embellish
- v. 装饰
- v. 润色, 添枝加叶
- Definition
- v. to make something more attractive by adding decorative details
- v. to add invented details to a story
- Example
- He tends to embellish his stories to make them sound exciting.
- 他讲故事时总喜欢添油加醋，让故事听起来更精彩。
Synonyms & Differences 近义词辨析
Compared meaning: to add decoration to something, making it look nicer (verb).
比较义项：给某物增添装饰使其更美观（动词）。
- decorate
The most common, neutral word for making a place or object look nicer by adding things; used in everyday contexts like rooms, cakes, or parties, often as 'decorate ... with ...'.
最常用、最中性的词，指为使某个地方或物品更好看而添加东西；常用于日常场景，如房间、蛋糕或聚会，常用“decorate…with…”结构。
They decorate the office with balloons every year for the holiday party.
他们每年都会用气球装饰办公室来庆祝节日聚会。
- adorn
More formal and literary; often used in the passive ('was adorned with') to describe people, buildings, or objects made more beautiful, elegant, or grand with fine decorations.
更正式、更书面，常用被动语态（was adorned with）描述人、建筑或物品因精美的装饰而显得更漂亮、优雅或华丽。
Ancient statues were adorned with gold and precious jewels in the temple.
那座寺庙里的古代雕像镶嵌着黄金和珍贵的宝石作为装饰。
- embellish 本词
Suggests adding extra decorative details or trimmings onto something that already exists, refining or enriching its appearance rather than decorating it from scratch.
强调在已有的事物基础上添加额外的装饰细节或点缀，是对外观的修饰和丰富，而不是从零开始进行装饰。
She embellished the plain white dress with delicate lace and small pearls.
她在那件朴素的白色连衣裙上添加了精致的蕾丝和小珍珠加以点缀。
Decorate, adorn, and embellish all mean to add decoration to something. Decorate is the common, neutral word for everyday things like rooms or cakes. Adorn is formal, literary, often passive, for people or buildings made elegant. Embellish means adding fine extra details onto something existing.
这三个词都表示“为使某物更好看而添加装饰”，但语气和语域不同：decorate 最常用、最中性；adorn 更书面、优雅，常用被动语态；embellish 强调在原有基础上添加精细的装饰细节。这里不比较 embellish 表示“（为故事等）添枝加叶、夸大其词”的引申义。