1. The act of playing honor to a divine being; the worship paid to God; the act of addressing as a god.

The more immediate objects of popular adoration amongst the heathens were deified human beings.
Farmer.

2. Homage paid to one in high esteem; profound veneration; intense regard and love; fervent devotion.

3. A method of electing a pope by the expression of homage from two thirds of the conclave.

[Pole] might have been chosen on the spot by adoration.
Froude.

Adore
(A*dore") v. t. [imp. & p. p. Adored ; p. pr. & vb. n. Adoring ] [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French prefix a- being confused with OE. a, an, on. See Oral.]

1. To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine.

Bishops and priests, . . . bearing the host, which he [James .] publicly adored.
Smollett.

2. To love in the highest degree; to regard with the utmost esteem and affection; to idolize.

The great mass of the population abhorred Popery and adored Montouth.
Macaulay.

Adore
(A*dore"), v. t. To adorn. [Obs.]

Congealed little drops which do the morn adore.
Spenser.

Adorement
(A*dore"ment) n. The act of adoring; adoration. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

Adorer
(A*dor"er) n. One who adores; a worshiper; one who admires or loves greatly; an ardent admirer. "An adorer of truth." Clarendon.

I profess myself her adorer, not her friend.
Shak.

Adoringly
(A*dor"ing*ly), adv. With adoration.

Adorn
(A*dorn") v. t. [imp. & p. p. Adorned ; p. pr. & vb. n. Adorning.] [OE. aournen, anournen, adornen, OF. aorner, fr. L. aaornare; ad + ornare to furnish, embellish. See Adore, Ornate.] To deck or dress with ornaments; to embellish; to set off to advantage; to render pleasing or attractive.

As a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Isa. lxi. 10.

At church, with meek and unaffected grace,
His looks adorned the venerable place.
Goldsmith.

Syn. — To deck; decorate; embellish; ornament; beautify; grace; dignify; exalt; honor. — To Adorn, Ornament, Decorate, Embellish. We decorate and ornament by putting on some adjunct which is attractive or beautiful, and which serves to heighten the general effect. Thus, a lady's head-dress may be ornament or decorated with flowers or jewelry; a hall may be decorated or ornament with carving or gilding, with wreaths of flowers, or with hangings. Ornament is used in a wider sense than decorate. To embellish is to beautify or ornament richly, not so much by mere additions or details as by modifying the thing itself as a whole. It sometimes means gaudy and artificial decoration. We embellish a book with rich engravings; a style is embellished with rich and beautiful imagery; a shopkeeper embellishes his front window to attract attention. Adorn is sometimes identical with decorate, as when we say, a lady was adorned with jewels. In other cases, it seems to imply something more. Thus, we speak of a gallery of paintings as adorned with the works of some of the great masters, or adorned with noble statuary and columns. Here decorated and ornamented would hardly be appropriate. There is a value in these works of genius beyond mere show and ornament. Adorn may be used of what is purely moral; as, a


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