A*dorn" , a.
Adorned; decorated. [Obs.]
Milton.
A*dorn" , n. Adornment. [Obs.]
Spenser.
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. -- 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.
Hear it pronounced