Word for “decorated too much”

Question

I'm looking for a word (verb) meaning decorate/embellish too much — in a bad sense — and in particular having the tint of being too much so that something instead of being beautiful becomes fussy and ugly.

Hellion · Answer 1 · 2017-02-07T21:10:15.747

11

Adjectivally, you could describe something as baroque:

extravagantly ornate, florid, and convoluted in character or style
_{from dictionary.com}

or florid:

flowery; excessively ornate; showy
_{from dictionary.com}

Verbwise, I can't think of any single word that encompasses that extent of a description, unless you want to go for something like overembellished with an additional phrase to point out how far beyond the pale it's gone: "He had overembellished it to the point that it became a grotesque parody of its potential nature", or "he had embellished it well past the point of baroque floridity."

edited Feb 07 '17 at 21:10

answered May 28 '11 at 03:03

Hellion

59,365

However, do note that baroque is period and style, and as such the extravagance of some of the better works would be considered positive (at least by some; example: Trevi Fountain in Rome) – Unreason Aug 10 '11 at 09:31

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered May 28 '11 at 00:04

9

I don't know of any better single verbs than overdecorate, overornament or overembellish. Bedizen is good if you don't mind obscure. I might be tempted to coin baroquify. Related, possibly useful phrases include to tart [something] up and gilding the lily.

answered May 28 '11 at 00:04

chaos

19,612

I like "bedizen." I'm not sure when I would ever use it, but I like it. I can very easily imagine using "baroquify," but I do like making up words. :) – kitukwfyer May 28 '11 at 00:12
4

If you're going to coin go with "Rococoinate". – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten May 28 '11 at 00:32
Thanks a lot! I very much liked the idiom gilding the lily; I found the definition here: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gilding+the+lily (bedizen is not exactly what I was looking for). – Pantelis Sopasakis May 28 '11 at 07:52
1

Note: dictionaries list bedizen as archaic. – Unreason Aug 10 '11 at 09:27
@chaos first read that as bedazzled. – cornbread ninja 麵包忍者 Jun 19 '12 at 21:52
"Gilding the lily" would work only if you had something perfect to begin with. If you overdecorated a McMansion, "tart up" is better. – ab2 Dec 12 '15 at 23:43

score 5 · Answer 3 · edited Aug 10 '11 at 09:25

5

How about gaudy?

gaud·y
–adjective, gaud·i·er, gaud·i·est.
1. brilliantly or excessively showy: gaudy plumage.
2. cheaply showy in a tasteless way; flashy.
3. ostentatiously ornamented; garish.

edited Aug 10 '11 at 09:25

Unreason

12,446

answered May 28 '11 at 14:18

Elemenliation

59

I think gaudy is a fine adjective, but the asker is looking for a verb. – John Y May 28 '11 at 14:29
Whoops, I missed that. Sorry. – Elemenliation May 28 '11 at 14:56
3

@John Well then gaudify, obviously. ;) – Matthew Frederick Jun 01 '11 at 14:33
The title is "Word for 'decorated too much'," not only a verb. – Yosef Baskin Feb 07 '17 at 21:31

kitukwfyer · Answer 4 · 2011-05-28T00:10:01.450

2

I would use the verb "overdo." What exactly has been overdone is usually pretty obvious. Saying something is really overdone usually means it's tacky or overwrought, which I think is what you're looking for.

edited May 28 '11 at 00:10

answered May 28 '11 at 00:03

kitukwfyer

3,753

Thursagen · Answer 5 · 2011-08-10T09:44:01.043

2

There's actually one word to refer specifically to this. It's "kitsch":

a representation that is excessively sentimental, overdone, or vulgar

edited Aug 10 '11 at 09:44

answered Aug 10 '11 at 07:19

Thursagen

41,919

Also recommended is to look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsch to see if the word fits. Note: 1926, from Ger., lit. "gaudy, trash," from dial. kitschen "to smear." – Unreason Aug 10 '11 at 09:20
Also consider overwrought. Kitsch suggests overly cute or junky; the word sought may be just too much of a good thing. – Xanne May 11 '20 at 08:42

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 12 '15 at 22:47

How about garish?

