Meaning & use
bedizen
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Meaning
verbtransitiveliteraryarchaic
To dress or decorate someone or something in a showy, gaudy way.
Grammar: Takes an object and often used in the passive with with: bedizened with ribbons.
Patterns
- bedizen someone with something
- be bedizened in something
The queen's attendants were bedizened with ribbons and golden chains.
He bedizened the hall with paper stars and glittering streamers.
The performer bedizened herself in sequins for the final night.
Word forms
| third person singular | bedizens |
|---|---|
| past tense | bedizened |
| past participle | bedizened |
| -ing form | bedizening |
Common combinations
- bedizened with jewels
- The statue was bedizened with jewels.
- bedizened in finery
- The guests arrived bedizened in finery.
- bedizen oneself
- She loved to bedizen herself for festivals.
- bedizened costume
- A bedizened costume drew all the attention.
- bedizen with ribbons
- They bedizened the horses with ribbons.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bedeck
- Bedeck is more common and usually positive, whereas bedizen suggests vulgar or excessive display.
- adorn
- Adorn is neutral and elegant and does not imply that the decoration is gaudy.
- embellish
- Embellish suggests adding details to improve something, while bedizen implies overdoing it.
- tart up
- Tart up is a British informal phrase for cheap decoration, much less literary than bedizen.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bedizen or bedazzle?
bedizen vs bedazzle
Bedazzle means to impress or dazzle someone, while bedizen means to decorate or dress someone in a gaudy way.
Practice
The poet described the carnival floats as ___ with glittering paper and tinsel.
Choose one answer.
Bedizened means decorated in a showy way, which fits glittering paper and tinsel. Bewildered, benumbed and bereaved describe feelings or loss, not decoration.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bedizen”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.