adorn

A1D2O1R1N1
US/əˈdɔɹn/UK/əˈdɔː(ɹ)n/

verb

To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate.

“a man adorned with noble statuary and columns”

Similar
beautifybedeckdecoratedeckgraceornamentprettifyadore
OriginMiddle English adornen ← Latin adōrnāre →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

verbadorn (third-person singular simple present adorns, present participle adorning, simple past and past participle adorned)

present singular third person adorns · participle present adorning · participle past adorned · past adorned

  1. To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate.

    a man adorned with noble statuary and columns

    5 more examples

    a character adorned with every Christian grace

    A gallery of paintings was adorned with the works of some of the great masters.

    as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 61:10

    At church, with meek and unaffected grace, / His looks adorned the venerable place; / Truth from his lips prevailed with double ſway, / And fools, who came to ſcoff, remained to pray.

    1770, [Oliver] Goldsmith, The Deserted Village, a Poem, London: […] W[illiam] Griffin, […], →OCLC, page 10

    Durable, water-resistant and easy to clean, tiles have adorned Persian mosques, Moorish palaces and the parlors of Dutch burgers.

    1980, Robert M. Jones, editor, Walls and Ceilings, Time-Life Books, →ISBN, page 38

    Synonyms: beautify, bedeck, decorate, deck, grace, ornament, prettify, adore

noun
  1. obsoleteadornment

    Her brest all naked, as nett yvory Without adorne of gold or silver bright

    1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
adjective
  1. obsoleteadorned; ornate

    And to realities yield all her shows: Made so adorn for thy delight the more

    1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate.

Similar
beautifybedeckdecoratedeckgraceornamentprettifyadoreapparelarrayinvestdetailbeautifybedeckbetrimcommenddecoratedecoredeck

More synonyms by meaning

verbmake more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.

Similar
decorategraceornamentembellishbeautify
Broader
changealtermodify

verbbe beautiful to look at

Similar
deckdecorategraceembellishbeautify
Broader
existbe

verbfurnish with power or authority; of kings or emperors

Similar
investclothe
Broader
equipfitfit out
Also see
adoreapparelbeautifybetrimclothecommenddeckdeck outdecoratedignifydubembellishenrichgraceinvestmangonizeornamenttrick out

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinadōrnāre
  2. Middle Englishadornen
  3. Englishadorn

From Middle English adornen, adournen, from Latin adōrnāre; from ad- + ōrnō (“furnish, embellish”). See adore, ornate. Replaced earlier Middle English aournen (“to adorn”) borrowed from Old French aorner, from the same Latin source.

More words from Middle English, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek κοσμέω, δαιδάλλω
  • κοσμέω (kosméō)to make more beautiful and attractive
  • δαιδάλλω (daidállō)to make more beautiful and attractive
Arabic زَيَّنَ, زَخْرَفَ
  • زَيَّنَ (zayyana)to make more beautiful and attractive
  • زَخْرَفَ (zaḵrafa)to make more beautiful and attractive
Bulgarian украсявам, окичвам
  • украсявам (ukrasjavam)to make more beautiful and attractive
  • окичвам (okičvam)to make more beautiful and attractive
Chinese Mandarin 点缀, 修饰
  • 点缀 (diǎnzhuì)to make more beautiful and attractive
  • 修饰 (xiūshì)to make more beautiful and attractive
Czech zdobit
  • zdobitto make more beautiful and attractive
Danish pryde, udsmykke
  • prydeto make more beautiful and attractive
  • udsmykketo make more beautiful and attractive
  • smykketo make more beautiful and attractive
Dutch sieren
  • sierento make more beautiful and attractive
Esperanto ornami
  • ornamito make more beautiful and attractive
Finnish komistaa, koristaa
  • komistaato make more beautiful and attractive
  • koristaato make more beautiful and attractive
  • koristellato make more beautiful and attractive
French décorer, orner
  • décorerto make more beautiful and attractive
  • ornerto make more beautiful and attractive
  • parerto make more beautiful and attractive
German schmücken, zieren
  • schmückento make more beautiful and attractive
  • zierento make more beautiful and attractive
  • verzierento make more beautiful and attractive
Greek διακοσμώ
  • διακοσμώ (diakosmó)to make more beautiful and attractive
Hebrew עיטר, קישט
  • עיטר (itér)to make more beautiful and attractive
  • קישט (kishét)to make more beautiful and attractive
Italian adornare, ornare
  • adornareto make more beautiful and attractive
  • ornareto make more beautiful and attractive
  • fregiareto make more beautiful and attractive
  • abbellireto make more beautiful and attractive
  • contornareto make more beautiful and attractive
  • decorareto make more beautiful and attractive
  • imbellettareto make more beautiful and attractive
Japanese 飾る
  • 飾る (kazaru)to make more beautiful and attractive
Korean 꾸미다
  • 꾸미다 (kkumida)to make more beautiful and attractive
Latin adōrnō, como
  • adōrnōto make more beautiful and attractive
  • comoto make more beautiful and attractive
Māori rākai, rākei
  • rākaito make more beautiful and attractive
  • rākeito make more beautiful and attractive
Persian آراستن, پیراستن
  • آراستنto make more beautiful and attractive
  • پیراستنto make more beautiful and attractive
Polish dekorować, ozdabiać
  • dekorowaćto make more beautiful and attractive
  • ozdabiaćto make more beautiful and attractive
  • adornowaćto make more beautiful and attractive
Portuguese enfeitar, adornar
  • enfeitarto make more beautiful and attractive
  • adornarto make more beautiful and attractive
  • decorarto make more beautiful and attractive
Romanian decora, ornamenta
  • decorato make more beautiful and attractive
  • ornamentato make more beautiful and attractive
  • înfrumusețato make more beautiful and attractive
  • împodobito make more beautiful and attractive
  • ornato make more beautiful and attractive
Russian украша́ть, укра́сить
  • украша́ть (ukrašátʹ)to make more beautiful and attractive
  • укра́сить (ukrásitʹ)to make more beautiful and attractive
Scottish Gaelic sgeadaich
  • sgeadaichto make more beautiful and attractive
Spanish adornar, ornar
  • adornarto make more beautiful and attractive
  • ornarto make more beautiful and attractive
  • engalanarto make more beautiful and attractive
  • enchularto make more beautiful and attractive
Swedish pryda, smycka
  • prydato make more beautiful and attractive
  • smyckato make more beautiful and attractive

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with adorn

pornborncornwornwarntornborneswornbournethornhorneunbornrebornmournscornmornforlornfreebornpeppercornWestbourneshornlornmourneleghorn
All rhymes →

Anagrams

radonDoranRondaandroDaronandorrandoNardoDornaNadorDonarArdonDrona
Cite this entry
APA

adorn. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adorn

MLA

“adorn.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adorn. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “adorn,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adorn.

Source: adorn on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.