Library / English Dictionary

DECORATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Provide with decoration

Example:

dress the windows

Synonyms:

decorate; dress

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "decorate" is one way to...):

arrange; set up (put into a proper or systematic order)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

decor (decoration consisting of the layout and furnishings of a livable interior)

decoration (the act of decorating something (in the hope of making it more attractive))

decoration (something used to beautify)

decorative (serving an esthetic rather than a useful purpose)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.

Example:

beautify yourself for the special day

Synonyms:

adorn; beautify; decorate; embellish; grace; ornament

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "decorate" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Verb group:

ornament (be an ornament to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "decorate"):

stucco (decorate with stucco work)

redecorate (redo the decoration of an apartment or house)

panel (decorate with panels)

bejewel; jewel (adorn or decorate with precious stones)

filet; fillet (decorate with a lace of geometric designs)

scallop (decorate an edge with scallops)

bedizen (decorate tastelessly)

dress ship (decorate a ship with flags)

dress; garnish; trim (decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods)

trim (decorate, as with ornaments)

bedeck; bedight; deck (decorate)

festoon (decorate with strings of flowers)

enamel (coat, inlay, or surface with enamel)

inlay (decorate the surface of by inserting wood, stone, and metal)

lacquer (coat with lacquer)

begild; engild; gild (decorate with, or as if with, gold leaf or liquid gold)

illuminate (add embellishments and paintings to (medieval manuscripts))

blazon; emblazon (decorate with heraldic arms)

color; colour; emblazon (decorate with colors)

fringe (adorn with a fringe)

fret (decorate with an interlaced design)

landscape (embellish with plants)

wreathe (decorate or deck with wreaths)

beset; encrust; incrust (decorate or cover lavishly (as with gems))

braid (decorate with braids or ribbons)

broider; embroider (decorate with needlework)

stick (cover and decorate with objects that pierce the surface)

illustrate (supply with illustrations)

garland (adorn with bands of flowers or leaves)

fledge; flight (decorate with feathers)

bespangle; spangle (decorate with spangles)

foliate (decorate with leaves)

flag (decorate with flags)

bard; barde; caparison; dress up (put a caparison on)

bead (decorate by sewing beads onto)

pipe (trim with piping)

applique (sew on as a decoration)

gild the lily; paint the lily (adorn unnecessarily (something that is already beautiful))

vermiculate (decorate with wavy or winding lines)

smock (embellish by sewing in straight lines crossing each other diagonally)

hang (decorate or furnish with something suspended)

prank (dress or decorate showily or gaudily)

tinsel (adorn with tinsel)

tart up (decorate in a cheap and flashy way)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

decor (decoration consisting of the layout and furnishings of a livable interior)

decoration (the act of decorating something (in the hope of making it more attractive))

decoration (something used to beautify)

decorative (serving an esthetic rather than a useful purpose)

decorator (someone who decorates)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Award a mark of honor, such as a medal, to

Example:

He was decorated for his services in the military

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "decorate" is one way to...):

honor; honour; reward (bestow honor or rewards upon)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

decoration (an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be beautiful to look at

Example:

Flowers adorned the tables everywhere

Synonyms:

adorn; beautify; deck; decorate; embellish; grace

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "decorate" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "decorate"):

ornament (be an ornament to)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

decoration (the act of decorating something (in the hope of making it more attractive))

decoration (something used to beautify)

decorative (serving an esthetic rather than a useful purpose)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Inside they were warm and dry, running in straight passages of varying length into the side of the hill, with smooth gray walls decorated with many excellent pictures done with charred sticks and representing the various animals of the plateau.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Some former denizen of the cabin had decorated its walls with illustrations torn from magazines and newspapers, and it was these illustrations that had held Sitka Charley's attention from the moment of our arrival two hours before.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The latter and I would have gone out to fly the great kite; but that I had still no other clothes than the anything but ornamental garments with which I had been decorated on the first day, and which confined me to the house, except for an hour after dark, when my aunt, for my health's sake, paraded me up and down on the cliff outside, before going to bed.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A few rich settles and bancals, choicely carved and decorated with glazed leather hangings of the sort termed or basane, completed the furniture of the apartment, save that at one side of the dais there stood a lofty perch, upon which a cast of three solemn Prussian gerfalcons sat, hooded and jesseled, as silent and motionless as the royal fowler who stood beside them.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

If you are working on a home decorating project this year, you will enjoy the results very much.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

These modifications give the decorated nanogels diverse physical and chemical properties.

(Novel nanogels hold promise for improved drug delivery to cancer patients, National Science Foundation)

You should have seen the dining-room that day—how richly it was decorated, how brilliantly lit up!

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The commander in chief and his aides soon spread the tablecloth with an inviting array of eatables and drinkables, prettily decorated with green leaves.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Looking at your chart, you seem to be interested in focusing more on your home, either to repair, paint, or decorate or have a gathering there.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

You might be moving, renovating or decorating your home, or having new furniture delivered, as a few examples of many possibilities.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)