From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:

garish adj 1: tastelessly showy; "a flash car"; "a flashy ring"; "garish colors"; "a gaudy costume"; "loud sport shirts"; "a meretricious yet stylish book"; "tawdry ornaments" [syn: {brassy}, {cheap}, {flash}, {flashy}, {garish}, {gaudy}, {gimcrack}, {loud}, {meretricious}, {tacky}, {tatty}, {tawdry}, {trashy}]

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 04 '23 at 20:27

1

"baroquify" is a contrived verb that I first heard in computer science circles 40+ years ago.

I just ran across this post when I used the word in a gmail body and was surprised that the spellchecker didn't flag it, so I did a search.

answered Jan 04 '23 at 20:27

ENOTTY

11

...and, yes, it means what you want it to... – ENOTTY Jan 04 '23 at 20:30

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Jun 25 '11 at 20:24

0

Make gaudy... over-decorate.

Maybe bedeck

answered Jun 25 '11 at 20:24

Caffeinated

934

score 0 · Answer 9 · answered May 11 '20 at 08:28

0

Rococo is another term that might apply. Although more in reference to painting, it conveys the sense of gingerbread which this question addresses.

answered May 11 '20 at 08:28

NorseRadish

1

1

This would be improved with a reference/definition for the term. – KillingTime May 11 '20 at 08:34
Is this some use of "gingerbread" with which I'm not familliar? – Jiminy Cricket. May 11 '20 at 10:19
1

I've just gone through all the answers, downvoting all those that don't bother addressing OP's request for a verb. This is yet another. – Edwin Ashworth May 11 '20 at 13:08

score -1 · Answer 10 · answered May 28 '11 at 14:56

-1

The word that springs to mind is: Overdecorated.

answered May 28 '11 at 14:56

Francine

37

score -1 · Answer 11 · edited Feb 07 '17 at 21:58

-1

the word you seek is ungapatchka. (it's yiddish)

Urban Dictionary:

a Yiddish word that describes the overly ornate, busy, ridiculously over-decorated, and garnished to the point of distaste.

the clothing looks ungapatchka.

edited Feb 07 '17 at 21:58

ab2

26,253

answered Feb 07 '17 at 19:32

liberty

7

Welcome to EL&U. StackExchange seeks definitive answers, and yours would be greatly strengthened by explaining this word. How is it used? Is it in the dictionary? What are some examples of its use? I strongly encourage you to take the site [tour] and review the [help] for additional guidance. – choster Feb 07 '17 at 20:04
2

The 'patch' part matches the English word 'patch.' Ungepatchka means made into a patchwork, pieced together poorly rather than being of a whole elegant work. – Yosef Baskin Feb 07 '17 at 20:58

yoron · Answer 12 · 2020-05-11T13:01:29.903

-2

well i guess you could use the word bedeck.

for example my friend john led me to his room bedecked with green marbles

edited May 11 '20 at 13:01

answered May 11 '20 at 08:39

yoron

1
2

2

I'm not sure that "bedeck" carries any sense of too much decoration. – KillingTime May 11 '20 at 08:52
4

Your answer would benefit from linked references to support that meaning of bedeck. – Jiminy Cricket. May 11 '20 at 10:17

score -2 · Answer 13 · edited Dec 08 '20 at 16:24

-2

Shmonzes means valueless stuff--used for objects

small pieces of valueless decorative bric-a-brac; idle talk (Yiddish origin, jel.jewish-languages).

Schmates is for raggedy clothes.

edited Dec 08 '20 at 16:24

Conrado

2,043

answered Dec 08 '20 at 15:58

user407895

1

This would be greatly improved with some linked authoritative definitions for these words – KillingTime Dec 08 '20 at 16:18
Hello, 4078, welcome to EL&U! You should improve this answer with referenced and linked definitions showing definitions or examples of the usage of shmonzes and shmates in an English context. I've suggested one for shmonzes (which you can still edit if you like), but I didn't find one for shmates, I'll leave it for you. Long, articulate answers are encouraged here. Cheers! (Oh, and OP asked for a verb...) – Conrado Dec 08 '20 at 16:21

score -3 · Answer 14 · edited Jun 19 '12 at 21:49

-3

Ragged or shabby means unattractive. When a more complex decoration is applied to something it becomes ugly. It doesn't look professionally made.

edited Jun 19 '12 at 21:49

answered May 28 '11 at 04:53

maniclorn

99

Word for “decorated too much”

14 Answers14

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