Arabic word sheet
زَيَّنَ
To make attractive to someone
- Type
- verb
- Root
- ز ي ن
Meaning and usage
To make attractive to someone
To present a thing, an idea or an act in a flattering light, so that someone finds it fine or desirable. Often said of something that does not deserve the appeal.
زَيَّنَ الْبَائِعُ السَّفَرَ لِسَامِي.
The salesman made the trip look attractive to Sami.
To adorn, to decorate
To make more beautiful by adding ornament or decoration. Said of a person, a place or an object.
زَيَّنَتْ لَيْلَى الْغُرْفَةَ بِالْأَزْهَارِ.
Layla decorated the room with flowers.
To embellish one's words
To polish and dress up what one says or writes so that it pleases more.
زَيَّنَ الْكَاتِبُ رِسَالَتَهُ بِالْأَمْثَالِ.
The writer embellished his letter with proverbs.
Word family
What the root means ز ي ن
The root carries the idea of adornment: what makes a person or a thing look fine, the opposite of what disfigures it. From the basic verb 'to adorn' come this stronger verb, the words for an ornament and for beauty, the verb 'to dress oneself up' and even the name of the barber.
to adorn, to grace
زَانَ
ornament, finery
زِينَةٌ
beauty, fine appearance
زَيْنٌ
to dress oneself up
تَزَيَّنَ
decoration, embellishment
تَزْيِينٌ
barber
مُزَيِّنٌ
Synonyms
to improve, to make fine
حَسَّنَ
Broader: to make good or fine in itself, without the idea of an ornament added on top.
to beautify
جَمَّلَ
Stresses the beauty obtained, whereas the headword stresses the ornament and the effect on the onlooker.
Opposites
to disfigure, to mar
شَانَ
to make ugly
قَبَّحَ