əˈdȯ(ə)rn, -ȯ(ə)n transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English adornen, from Middle French adorner, from Latin adornare, from ad- + ornare to furnish, embellish — more at ornate
1.
a. : to make pleasing or attractive
b. : to add to the pleasantness, attractiveness, splendor, or beauty of
a competence … adorned by an unexcelled brilliance of vivid expression — A.H.Johnson
c. : to point up, highlight, or set off to advantage the pleasantness, attractiveness, splendor, or beauty of
the simplicity with which great composers adorn their works — Warwick Braithwaite
2. : to decorate with or as if with external ornamentation
as a bride adorns herself with her jewels — Isa 61:10 (Revised Standard Version)
3. : to deck out or dress up especially with a resultant sham splendor
garish gin palaces that adorn all the suburbs — S.P.B.Mais
Synonyms:
decorate , ornament , embellish , beautify , deck , bedeck , garnish : to adorn signifies to give a certain attractiveness or beauty to (especially to something already quite attractive) by being associated with, physically or otherwise, or by adding something beautiful to
the painters who adorned the Minoan palaces with lovely frescoes — V.G.Childe
her feet, stockingless, and adorned rather than clad in blue-satin slippers — Scott Fitzgerald
To decorate , often interchangeable with adorn , generally implies the adding of something of color or interest to relieve plainness or monotony
the music was brief, gracefully decorated with trills and curlicues — Time
pathways, decorated with ornamental trees and shrubs — Tom Marvel
To ornament implies a decorating by means of something extraneous, as an adjunct or accessory
columns ornament the front entrance — American Guide Series: Maine
To embellish , stressing more the act of an agent than an effect, suggests strongly the adding of superfluous or adventitious ornamental elements
Gothic cathedrals … embellished, both inside and out, with grinning gargoyles — Lytton Strachey
To beautify is to make relatively beautiful, especially by neutralizing, masking, or transforming a certain plainness or ugliness
salt cedars and oleanders have been planted to beautify the highway — American Guide Series: Texas
To deck or bedeck implies the addition of something which contributes to gaiety, interest, splendor, or sometimes gaudiness
deck the halls with boughs of holly
he was as fine as any prince, ablaze with jewels, bedecked with yards of snowy lace and fine embroidery — Frank Yerby
bedecked with cheap finery
To garnish implies a decorating with something small but bright and attractive as a final touch in preparation for use or service
a steak garnished with parsley
the old-fashioned polemical sermon … garnished with quotations in Greek — Van Wyck Brooks