furnish

verb

fur·​nish ˈfər-nish 

furnished; furnishing; furnishes

transitive verb

1

: to provide with what is needed

especially : to equip with furniture

The inn is beautifully furnished.

2

: supply, give

furnished food and shelter for the refugees

furnisher noun

Synonyms

• accoutre
• accouter
• equip
• fit (out)
• gird
• kit (up or out) [chiefly British]
• outfit
• provision
• rig
• supply

Choose the Right Synonym for furnish

furnish, equip, outfit, appoint, accoutre mean to supply one with what is needed.

furnish implies the provision of any or all essentials for performing a function.

a sparsely furnished apartment

equip suggests the provision of something making for efficiency in action or use.

a fully equipped kitchen

outfit implies provision of a complete list or set of articles as for a journey, an expedition, or a special occupation.

outfitted the family for a ski trip

appoint implies provision of complete and usually elegant or elaborate equipment or furnishings.

a lavishly appointed apartment

accoutre suggests the supplying of personal dress or equipment for a special activity.

fully accoutred members of a polar expedition

Examples of furnish in a Sentence

The inn is beautifully furnished.

He has enough money to furnish the apartment nicely.

We'll furnish the food for the party.

Can he furnish the information to us?

Recent Examples on the Web

The development was completed in just 132 working days, from the initial site preparation to the handover of keys to the client, a local council which will finish furnishing the homes and rent them to social housing tenants at an affordable price. —Adam Williams, New Atlas, 22 Jan. 2025

Each unit has floor-to-ceiling windows and furnished private terraces that take advantage of the panoramic views. —Irene S. Levine, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025

And furnishing that affordable house could be a design lover’s dream, considering one of the local furniture companies is Herman Miller. —Amelia Mularz, Architectural Digest, 17 Jan. 2025

Adventist Health has also provided 10 apartments for people who have evacuated from their homes, furnished by the disaster relief nonprofit World Vision. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English furnisshen, from Anglo-French furniss-, stem of furnir, fournir to complete, equip, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German frummen to further, fruma advantage — more at foremost

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

furnish

verb

fur·​nish ˈfər-nish 

1

: to provide with what is needed

the cave furnished us with shelter

especially : to provide with furniture

furnish an apartment

2

: to supply or give to someone or something

we'll furnish the food for the guests

furnisher noun