Meanings
decorate1
present singular third person decorates · participle present decorating · participle past decorated · past decorated
- ambitransitiveBy putting paint or wallpaper on the walls.To improve the appearance of an interior of, as a house, room, or office.
There's some paint left over from when we decorated the guest bedroom.
1 more example
We moved in over a month ago but we still haven't gotten started on decorating.
- ambitransitiveBy adding adornments to the interior space.To improve the appearance of an interior of, as a house, room, or office.
People tend to decorate for the holidays or special events.
- transitiveTo honor by providing a medal, ribbon, or other adornment.
He was decorated for his service in three wars.
decorate2
comparative more decorate · superlative most decorate
Synonyms & antonyms
verbmake more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
decorate · verb
- Latindecorātus
- Middle Englishdecorat“adorned”
- Englishdecorate
From Middle English decorat (“adorned”), from Latin decorātus, perfect passive participle of decorō (“to adorn, distinguish, honor”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from decus (“ornament, grace, dignity, honor”, decor- in compounds), akin to decor (“elegance, grace, beauty, ornament”), from decet (“adorn, befit”).
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →decorate · adjective
- Middle Englishdecorat“decorated, adorned”
- Englishdecorate
From Middle English decorat (“decorated, adorned”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Originally also used as the past participle of decorate; compare generate or communicate.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian украсявам, декорирам
- украсявам (ukrasjavam)to furnish with decorations
- декорирам (dekoriram)to furnish with decorations
- ремонтирам (remontiram)to improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
- реновирам (renoviram)to improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
Catalan decorar
- decorarto furnish with decorations
Chinese Mandarin 裝飾 /装饰, 布置
- 裝飾 /装饰 (zhuāngshì)to furnish with decorations
- 布置 (bùzhì)to furnish with decorations
Czech zdobit, zdobit
- zdobitto furnish with decorations
- zdobitto improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
Dutch sieren, opsmukken
- sierento furnish with decorations
- opsmukkento furnish with decorations
- decorerento furnish with decorations
Esperanto ornami, dekori
- ornamito furnish with decorations
- dekorito furnish with decorations
Finnish somistaa, koristella
- somistaato furnish with decorations
- koristellato furnish with decorations
- koristaato furnish with decorations
- somistaato improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
French décorer, orner
- décorerto furnish with decorations
- ornerto furnish with decorations
- décorerto improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
German ausschmücken, dekorieren
- ausschmückento furnish with decorations
- dekorierento furnish with decorations
- tapezierento improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
- streichento improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
- ausschmückento improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
Greek διακοσμώ, παρασημοφορώ
- διακοσμώ (diakosmó)to furnish with decorations
- παρασημοφορώ (parasimoforó)to honour by providing a medal, ribbon, or other adornment
Hebrew עיטר, קישט
- עיטר (itér)to furnish with decorations
- קישט (kishét)to furnish with decorations
- עיטר (itér)to improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
- קישט (kishét)to improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
Hindi सजाना
- सजाना (sajānā)to furnish with decorations
Hungarian díszít, feldíszít
- díszítto furnish with decorations
- feldíszítto furnish with decorations
- dekorálto furnish with decorations
Irish maisigh
- maisighto furnish with decorations
Italian decorare
- decorareto furnish with decorations
Japanese 飾る, 装飾する
- 飾る (kazaru)to furnish with decorations
- 装飾する (sōshoku-suru)to furnish with decorations
- 模様替えをする (moyōgae o suru)to improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
Korean 꾸미다
- 꾸미다 (kkumida)to furnish with decorations
Latin decorō, cōmō
- decorōto furnish with decorations
- cōmōto furnish with decorations
Māori whakarārakei, nakonako
- whakarārakeito furnish with decorations
- nakonakoto furnish with decorations
- whakarārakeito improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
- nakonakoto improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
Norwegian Bokmål dekorere, innrede
- dekorereto furnish with decorations
- innredeto improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
Persian آراستن, زینت کردن
- آراستن (ârâstan)to furnish with decorations
- زینت کردن (zinat kardan)to furnish with decorations
- آراستن (ârâstan)to improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
Polish dekorować, zdobić
- dekorowaćto furnish with decorations
- zdobićto furnish with decorations
Portuguese decorar, decorar
- decorarto furnish with decorations
- decorarto improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
Romanian decora, orna
- decorato furnish with decorations
- ornato furnish with decorations
Russian украша́ть, укра́сить
- украша́ть (ukrašátʹ)to furnish with decorations
- укра́сить (ukrásitʹ)to furnish with decorations
- декори́ровать (dekorírovatʹ)to furnish with decorations
Scottish Gaelic sgeadaich, sgeadaich
- sgeadaichto furnish with decorations
- sgeadaichto improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
Spanish decorar, engalanar
- decorarto furnish with decorations
- engalanarto furnish with decorations
Swedish dekorera, inreda
- dekorerato furnish with decorations
- inredato improve the appearance of a house, room, office and so forth
Vietnamese trang trí
- trang tríto furnish with decorations
Cite this entry
decorate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decorate
“decorate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decorate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “decorate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decorate.
Source: decorate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.