The scientist received several decorations for his outstanding contributions.

decorations 是名词 decoration 的复数形式，decoration 来自动词 decorate（装饰），这里引申为"荣誉勋章"或"表彰"。 在军事或荣誉体系中，decoration 特指授予个人的勋章或奖章，用于表彰其特殊贡献或英勇行为。