To safeguard something is to guard, protect, or secure it. Often this term suggests taking forceful measures to ensure something does or does not happen. As a result, the term conveys a degree of assurance that the safety of something is guaranteed. Safeguard is more likely to be used of ideas or concepts—immaterial things—than it is of property or physical objects. For instance, you’re more likely to hear of a leader or governing body taking measures to safeguard the rights of a specific group than to safeguard a wetland, the latter being better suited for use with the verb protect.

We’re going to have to pry information out of today’s word because it is reticent. Reticent means “disposed to be silent or not to speak freely.” This tight-lipped adjective is more specific than its synonym reserved, which is widely used of both speech and actions and implies a guardedness born of caution or a sense of formality. Reticent simply describes people who aren’t inclined to chatter. A word to the wise: reticent is used to mean “reluctant” with some regularity, but style guides urge against this broad interpretation in favor of the more precise application.

To decorate something is to add ornamentation to it or to embellish it in some way. To bedeck something is to go all out with your ornamental efforts, adorning that object (be it a tree, a room, or one’s outfit) to the point of gaudiness. Bedeck is not a very common term; the shorter verb deck, as in “We were all decked out for the party,” is more familiar. But when bedeck does make an appearance, it's likely for a special occasion. This glitzy verb might describe a person who is drenched in jewels, an architectural feature festooned with flowers, or a tree absolutely covered with ornaments.