decoration
Pluraldecorations
- 1Something added to a thing or place to make it more attractive; an ornament or embellishment.
Like a splash of color and a few ornaments turning a bare room into something inviting.
A small glass decoration hung from the rearview mirror.
The hall was filled with festive decorations for the holiday.
Similarornament, embellishment, adornment, trimming
- 2The adding of ornaments or embellishments to make something more attractive, or the act of honoring someone with an award.
The decoration of the banquet hall took the whole team three days.
She spent the afternoon on decoration, adding ribbons and string lights.
Similarornamentation, adornment, embellishment
Note
An action noun built in the regular way: decorate plus -ion, matching Latin decoratio and French décoration. Because it names the process, it pairs naturally with of and an object (the decoration of the hall), while the ornaments themselves are things you can count. The honoring strand is the bridge to the medal meaning, since to decorate a person is to honor them.
- 3A medal, cross, or ribbon awarded as a mark of honor for services in war or for great achievements in fields such as literature or art.
Like a trophy you can pin to your jacket and wear with pride.
The general pinned a decoration onto the young officer's uniform.
His decorations from the war filled an entire display case.
- 4The refurbishing or renovating of a room or building.
The old apartment required complete decoration before anyone could move in.
Decoration of the offices is scheduled to begin next month.
Similarrefurbishment, renovation
Note
Hong Kong English stretches the word to cover building work: refurbishing a flat or renovating an office, meaning the whole job rather than the finishing touches. Readers elsewhere will tend to hear the ordinary "ornament" meaning. Outside Hong Kong, renovation or refurbishment is therefore the clearer choice when walls and fittings are actually being redone.
- 5The use of exotic sugars as decoys to distract or evade the immune system of a host organism.
Like a spy in an enemy uniform slipping past the checkpoint unquestioned.
The parasite's decoration with exotic sugars let it evade detection by immune cells.
Researchers found that decoration plays a key role in how the microbe escapes the host response.
Note
Biochemists and immunologists use the word for a defensive trick. A microbe coats its surface with exotic sugars that act as decoys, distracting the host's immune system. The image of ornament survives, because the sugars are something added to a surface. The purpose, though, is misdirection rather than beauty, so the word here describes how the microbe escapes notice, not how it looks.
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Origin
This word comes from Latin decoratio, compared with French décoration. It is formed from 'decorate' plus the suffix '-ion'.