Standard Lemma guide

beautify

verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

/ˈbjuː.tɪ.faɪ/
Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET: B Y UW1 T IH0 F AY2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

verb

Meaning 1

To make beautiful; to increase the beauty of.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

1592, Robert Greene, Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit, London: William Wright, “Robertoes Tale” [...] there is an vpstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tygers hart wrapt in a Players hyde, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blanke verse as the best of you:

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: adorn, decorate, ornament, prettify

Antonyms: blight, deface, disfigure, mar, uglify

verb

Meaning 2

To become beautiful.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive, rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

verb

Meaning 3

To make oneself beautiful.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive, rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

verb

Meaning 4

Synonym of pretty-print.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, programming, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: prettify, pretty-print

Antonyms: minify, uglify

verb

Meaning 5

make more beautiful

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fancify, embellish, prettify

Antonyms: uglify

Broader terms: better, improve, amend, ameliorate, meliorate

Narrower terms: groom, neaten, dress, curry, dress up, window-dress, spruce up, spruce, titivate, tittivate, smarten up, slick up, spiff up, polish, smooth, smoothen, shine, become, suit

verb

Meaning 6

make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

Decorate the room for the party
beautify yourself for the special day

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: decorate, adorn, grace, ornament, embellish

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change, alter, modify

Narrower terms: wreathe, encrust, incrust, beset, braid, embroider, broider, stick, illustrate, garland, fledge, flight, spangle, bespangle, foliate, flag, caparison, bard, barde, dress up, bead, pipe, applique, gild the lily, paint the lily, vermiculate, smock, hang, prank, tinsel, tart up, stucco, redecorate, panel, bejewel, jewel, fillet, filet, scallop, bedizen, dress ship, trim, garnish, dress, deck, bedight, bedeck, festoon, enamel, inlay, lacquer, gild, begild, engild, illuminate, emblazon, blazon, color, colour, fringe, fret, landscape

verb

Meaning 7

be beautiful to look at

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

Flowers adorned the tables everywhere

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: deck, adorn, decorate, grace, embellish

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: be

Narrower terms: ornament

History

Etymology

From Middle English beutifien, from Old French beaute (“beauty”), from Latin bellus (“beautiful, fine”), + -ify, from Latin facio (“make”).

Across languages

Translations

59 source translations are retained for this English entry.

Arabic: جَمَّلَ (jammala) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Armenian: զարդարել (zardarel) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Azerbaijani: gözəlləşdirmək — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Bulgarian: разкрасявам (razkrasjavam) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Bulgarian: разхубавявам (razhubavjavam) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Chinese Mandarin: 美化 (měihuà) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Czech: krášlit — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Esperanto: beligi — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Finnish: kaunistaa — to make beautiful or more beautiful
French: embellir — to make beautiful or more beautiful
German: verschönern — to make beautiful or more beautiful
German: ausschmücken — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Greek: ομορφαίνω (omorfaíno) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Greek: καλλωπίζω (kallopízo) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Hebrew: ייפה (yipá) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Hebrew: קישט (kishét) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Hungarian: szépít — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Icelandic: fegra — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Ido: beligar — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Irish: áilligh — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Irish: breáthaigh — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Irish: maisigh — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Irish: barr maise a chur ar — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Italian: abbellire — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Japanese: 美しくする (utsukushiku suru) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Japanese: 美化する (bika suru) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Kazakh: әшекейлеу (äşekeileu) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Latin: decoro — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Latin: extollo — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Latin: orno — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Latin: venusto — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Maltese: jsebbħu — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Maltese: sebbah — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Māori: whakapaipai — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Māori: whakarāwai — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Māori: whakapīwari — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Māori: whakaātaahua — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Nheengatu: mupuranga — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Nheengatu: mpuranga — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Norwegian: forskjønne — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Persian: زیبیدن (zibidan) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Persian: برازیدن (barâzidan) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Persian: زیبادن — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Polish: upiększać — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Polish: upiększyć — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Portuguese: embelezar — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Romanian: înfrumuseța — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Russian: украша́ть (ukrašátʹ) — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Serbo-Croatian: улѐпшати — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Serbo-Croatian: уљѐпшати — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Serbo-Croatian: ulèpšati — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Serbo-Croatian: uljèpšati — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Spanish: embellecer — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Spanish: hermosear — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Spanish: enchular — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Turkish: güzelleştirmek — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Volapük: jönön — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Volapük: jönükön — to make beautiful or more beautiful
Yiddish: באַשײַנען (bashaynen) — to make beautiful or more beautiful

Word forms

Inflections and variants

beautifies — present, singular, third-person
beautifying — participle, present
beautified — participle, past
beautified — past
beautified — verb exception form

Word family

Derived and related words

Derived: rebeautify, unbeautify

Related: beautification, beautifier, beautifiable, beautifying, beauty, ornament

Semantic map

Other relationships

Hypernyms: better, improve, amend, ameliorate, meliorate, change, alter, modify, be

Hyponyms: groom, neaten, dress, curry, dress up, window-dress, spruce up, spruce, titivate, tittivate, smarten up, slick up, spiff up, polish, smooth, smoothen, shine, become, suit, wreathe, encrust, incrust, beset, braid, embroider, broider, stick, illustrate, garland, fledge, flight, spangle, bespangle, foliate, flag, caparison, bard, barde, bead, pipe, applique, gild the lily, paint the lily, vermiculate, smock, hang, prank, tinsel, tart up, stucco, redecorate, panel, bejewel, jewel, fillet, filet, scallop, bedizen, dress ship, trim, garnish, deck, bedight, bedeck, festoon, enamel, inlay, lacquer, gild, begild, engild, illuminate, emblazon, blazon, color, colour, fringe, fret, landscape, ornament

Sources

Where this information comes from

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