over embellish
ɪʃ verb (used with object)
1.
to beautify by or as if by ornamentation; ornament; adorn.
2.
to enhance (a statement or narrative) with fictitious additions.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English embelisshen < Anglo-French, Middle French embeliss- (stem of embelir), equivalent to em- em-1 + bel- (< Latin bellus pretty) + -iss- -ish2
1300–50; Middle English embelisshen < Anglo-French, Middle French embeliss- (stem of embelir), equivalent to em- em-1 + bel- (< Latin bellus pretty) + -iss- -ish2
Related forms
em·bel·lish·er, noun
non·em·bel·lished, adjective
non·em·bel·lish·ing, adjective
o·ver·em·bel·lish, verb (used with object)
re·em·bel·lish, verb (used with object)
Synonyms
1. decorate, garnish, bedeck, embroider.
1. decorate, garnish, bedeck, embroider.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To over embellish
00:10
Over embellish
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
embellish (ɪmˈbɛlɪʃ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to improve or beautify by adding detail or ornament; adorn |
| 2. | to make (a story) more interesting by adding detail |
| 3. | See ornament to provide (a melody, part, etc) with ornaments |
| [C14: from Old French embelir, from bel beautiful, from Latin bellus] | |
| em'bellisher | |
| —n | |
| em'bellishment | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
embellish
mid-14c., "to render beautiful," from O.Fr. embelliss-, pp. stem of embellir "make beautiful, ornament," from bel "beautiful," from L. bellus. Meaning "dress up (a narration) with fictitious matter" is from mid-15c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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