ornamental

[awr-nuh-men-tl]

adjective

1. used or grown for ornament.

   ornamental plants.

2. providing ornament, decorative.

3. of or relating to ornament.

noun

1. something ornamental; decoration; adornment.

2. a plant cultivated for decorative purposes.

ornamental

/ ˌɔːnəˈmɛntəl /

adjective

1. of value as an ornament; decorative

2. (of a plant) used to decorate houses, gardens, etc

noun

1. a plant cultivated for show or decoration

Other Word Forms

• ornamentality noun
• ornamentally adverb
• nonornamental adjective
• nonornamentally adverb
• nonornamentality noun
• overornamental adjective
• overornamentally adverb
• overornamentality noun
• preornamental adjective
• superornamental adjective
• superornamentally adverb
• unornamental adjective
• unornamentally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ornamental¹

First recorded in 1640–50; ornament + -al ¹

Example Sentences

The Wiltshire Council signed off on his plans to build an ornamental outbuilding, a three-story extension, the lake and a driveway that curves around it.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Here, Williams deployed coffered ceilings, ornamental ironwork, stained-glass windows and colorful tile across two stories and nearly 9,000 square feet.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The acres have filled with houses or have turned to pricier crops, asparagus and strawberries, or profitable ornamentals to adorn all those houses built on the bean fields.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

While its charm lies in its refusal of precise definition, junk journaling generally consists of compiling scrap items and keepsakes into curated notebooks, which can also contain personal musings, ornamental stickers and other embellishments.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The set opened with a full run of “Seven Psalms,” a short yet profound song cycle in which a dense, ornamental acoustic guitar figure recurs over several songs in an intimate valediction.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• exquisite 
• ornate 
• showy