overembellishes
Gilds the lily
Overembellishes means to add too much decorative detail or exaggeration to something—a story, an account, a design.
The prefix signals excess: where embellishing might enhance, overembellishing detracts through ornateness or implausibility.
He overembellishes every fishing story until no one believes him.
The architect overembellished the facade with unnecessary flourishes.
Excessively emotional or elaborate
- floridExcessively ornate or ruddy
- baroqueExcessively ornate or elaborate
- rococoExcessively elaborate in style
- ornateElaborately decorated
purple · flowery · grandiloquent · verbose · bombastic · turgid · flamboyant · fussy
Excessive in degree
- clutteredCrowded with disorder
- overkillUnnecessary additional effort
- overloadedBurdened past capacity
- overblownInflated beyond reasonable proportion
gaudy · showy · flashy · garish · ostentatious · glitzy · loud · splashy
Represents as greater than reality
- inflatesFills with gas
- amplifiesIncreases strength or volume
- dramatizesExaggerates for effect
- magnifiesIncreases perceived size
overdoes · stretches · hyperbolizes · embroiderers · distorts · misrepresents · colors · aggrandizes
overwrought
Excessively emotional or elaborate
- floridExcessively ornate or ruddy
- baroqueExcessively ornate or elaborate
- rococoExcessively elaborate in style
ornate · purple · flowery · grandiloquent · verbose · bombastic · turgid · flamboyant · fussy · elaborate
overdone
Excessive in degree
- clutteredCrowded with disorder
- overkillUnnecessary additional effort
- overloadedBurdened past capacity
overblown · gaudy · showy · flashy · garish · ostentatious · glitzy · loud · splashy · kitsch
overstates
Represents as greater than reality
- inflatesFills with gas
- amplifiesIncreases strength or volume
- dramatizesExaggerates for effect
magnifies · overdoes · stretches · hyperbolizes · embroiderers · distorts · misrepresents · colors · aggrandizes · overplays
overdecorates
Adorns to excess
- adornsAdds decorative elements
- bedazzlesImpresses greatly, overwhelms
- bejewelsAdorns with precious stones
festoons · garlands · encrusts · bedecks · trims · fringes · tassels · appliqués · embroiders · gilds
overembellishesunderstates
Presents as less important
simplifies · strips down · minimizes · tones down · downplays
overembellish, overembellished, overembellishing, overembellishment