Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for emblazon. Search instead for emblazons.
Synonyms

emblazon

American  
[em-bley-zuhn] / ɛmˈbleɪ zən /

verb (used with object)

  1. to put a design on (a surface) in a prominent place.

    The shirt was emblazoned with the company's motto.

  2. Heraldry. to put (a design or depiction) on a coat of arms.

  3. to proclaim; celebrate or extol.


emblazon British  
/ ɪmˈbleɪzən /

verb

  1. to describe, portray, or colour (arms) according to the conventions of heraldry

  2. to portray heraldic arms on (a shield, one's notepaper, etc)

  3. to make bright or splendid, as with colours, flowers, etc

  4. to glorify, praise, or extol, often so as to attract great publicity

    his feat was emblazoned on the front page

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • emblazoner noun
  • emblazonment noun
  • unemblazoned adjective

Etymology

Origin of emblazon

First recorded in 1585–95; em- 1 + blazon

Explanation

To emblazon is to decorate something with words or symbols. If you're running for student council, you might emblazon t-shirts with your name and hand them out to your classmates. The word emblazon means the same thing as the word blazon, “to depict or paint armor.” Both words have roots in the English word blaze, in the sense of “to make public.” No one uses blazon anymore, and these days you can emblazon anything—not just armor! Colleges and universities frequently sell sweatshirts and hats emblazoned with their logos, for example.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing emblazon

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He didn’t emblazon his body with tattoos of revolutionary personalities Che Guevara and Fidel Castro like a great footballer who came after him, the Argentine, Diego Maradona.

From Washington Post • Jan. 1, 2023

The hotel isn’t much — the tackiness of the lobby furniture, speaking of memories, will emblazon itself on your retina — but Sophie and Calum take most of their setbacks and letdowns in stride.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2022

Most of that’s all gone now, and the controller looks a little sleeker for it — even if Turtle Beach had to go and emblazon an ugly REACT-R label on its top.

From The Verge • Aug. 17, 2022

The milestone recently reached was a number simple to emblazon in newspaper, website and television headlines - 100,000 people in the United States dead from the new coronavirus.

From Washington Times • Jun. 3, 2020

There is perhaps a reference to the sense of emblazon, which is from M.E. blazen, to blaze abroad, to proclaim.

From Milton's Comus by Bell, William