Adorn Meaning
/əˈdɔɹn/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate.
nounadornment
Sentence Examples
I like to adorn my room with flowers.
Man adorns the place, the place doesn't adorn the man.
CEFR Practice Quiz
They plan to ____ the banquet hall with fresh flowers for the wedding reception.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The rooms were ____ed with beautiful flowers for the celebration.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English adornen, adournen, from Latin adōrnāre; from ad- + ōrnō (“furnish, embellish”). See adore, ornate. Replaced earlier Middle English aournen (“to adorn”) borrowed from Old French aorner, from the same Latin source.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels"
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 61:10:
"At church, with meek and unaffected grace, / His looks adorned the venerable place; / Truth from his lips prevailed with double ſway, / And fools, who came to ſcoff, remained to pray."
— 1770, [Oliver] Goldsmith, The Deserted Village, a Poem, London: […] W[illiam] Griffin, […], →OCLC, page 10:
"Durable, water-resistant and easy to clean, tiles have adorned Persian mosques, Moorish palaces and the parlors of Dutch burgers."
— 1980, Robert M. Jones, editor, Walls and Ceilings, Time-Life Books, →ISBN, page 38:
"Her brest all naked, as nett yvory
Without adorne of gold or silver bright"
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
"And to realities yield all her shows:
Made so adorn for thy delight the more"
— 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
They plan to ____ the banquet hall with fresh flowers for the wedding reception.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The rooms were ____ed with beautiful flowers for the celebration.