Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

adorn

/əˈdɔɹn/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.01 in modern English

Syllables: adorn
IPA: /əˈdɔɹn/

6

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate.

noun

Obsolete

adj

adorned; ornate

Obsolete

Example Sentences

"a man adorned with noble statuary and columns"
"a character adorned with every Christian grace"
"A gallery of paintings was adorned with the works of some of the great masters."
"as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels"
"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."
"Durable, water-resistant and easy to clean, tiles have adorned Persian mosques, Moorish palaces and the parlors of Dutch burgers."

Etymology

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.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *h₂er-, adornen, adōrnō

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /əˈdɔɹn/
British English: /əˈdɔː(ɹ)n/

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

adorns (present, singular) adorning (participle, present) adorned (participle, past) adorned (past)

Derived Forms

adornable adornation adorner adorningly disadorn misadorn overadorn readorn unadorn

Phrases

adorn oneself with borrowed plumes

Frequently Paired Words

ornament ornamentation ornate suborn

Synonyms

beautify bedeck decorate deck grace ornament prettify adore adorn apparel array invest

Rhymes With

born first-born porn worn corn horn torn warn sworn borne thorn mourn

Questions

How do you pronounce adorn?: The recorded pronunciation is /əˈdɔɹn/.
What does adorn mean?: To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate.
Where does adorn come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce adorn

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “adorn”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/əˈdɔɹn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “adorn”.
Repeat and practice — Say “adorn” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.