DECORATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does decorate mean? 

• DECORATE (verb)
  The verb DECORATE has 4 senses:

1. make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.

2. be beautiful to look at

3. award a mark of honor, such as a medal, to

4. provide with decoration

  Familiarity information: DECORATE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DECORATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they decorate    ... he / she / it decorates   
Past simple: decorated   
Past participle: decorated   
-ing form: decorating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

adorn; beautify; decorate; embellish; grace; ornament

Context example:

beautify yourself for the special day

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"):

festoon (decorate with strings of flowers)

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)

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

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)

tart up (decorate in a cheap and flashy way)

wreathe (decorate or deck with wreaths)

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)

stucco (decorate with stucco work)

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 2

Meaning:

Be beautiful to look at

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

adorn; beautify; deck; decorate; embellish; grace

Context example:

Flowers adorned the tables everywhere

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)

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

He was decorated for his services in the military

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:

Provide with decoration

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

decorate; dress

Context example:

dress the windows

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)

 Context examples 

You may now see the chance to move, renovate, repair, or decorate.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Emma had not to listen to such paradings again—to any so exclusively addressed to herself—so disgustingly decorated with a “dear Miss Woodhouse.”

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

The most important characteristic of these nanogels is their ability to be chemically modified or "decorated" with bioactive molecules, scientists say.

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

After synthesis in the ER, lysosomal enzymes are decorated with mannose-6-phosphate residues, which are recognized by mannose-6-phosphate receptors in the trans-Golgi network.

(Lysosome Assembly Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

Only known molecule associated with the striated coat that decorates the inside of caveolar membranes.

(Caveolin 1, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)

It was brought out forward in a wide-margined, beautifully decorated volume that struck the holiday trade and sold like wildfire.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The corridors at Hurlstone have their walls largely decorated with trophies of old weapons.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The fat turkey was a sight to behold, when Hannah sent him up, stuffed, browned, and decorated.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

A few strange, antique portraits of the men and women of other days decorated the stained walls; a cupboard with glass doors contained some books and an ancient set of china.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I was then much surprised and interested on glancing down to observe that, though the boots which she was wearing were not unlike each other, they were really odd ones; the one having a slightly decorated toe-cap, and the other a plain one.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)