The difference between Adorn and Ornament

When used as nouns, adorn means adornment, whereas ornament means an element of decoration.

When used as verbs, adorn means to make more beautiful and attractive, whereas ornament means to decorate.


Adorn is also adjective with the meaning: adorned.

check bellow for the other definitions of Adorn and Ornament

  1. Adorn as a verb:

    To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate.

    Examples:

    "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"

  1. Adorn as a noun (obsolete):

    adornment

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Edmund Spenser"

  1. Adorn as an adjective (obsolete):

    adorned; ornate

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Milton"

  1. Ornament as a noun:

    An element of decoration; that which embellishes or adorns.

  2. Ornament as a noun:

    A Christmas tree decoration.

  3. Ornament as a noun (music):

    A musical flourish that is unnecessary to the overall melodic or harmonic line, but serves to decorate or "ornament" that line.

  4. Ornament as a noun (Christianity, in the plural):

    The articles used in church services.

  5. Ornament as a noun (biology):

    A characteristic that has a decorative function (typically in order to attract a mate)

  1. Ornament as a verb:

    To decorate.

    Examples:

    "We will ornament the windows with trim to make the room seem brighter."

  2. Ornament as a verb:

    To add to.

    Examples:

    "The editor ornamented his plain writing, making it fancier but less clear."