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adorn - 6 dictionary results
a⋅dorn
[uh-dawrn] 
–verb (used with object)
| 1. | to decorate or add beauty to, as by ornaments: garlands of flowers adorning their hair. |
| 2. | to make more pleasing, attractive, impressive, etc.; enhance: Piety adorned Abigail's character. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To adorn
| a·dorn (ə-dôrn') tr.v. a·dorned, a·dorn·ing, a·dorns
[Middle English adornen, from Old French adourner, from Latin adōrnāre : ad-, ad- + ōrnāre, to decorate; see ar- in Indo-European roots.] a·dorn'er n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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.Adorn
A*dorn"\, n. Adornment. [Obs.] --Spenser.Adorn
A*dorn"\, a. Adorned; decorated. [Obs.] --Milton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : adorn
Spanish:
adornar,
German:
schmücken,
Japanese:
飾る
adorn
c.1374, from O.Fr. aourner, from L. adornare "equip, embellish," from ad- "to" + ornare "prepare, furnish, adorn, fit out," from stem of ordo "order" (see order). The -d- was reinserted by Fr. scribes 14c., in Eng. from late 15c. (see ad-).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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