decorate

verb

dec·​o·​rate ˈde-kə-ˌrāt 

decorated; decorating

transitive verb

1

: to add honor to

decorated commerce with the splendid virtues of honor and loyalty

—Geoffrey Household

2

: to furnish with something ornamental

decorate a room with artwork

decorating the Christmas tree

3

: to award a mark of honor to

a soldier decorated for valor

highly decorated war veterans

intransitive verb

: to furnish something with ornamentation

decorating for the party

Synonyms

• adorn
• array
• beautify
• bedeck
• bedizen
• blazon
• caparison
• deck
• do
• doll up
• do up
• drape
• dress
• embellish
• emblaze
• emboss
• enrich
• fancify
• fancy up
• festoon
• garnish
• glitz (up)
• grace
• gussy up
• ornament
• pretty (up)
• trim

Choose the Right Synonym for decorate

adorn, decorate, ornament, embellish, beautify, deck, garnish mean to enhance the appearance of something by adding something unessential.

adorn implies an enhancing by something beautiful in itself.

a diamond necklace adorned her neck

decorate suggests relieving plainness or monotony by adding beauty of color or design.

decorate a birthday cake

ornament and embellish imply the adding of something extraneous, ornament stressing the heightening or setting off of the original

a white house ornamented with green shutters

, embellish often stressing the adding of superfluous or adventitious ornament.

embellish a page with floral borders

beautify adds to embellish a suggestion of counterbalancing plainness or ugliness.

will beautify the grounds with flower beds

deck implies the addition of something that contributes to gaiety, splendor, or showiness.

a house all decked out for Christmas

garnish suggests decorating with a small final touch and is used especially in referring to the serving of food.

an entrée garnished with parsley

Examples of decorate in a Sentence

I always enjoy decorating the Christmas tree.

I decorated my apartment in dark colors.

Recent Examples on the Web

For their cake, the couple opted for an apple cinnamon sponge confection with peach jam and mascarpone filling, and cognac tonka bean buttercream decorated with seasonal flowers by Aimee France. —Elise Taylor, Vogue, 17 Jan. 2025

Mack’s keys, attached to a fob decorated with her daughters’ photographs, dangled from the inside lock. —Michael Gordon, Charlotte Observer, 17 Jan. 2025

Both stand on rounded heels and are decorated with tonal embroidery based on designs sketched by James. —Eric Twardzik, Robb Report, 17 Jan. 2025

Pompeii: a dining room decorated with characters and subjects inspired by the Trojan war has emerged from the new excavations BBC News. —Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 17 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin decoratus, past participle of decorare, from decor-, decus ornament, honor — more at decent

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

decorate

verb

dec·​o·​rate ˈdek-ə-ˌrāt 

decorated; decorating

1

: to make more attractive by adding something that is beautiful or becoming

decorate a room

2

: to award a decoration of honor to

decorate a soldier for bravery