Word: embellish (verb)

Associations

"Embellish" means to make something more attractive or interesting by adding details, often decorative or extra information.

• She likes to embellish her stories to make them more exciting. (Adding extra details to a story)
• The artist embellished the painting with gold leaf. (Adding decoration to art)
• They embellished the cake with colorful icing. (Adding decoration to food)

A similar word is "decorate," but "embellish" often means adding details that are not necessary but make something look or sound better, sometimes even exaggerated.

Substitution

You can use words like:

• decorate (for physical things, like a room or cake)
• enhance (to improve or add value)
• exaggerate (when adding details that may not be true, especially in stories) Each changes meaning slightly: "decorate" is general, "enhance" is more about improvement, "exaggerate" can imply too much or untrue details.

Deconstruction

The word "embellish" comes from French "embellir," which means "to make beautiful."

• Prefix: "em-" means "to put into or on"
• Root: "bell" comes from Latin "bellus," meaning "beautiful"
• Suffix: "-ish" is a verb ending meaning "to make or become" So, "embellish" literally means "to make beautiful by adding."

Inquiry

• Can you think of a time when you or someone else embellished a story or object?
• How does embellishing a story change how people feel about it?
• Is it always good to embellish, or can it sometimes cause problems? Why?