What does wallpapered mean?
“Wallpapered” is the past tense and past participle of “wallpaper” and also functions as an adjective for walls or rooms covered with wallpaper. As a verb, it describes the act of applying decorative paper to interior walls: a decorator may wallpaper a bedroom before moving in. As an adjective, “wallpapered” identifies the finished surface or room, as in “a wallpapered hallway.” The word is neutral in register and common in both British and American English, although descriptive alternatives such as “papered” or “covered with wallpaper” may sound more idiomatic in some contexts. Its simple -ed ending connects the completed action closely with the resulting condition. “Wallpapered” is useful when a sentence needs to focus on a particular surface without repeating a longer verb phrase. Though no longer the dominant way to decorate every wall, it remains familiar through discussions of interiors, renovation, and restoration.
To cover the walls of a room or building with wallpaper.
"The owners wallpapered the small study before the conference."
Usually transitive and normally used in the past tense or past participle.
Covered or decorated with wallpaper.
"The room has elegantly wallpapered walls and plain wooden furniture."
Common before a noun; it can sometimes be replaced by the more explicit phrase 'covered with wallpaper.'
Wallpapered: sometimes the quickest way to hide a wall's history is to give it a pattern.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of wallpapered
“Wallpapered” was formed by adding the ordinary English past-participle ending -ed to the compound “wallpaper.” The compound appeared in English in the late seventeenth century and originally referred to paper made for covering walls. “Wall” comes from Germanic and has English relatives such as “wallet” and “wallflower,” while “paper” comes through French papier from Latin papyrus, ultimately derived from Greek papyros.
Related word forms
How wallpapered is actually used
The word is neutral in register and common in both British and American English. Its adjectival use is sometimes less direct than the phrase 'covered with wallpaper,' but it remains idiomatic before a noun.
Easily confused with wallpapered
Wallpaper is the decorative material or the base verb, whereas wallpapered specifically describes a surface covered with wallpaper or the completed act of covering it.