ornament
Americannoun
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an accessory, article, or detail used to beautify the appearance of something to which it is added or of which it is a part.
architectural ornaments.
- Synonyms:
- embellishment
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a system, category, or style of such objects or features; ornamentation.
a book on Gothic ornament.
-
any adornment or means of adornment.
- Synonyms:
- decoration
-
a person or thing that adds to the credit or glory of a society, era, etc.
-
the act of adorning.
- Synonyms:
- decoration
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the state of being adorned.
-
mere outward display.
a speech more of ornament than of ideas.
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Chiefly Ecclesiastical. any accessory, adjunct, or equipment.
-
Music. a tone or group of tones applied as decoration to a principal melodic tone.
noun
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anything that enhances the appearance of a person or thing
-
decorations collectively
she was totally without ornament
-
a small decorative object
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something regarded as a source of pride or beauty
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music any of several decorations, such as the trill, mordent, etc, occurring chiefly as improvised embellishments in baroque music
verb
-
to decorate with or as if with ornaments
-
to serve as an ornament to
Other Word Forms
- ornamentation noun
- ornamenter noun
- overornament verb (used with object)
- reornament verb (used with object)
- superornament noun
Etymology
Origin of ornament
1175–1225; < Latin ornāmentum equipment, ornament, equivalent to ornā ( re ) to equip + -mentum -ment; replacing Middle English ornement < Old French < Latin, as above
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Iacoboni is fairly crafty, she said, so handmade ornaments are an option if there is time.
Archaeologists have recovered thousands of clay-fired cooking balls and materials brought from faraway regions, such as quartz crystal from Arkansas, soapstone from the Atlanta area, and copper ornaments originating near the Great Lakes.
From Science Daily
"Also it may just have been an ornament," he added.
From BBC
Now, her team knows what the dense, sooty debris was made of: the burnt bones of ancient Maya royalty and their ornaments.
From Science Magazine
He picks up several items off the ground and tosses them into his cart, which neighbors later identified as mail packages and Christmas ornaments.
From Seattle Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
