embellish

Advancedzipf 2.55

Pronunciation

/ɪmˈbɛlɪʃ/(im-BEL-ish)

Part of speech

verbneutral

Chinese

① 装饰；美化 ② 添油加醋；夸大

Definition

(1) To make more attractive by adding decorative details. (2) To add untrue details to a story to make it more interesting.

Word family

  • embellishment/ɪmˈbɛlɪʃmənt/(n)装饰/修饰

Collocations

  • embellish a story
  • embellish the truth
  • embellish with details
  • ornamental embellishment

Examples

  1. 1.The dress was embellished with intricate beadwork. (decorated)
  2. 2.He tends to embellish his travel stories to make them more exciting. (exaggerate)

Synonyms

  • decorate/ˈdɛkəreɪt/— add beauty, physical sense
  • exaggerate/ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪt/— overstate, story sense
  • adorn/əˈdɔːn/— add beauty, formal

Etymology

from Old French "embellir" = to make beautiful — em- (in) + bel (beautiful)