embellishment

English

Etymology

From embellish +‎ -ment.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪmˈbɛlɪʃmənt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

embellishment (countable and uncountable, plural embellishments)

1. An act of embellishing.
2. An added touch; an ornamental addition; a flourish.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:decoration

   • 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, Section 3, Chapter 1:

     Reflection had given calmness to her judgment, and sobered her own opinion of Willoughby's deserts; — she wished, therefore, to declare only the simple truth, and lay open such facts as were really due to his character, without any embellishment of tenderness to lead the fancy astray.

Derived terms

• overembellishment

 

Translations

ornamental addition

• Catalan: embelliment m
• Czech: dekorace (cs) f, výzdoba (cs) f
• German: Ausschmückung f, Beschönigung (de) f, Fioritur f, Gerank (de) n, Rankenwerk (de) n, Verschönerung (de) f, Verzierung (de) f, Zier (de) f, Zierrat (de) m, Zierrillen f, schmückendes Beiwort n,
• Maori: whakarākeitanga, kīnakinakitanga
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: utbrodering m or f, forskjønnelse m

• Ottoman Turkish: زینت (ziynet)
• Portuguese: embelezamento m
• Sanskrit: भूषण (sa) n (bhūṣaṇa)
• Spanish: embellecimiento (es) m

Further reading

• “embellishment”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “embellishment”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.