embellish

verb

1 weapons were often embellished with precious metal:

decorate, adorn, ornament, dress, dress up, furnish;

beautify, enhance, enrich, grace;

trim, garnish, gild, varnish;

brighten up, ginger up;

deck, bedeck, festoon, emblazon, bespangle;

informal do up, do out, jazz up, zhoosh (up);

British, informal tart up;

literary bejewel, bedizen, caparison, furbelow, befrill.

2 the legend was embellished further by a visiting American academic:

elaborate, embroider, color, expand on, exaggerate, dress up, touch up, gild, catastrophize.

▷antonyms simplify.