Fancify

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To enhance the visual allure and sophistication of an item or concept through creative alterations and embellishments
2. To add intricate details or decorations to something to make it more attractive or stylish
3. To improve an object's appearance by adding creative or ornamental features

Etymology: "Fancify" is a plain formation: the noun "fancy" with the verb-forming suffix "-fy," which comes from Latin "-ficare" through Old French and means "to make or cause to be." Combining the two gives "to make fancy," so the word means to decorate or embellish something until it looks more elaborate or stylish. The base word "fancy" has an interesting history of its own. It began as a shortened form of "fantasy," so its original sense was imagination or a mental image, and only later did it come to mean an ornamental or showy quality. Adding "-fy" to that sense produced a verb about dressing things up, which is why "fancify" tends to suggest adding frills or decorative touches rather than changing the substance of an object.

Synonyms: embellish, ornament, decorate, enhance, adorn

Antonyms: simplify, diminish, reduce, strip, plainify