Definition

1. Verb:

   • To embellish; to adorn: To add decorative details or make something appear more attractive or impressive than it is, often in an excessive or artificial way.
   • To fabricate; to invent (stories, details): To create or add untrue or fanciful details to a story or account, making it more elaborate but less truthful.

2. Verb (figurative):

   • To complicate unnecessarily: To make something more complex or intricate than needed by adding superfluous elements.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cô ấy thích vẽ vời thêm cho câu chuyện cổ tích. (She likes to embellish the fairy tale further.)
  • Đừng vẽ vời sự thật, hãy kể chính xác những gì đã xảy ra. (Don't fabricate the truth; tell exactly what happened.)
  • Công việc đơn giản, đừng vẽ vời cho nó phức tạp. (The task is simple; don't complicate it unnecessarily.)

Advanced Usage

• Often used with a negative connotation to criticize the act of adding unnecessary, false, or overly ornate elements.
• Commonly collocates with words for stories, explanations, plans, or appearances.

Variants and Related Words

• Vẽ (v): to draw, to paint. The core root meaning "to draw."
• Thêu dệt (v): to embroider; used similarly to mean "to embellish" or "to fabricate" a story.

Synonyms

• Embellish: To make more attractive by adding decorative details.
• Fabricate: To invent or concoct something, typically with deceitful intent.
• Gild: To embellish excessively.
• Complicate: To make something more difficult or complex.

Related Idioms

• Vẽ rồng vẽ phượng: Literally "to draw dragons and phoenixes"; means to embellish or glorify something extravagantly.
  • Bài báo đó chỉ toàn vẽ rồng vẽ phượng về thành tích của công ty. (That article just extravagantly glorifies the company's achievements.)
• Vẽ chuyện: To make up a story; to fabricate a tale.
  • Đứa trẻ hay vẽ chuyện để giải thích cho lỗi của mình. (The child often makes up stories to explain his mistakes.)