Adjacent Words

Adorn definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ADORN', v.t. [L. adorno, ad and orno, to deck, or beautify, to dress, set off, extol, furnish.
1. To deck or decorate; to make beautiful; to add to beauty by dress; to deck with external ornaments.
A bride adorneth, herself with jewels. Isaiah 6.
To set off to advantage; to add ornaments to; to embellish by any thing external or adventitious; as, to adorn a speech by appropriate action, sentiments with elegance of language, or a gallery with pictures.
3. To make pleasing, or more pleasing; as, great abilities adorned by virtue or affability.
4. To display the beauty or excellence of; as, to adorn the doctrine of God. Titus 2.
ADORN', n. Ornament. Obs.
ADORN', a. Adorned; decorated. Obs.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.; "Decorate the room for the party"; "beautify yourself for the special day" [syn: decorate, adorn, grace, ornament, embellish, beautify]
2: be beautiful to look at; "Flowers adorned the tables everywhere" [syn: deck, adorn, decorate, grace, embellish, beautify]
3: furnish with power or authority; of kings or emperors [syn: invest, clothe, adorn]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Latin adornare, from ad- + ornare to furnish — more at ornate Date: 14th century 1. to enhance the appearance of especially with beautiful objects 2. to enliven or decorate as if with ornaments <people of fashion who adorned the Court> Synonyms: 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>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 add beauty or lustre to; be an ornament to. 2 furnish with ornaments; decorate. Derivatives: adornment n. Etymology: ME f. OF ao(u)rner f. L adornare (as AD-, ornare furnish, deck)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Adorn A*dorn", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Adorned; p. pr. & vb. n. Adorning.] [OE. aournen, anournen, adornen, OF. aorner, fr. L. aaornare; ad + ornare to furnish, embellish. See Adore, Ornate.] To deck or dress with ornaments; to embellish; to set off to advantage; to render pleasing or attractive. As a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. --Isa. lxi. 10. At church, with meek and unaffected grace, His looks adorned the venerable place. --Goldsmith. Syn: To deck; decorate; embellish; ornament; beautify; grace; dignify; exalt; honor. Usage: To Adorn, Ornament, Decorate, Embellish. We decorate and ornament by putting on some adjunct which is attractive or beautiful, and which serves to heighten the general effect. Thus, a lady's head-dress may be ornament or decorated with flowers or jewelry; a hall may be decorated or ornament with carving or gilding, with wreaths of flowers, or with hangings. Ornament is used in a wider sense than decorate. To embellish is to beautify or ornament richly, not so much by mere additions or details as by modifying the thing itself as a whole. It sometimes means gaudy and artificial decoration. We embellish a book with rich engravings; a style is embellished with rich and beautiful imagery; a shopkeeper embellishes his front window to attract attention. Adorn is sometimes identical with decorate, as when we say, a lady was adorned with jewels. In other cases, it seems to imply something more. Thus, we speak of a gallery of paintings as adorned with the works of some of the great masters, or adorned with noble statuary and columns. Here decorated and ornamented would hardly be appropriate. There is a value in these works of genius beyond mere show and ornament. Adorn may be used of what is purely moral; as, a character adorned with every Christian grace. Here neither decorate, nor ornament, nor embellish is proper.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Adorn A*dorn", n. Adornment. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Adorn A*dorn", a. Adorned; decorated. [Obs.] --Milton.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(adorns, adorning, adorned) If something adorns a place or an object, it makes it look more beautiful. His watercolour designs adorn a wide range of books... = decorate VERB: V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a-dorn' (kosmeo): Has as its primary meaning "to arrange," "to put In order," "to decorate." It is used with reference to the manner in which Christian women were urged to dress. This was a vital question in the early church, and both Paul and Peter give advice on the subject (1Ti 2:9; 1Pe 3:3).

See DRESS.

Figurative: In Mt 12:44 the King James Version the word is translated "garnish" and is used in a figurative sense. It describes accurately the condition of the Jewish nation. Even though they have swept out idolatry and have adorned the life with much ceremony and endless religious prescriptions yet the evil spirit can say, "I will return to my house." This same thing has repeatedly been done by individuals and nations when reforms have been instituted, but Christ was not enthroned and the heart or nation was still dominated by evil. It is used also in a figurative sense with reference to the graces of the Christian life. When we remember how very highly Orientals esteem the adornment of the body, its use here becomes very forceful. It is this that makes Ps 45:13 of special significance as to the beauty and glory of the church as she is presented to God. See also Pr 1:9; 4:9; Isa 61:10; 1Pe 3:4,5. Consecration to God, the indwelling of His Spirit, righteousness, a meek and quiet spirit--these are the true adornments of the life. All these passages carry with them the idea of joy, the satisfaction that should be ours in these possessions.

Jacob W. Kapp

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Embellish, decorate, enrich, beautify, ornament, deck, bedeck, emblazon, set, beset, set round, stick, bestick, stud, bestud, gild, trim, betrim, grace, crown, garnish, array, set out, set off, varnish, bedizen, trick out, dress out, dress up, dress.

Moby Thesaurus

array, beautify, become one, bedeck, bedizen, bestow honor upon, blazon, color, confer distinction on, convolute, dandify, deck, deck out, decorate, dignify, distinguish, dizen, doll up, dress, dress up, elaborate, embellish, emblazon, embroider, enhance, enrich, fancy up, festoon, fig out, fix up, flourish, furbish, garnish, gild, glamorize, grace, gussy up, heighten, honor, intensify, involve, load with ornament, ornament, overcharge, overlay, overload, paint, prank, prank up, preen, prettify, pretty up, primp, primp up, prink, prink up, redecorate, redo, refurbish, set off, set out, signalize, smarten, smarten up, spruce up, titivate, trick out, trick up, trim, varnish