Embellishing: meaning, definitions and examples

Typically refers to adding details to something to make it look or sound more appealing. Can be used in both physical decoration and storytelling. Often implies adding unnecessary or exaggerated elements.

• She loves embellishing her stories to make them more interesting.
• They are constantly embellishing their house with more and more trinkets.

Generally refers to adding elements to improve the appearance of a place for an event, holiday, or personal enjoyment. Common in everyday use.

• They are going to decorate the room for the party tonight.
• She loves to decorate her house for Christmas.

Refers specifically to an object that is used for decoration, often small and detailed. Typically used for holiday decorations or small decorative items.

• She placed beautiful ornaments on the Christmas tree.
• His desk is filled with small ornaments from his travels.

Used to describe adding something beautiful or ornate to enhance appearance, usually in a more formal or poetic context.

• She adorned her hair with fresh flowers for the wedding.
• The hall was adorned with elegant tapestries and chandeliers.

Focuses on improving or augmenting something's quality, value, or attractiveness. It does not strictly refer to aesthetic changes and can be used in various contexts.

• The seasoning enhanced the flavor of the dish.
• This new software will enhance the performance of your computer.

Used when adding decorative details to something to make it more attractive, often in the context of stories or objects.

• She spent hours embellishing the wedding dress with pearls and lace
• He enjoys embellishing his stories to make them more entertaining

Typically used when someone makes something seem larger, more important, better, or worse than it actually is, often in a conversational or critical context. This term often carries a slightly negative connotation.

• She's known to exaggerate her accomplishments
• He exaggerated the difficulty of the task to avoid doing it

Used when someone invents or concocts something, especially a story or piece of information, often with the intention of deceiving. This term has a strongly negative connotation.

• He fabricated an alibi to avoid getting in trouble
• She was caught fabricating data in her research

Commonly used when adding extra details to a story or piece of fabric, often to make it more interesting or detailed, but it can imply adding fictitious elements.

• She loves to embroider flowers on her clothes
• He tends to embroider his anecdotes, making them sound more dramatic

Used when describing something in a way that makes it seem more important or larger than it really is. Often used in discussions about opinions, statistics, or descriptions, and may carry a negative connotation.

• The media tends to overstate the impact of minor events
• He overstated his role in the project during the interview