Embellish
/ɛmˈbɛlɪʃ/
verbB2
Definition
Embellish means to decorate something by adding small, beautiful details or to make a story or description more interesting by adding extra, sometimes imaginary, details. People use it when they want to improve the appearance of objects or make stories more exciting.
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See It in Action
To add decoration or beauty to an object
- •She embellished the dress with shiny beads and lace.
- •The artist embellished the vase with colorful patterns.
- •They embellished the room with flowers for the party.
To add extra details to a story or statement, often to make it more interesting
- •He embellished his story about the trip to make it sound more exciting.
- •The writer embellished the novel with vivid descriptions.
- •Sometimes people embellish facts to impress others.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "embellish" like "decorate" (A2 word), but not just with simple things—it's adding pretty, extra details that catch the eye or ear.
- ✓Picture a plain cake, then imagine adding colorful icing, flowers, and shiny sprinkles to make it look special.
- ✓It's the feeling when you tell a story and add exciting parts to make your friends listen carefully and enjoy it more.
- ✓Sounds like "em-BELL-ish" → Imagine ringing a beautiful bell to make something more noticeable and special.
- ✓In stories, people often embellish facts to make them more fun or dramatic, like adding magic to a normal tale.
- ✓NOT like "lie" (false information), but embellishing is adding details that may not be true but make the story nicer.
- ✓NOT like "paint" (covering fully), embellish means adding small parts on top to improve or decorate.
- ✓NOT like "simplify" (make easier), embellish means making something more complex or richer.
Try Other Words
- •Decorate: to add beauty or ornaments (Use when talking about physical objects and general beautifying)
- •Enhance: to improve or make better (Use when focusing on improving quality, not just adding decoration)
- •Exaggerate: to make something seem bigger or better than it is (Use when talking about adding too much or false detail in stories)
- •Adorn: to add beautiful decorations (Use for formal or poetic contexts)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: prefix "em-" (put into or on) + root "bellish" (related to beauty or decoration, from French "bel" meaning beautiful)
- •Etymology: From French "embellir," meaning to make beautiful
- •Historical development: Entered English in the 1500s meaning to decorate or improve appearance
- •Modern usage: Used both for physical decoration and adding interesting details to speech or writing
- •Key insight: Always about making something more attractive, either by adding real decorations or extra story details
Reflect & Connect
•How can embellishing a story change the way people understand the truth?
•When is it good to embellish something, and when might it be wrong or harmful?
Fill in the blanks
1.She decided to embellish the plain cake ___ colorful icing and small flowers to make it look festive.
2.Writers often embellish their stories ___ to make them more exciting or dramatic for readers.
3.When you embellish a fact too much, it can sometimes ___ the truth instead of helping.
4.The artist embellished the sculpture ___ tiny details that made it look very realistic.
5.People usually embellish memories ___ because they want to make them sound better or more interesting.
6.Embellish is different from exaggerate because it focuses on ___ details, not always making things bigger or untrue.
7.To embellish a room, you might add ___ like paintings, lights, or small decorations.