorate buildings, clothes, or furniture :
▪ The only decoration in the room was a picture above the fireplace.
▪ The building was very plain with hardly any decoration at all.
for decoration
▪ These plants are grown mainly for decoration.
▷ ornament /ˈɔːʳnəmənt/ [countable noun]
an object, often something fairly small, that is used in a room or house to make it look more attractive :
▪ I bought a new Christmas tree ornament - do you want to see it?
▪ Thieves stole all the silver and gold ornaments from the palace.
▷ garnish /ˈgɑːʳnɪʃ/ [countable noun]
a small amount of food, often of a different colour, that is used to make a dish look nice or to add taste to it :
▪ Serve the fish with a garnish of lemon.
▪ Fresh parsley is often used for garnishes.
▷ decorative /ˈdek ə rətɪvǁˈdek ə rə-, ˈdekəreɪ-/ [adjective]
something that is decorative is intended to make a place, object, piece of furniture etc look attractive - use this especially about designs and patterns :
▪ The poem had been embroidered on a pretty decorative pillow.
purely/highly decorative
▪ Many of the nature books are purely decorative, but a few are very informative.
▷ ornamental /ˌɔːʳnəˈmentl◂/ [adjective usually before noun]
something ornamental, especially in a garden or building, is intended to make a place look more attractive, and usually does not have a useful purpose :
▪ A gardener comes in each week to trim the ornamental trees and bushes.
▪ an ornamental pond
4. having a lot of decoration
▷ fancy /ˈfænsi/ [adjective]
fancy clothes, patterns etc have a lot of decoration or bright colours - use this especially when you think something has too much decoration :
▪ a velvet jacket with fancy buttons
▪ The Web site has a lot of fancy graphics.
▷ ornate /ɔːʳˈneɪt/ [adjective]
an ornate object, picture, or part of a building has a lot of expensive or complicated decoration on it :
▪ A pair of ornate gold candlesticks stood on the altar.
▪ The ornate interior of the opera house was almost overwhelming.
▷ elaborate /ɪˈlæb ə rɪt, ɪˈlæb ə rət/ [adjective]
carefully and skilfully decorated with a lot of small details :
▪ Nick examined the elaborate carvings on the tomb.
▪ Elaborate murals had been painted on three of the four walls.
5. someone who decorates
▷ decorator /ˈdekəreɪtəʳ/ [countable noun] British
someone who paints houses and puts paper on the walls as their job :
▪ We’ve had the decorators in all week.
▪ My uncle Bill’s been a painter and decorator all his life.
▷ interior designer/decorator /ɪnˌtɪ ə riəʳ dɪˈzaɪnəʳ, ˈdekəreɪtəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone whose job is to plan and choose the colours, materials, furniture etc for the inside of people’s houses :
▪ They hired an interior designer to redo the entire office.