transitive verb.
To make pretty or prettier, especially in a superficial or insubstantial way.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
To make pretty; embellish; especially, to make pretty in a petty, finical way, as by the excessive or fanciful use of ornament.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
verb.
make more beautiful
Word Usage
"A strong argument even could be made that Krugman is wrong suggesting that the news media just wanted to "prettify" American history or that I was wrong in speculating that the distorted reporting on the Election 2000 recount was just a case of putting patriotism over professionalism."