Meaning & use
jewelled
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparableBritish
Decorated or set with precious stones or gems.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: a jewelled crown.
Patterns
- a jewelled something
The queen wore a jewelled crown at the ceremony.
A jewelled dagger lay in the museum case.
She admired the jewelled buttons on the old coat.
adjectivecomparableliteraryfigurative
Shining or sparkling like precious stones, used figuratively of things such as dew, water or lights.
Grammar: Used poetically before a noun: the jewelled lawn.
Patterns
- a jewelled something
Morning dew left the grass jewelled and bright.
The city lay below like a jewelled carpet of lights.
verbtransitiverare
The past tense and past participle of jewel, meaning to decorate with gems.
Grammar: Takes an object: they jewelled the crown with sapphires.
Patterns
- jewel something with something
Craftsmen jewelled the mask with tiny emeralds.
The throne was jewelled by artists from many lands.
Word forms
| American spelling | jeweled |
|---|
Common combinations
- jewelled crown
- The jewelled crown was kept in the tower.
- jewelled dagger
- A jewelled dagger hung on the wall.
- jewelled watch
- His jewelled watch glittered under the lamp.
- jewelled eyes
- The statue had jewelled eyes.
- richly jewelled
- The shrine was richly jewelled.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bejeweled
- Bejeweled stresses being covered in jewels, often to excess, while jewelled simply says gems are set in.
- gem-studded
- Gem-studded suggests many stones dotted over a surface.
- glittering
- Glittering describes sparkle without suggesting actual stones.
- ornate
- Ornate means elaborately decorated, with or without jewels.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: jewelled or jeweled?
jewelled vs jeweled
Jeweled is the American spelling of the same word. They mean exactly the same thing.
Practice
In British English, which is the correct spelling for an object decorated with gems?
Choose one answer.
Jewelled keeps the e from jewel and doubles the l in British spelling. The other options are misspellings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “jewelled”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.