¹garnish

verb gar·nish \ˈgär-nish\

: to put something on (food) as a decoration; also : to be added as a decoration to (food)

Full Definition of GARNISH

transitive verb

a : decorate, embellish

b : to add decorative or savory touches to (food or drink)

: to equip with accessories : furnish

: garnishee

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Origin of GARNISH

Middle English, from Anglo-French garniss-, stem of garnir to warn, equip, garnish, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German warnōn to take heed — more at warn

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to GARNISH

Synonyms: adorn, array, beautify, bedeck, bedizen, blazon, caparison, deck, do, doll up, do up, drape, dress, embellish, emblaze, emboss, enrich, fancify, fancy up, festoon, decorate, glitz (up), grace, gussy up, ornament, pretty (up), trim

Antonyms: blemish, deface, disfigure, mar, scar, spoil

Synonym Discussion of GARNISH

adorn, decorate, ornament, embellish, beautify, deck, garnish mean to enhance the appearance of something by adding something unessential. adorn implies an enhancing by something beautiful in itself <a diamond necklace adorned her neck>. decorate suggests relieving plainness or monotony by adding beauty of color or design <decorate a birthday cake>. ornament and embellish imply the adding of something extraneous, ornament stressing the heightening or setting off of the original <a white house ornamented with green shutters>, embellish often stressing the adding of superfluous or adventitious ornament <embellish a page with floral borders>. beautify adds to embellish a suggestion of counterbalancing plainness or ugliness <will beautify the grounds with flower beds>. deck implies the addition of something that contributes to gaiety, splendor, or showiness <a house all decked out for Christmas>. garnish suggests decorating with a small final touch and is used especially in referring to the serving of food <an entrée garnished with parsley>.