Admire at may still very rarely be found in the old sense of wonder at.
ADORN.
Synonyms:
| beautify, | decorate, | garnish, | illustrate, |
| bedeck, | embellish, | gild, | ornament. |
| deck, | |||
To embellish is to brighten and enliven by adding something that is not necessarily or very closely connected with that to which it is added; to illustrate is to add something so far like in kind as to cast a side-light upon the principal matter. An author embellishes his narrative with fine descriptions, the artist illustrates it with beautiful engravings, the binder gilds and decorates the volume. Garnish is on a lower plane; as, the feast was garnished with flowers. Deck and bedeck are commonly said of apparel; as, a mother bedecks her daughter with silk and jewels. To adorn and to ornament alike signify to add that which makes anything beautiful and attractive, but ornament is more exclusively on the material plane; as, the gateway was ornamented with delicate[24] carving. Adorn is more lofty and spiritual, referring to a beauty which is not material, and can not be put on by ornaments or decorations, but seems in perfect harmony and unity with that to which it adds a grace; if we say, the gateway was adorned with beautiful carving, we imply a unity and loftiness of design such as ornamented can not express. We say of some admirable scholar or statesman, "he touched nothing that he did not adorn."
At church, with meek and unaffected grace,
His looks adorned the venerable place.
Goldsmith Deserted Village, l. 178.
Antonyms:
| deface, | deform, | disfigure, | mar, | spoil. |