Festoon
What it means
To decorate something with attractive hanging arrangements.
Reach for it when describing lavish suspended decoration with visual energy
Residents festoon the square with ribbons and paper stars.
Words to choose between 6
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| formal | |
| literary |
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everyday
Fits when adding ornament is enough without specifying arrangement
Careful Decorate loses the image of draped abundance.
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everyday
drape
Fits when fabric or garlands hang loosely
Careful Drape describes placement but not necessarily decoration.
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everyday
Fits when edges receive neat seasonal decoration
Careful Trim suggests controlled borders, not sweeping festoons.
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formal
Fits when an object is made beautiful with tasteful additions
Careful Adorn may involve one restrained detail.
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literary
Fits when abundant decoration deserves an old-fashioned verb
Careful Bedeck can sound comic in instructions.
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literary
Fits when chains of flowers are the actual ornament
Careful Garland is too specific for lights, flags, or ribbons.
Opposites 3
- strip
- bare
- undecorate
Common phrases 3
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festoon with lights
Shopkeepers festoon the lane with lights each December.
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festoon the walls
Children festoon the walls with painted paper leaves.
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festooned with flowers
The bicycle was festooned with flowers for the parade.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: EncycloPetey, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated