To adorn means to add decorations or ornaments to make something more beautiful or festive. When you adorn a Christmas tree, you hang ornaments, lights, and tinsel on its branches. When someone adorns a room for a party, they might hang streamers, arrange flowers, or put up colorful banners.

The word suggests deliberate decoration meant to enhance beauty rather than just throwing things together randomly. A crown adorned with jewels has precious stones carefully set into it. A cake adorned with fresh berries has fruit arranged thoughtfully on top to make it look more appealing.

People can adorn themselves too. Someone might adorn their outfit with jewelry, or adorn their hair with flowers or ribbons. Ancient warriors adorned their shields with symbols and designs to look more impressive in battle.

Unlike simply covering something up, adorning means adding elements that make the original thing look better. When you adorn something, you're showing care and attention to its appearance.