ornamental
Americanadjective
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used or grown for ornament.
ornamental plants.
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providing ornament, decorative.
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of or relating to ornament.
noun
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something ornamental; decoration; adornment.
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a plant cultivated for decorative purposes.
adjective
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of value as an ornament; decorative
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(of a plant) used to decorate houses, gardens, etc
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ornamental
Explanation
If something is ornamental, it's a decoration. The red feather in your cap is most definitely ornamental; it serves no purpose other than providing a splash of color. Ornamental things are, by definition, just for show — they're not actually useful. So an ornamental pond in your yard might be pretty, but you can't fish or swim in it, and an ornamental telephone booth in your friend's living room doesn't really work. Likewise, ornamental plants or gardens are full of beautiful flowers and foliage, but nothing in them is edible.
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.
A Met Police chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear team was seen near the park's bandstand on Friday and police divers were spotted near the Round Pond ornamental lake.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
Teeny-tiny chorizo and ricotta meatballs — the kind that feel almost ornamental, until you taste what they’ve done to the pan.
From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026
But he had his own quirky, even obsessive interests—in all things ancient and Roman, in architecture, and especially in the hybrid ornamental figures known as grotesques.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026
For decades, these elements were treated as ornamental details.
From Science Daily • Dec. 16, 2025
Except for its enormous ornamental shrubs pruned into the shapes of wide-skirted maidens, it might have been the home of any not-so-prosperous merchant.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
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.
