beautify

verb

beau·​ti·​fy ˈbyü-tə-ˌfī How to pronounce beautify (audio)
beautified; beautifying
Synonyms of beautifynext

transitive verb

: to make beautiful or add beauty to

intransitive verb

: to grow beautiful
beautification
ˌbyü-tə-fə-ˈkā-shən How to pronounce beautify (audio)
noun
beautifier
ˈbyü-tə-ˌfī(-ə)r How to pronounce beautify (audio)
noun

Synonyms

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 
Choose the Right Synonym for beautify

adorn, decorate, ornament, embellish, beautify, deck, garnish mean to enhance the appearance of something by adding something unessential.

adorn implies an enhancing by something beautiful in itself.

a diamond necklace adorned her neck

decorate suggests relieving plainness or monotony by adding beauty of color or design.

decorate a birthday cake

ornament and embellish imply the adding of something extraneous, ornament stressing the heightening or setting off of the original

a white house ornamented with green shutters

, embellish often stressing the adding of superfluous or adventitious ornament.

embellish a page with floral borders

beautify adds to embellish a suggestion of counterbalancing plainness or ugliness.

will beautify the grounds with flower beds

deck implies the addition of something that contributes to gaiety, splendor, or showiness.

a house all decked out for Christmas

garnish suggests decorating with a small final touch and is used especially in referring to the serving of food.

an entrée garnished with parsley

Examples of beautify in a Sentence

Fresh flowers beautify every room. volunteers beautified the roadside landscape by planting flowers
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Her reelection goals include ensuring police and fire are fully equipped, beautifying Milpitas, alleviating traffic congestion, attracting high tech businesses and revitalizing the Main Street. —Stephanie Lam, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024 Raymond Wong October 30, 2024 7:08 AM EDT Samsung has managed to beautify the home speaker—by disguising it as a picture frame. —Raymond Wong, TIME, 30 Oct. 2024 Autumn pruning helps manage foliar diseases and beautifies the landscape, as peony foliage tends to turn black and unattractive in winter. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2024 Keep pests in check and beautify the winter landscape with selective fall pruning. To cut or not to cut? —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for beautify 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English bewtyfien, from beaute beauty + -fien -fy

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of beautify was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near beautify

beautiful people

beautify

beautifying

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Beautify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beautify. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

beautify

verb
beau·​ti·​fy ˈbyüt-ə-ˌfī How to pronounce beautify (audio)
beautified; beautifying
: to make beautiful or more beautiful
beautification
ˌbyüt-ə-fə-ˈkā-shən How to pronounce beautify (audio)
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on beautify

Britannica English: Translation of beautify for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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