ornate
[awr-neyt]
- elaborately or sumptuously adorned, often excessively or showily so: They bought an ornate Louis XIV sofa.
- embellished with rhetoric; florid or high-flown: an ornate style of writing.
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Origin of ornate
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin ornātus well-equipped, adorned, orig. past participle of ornāre to equip; see -ate1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
beautiful, gilded, glamorous, lavish, sumptuous, sparkling, magnificent, opulent, elegant, fancy, baroque, rococo, gaudy, embroidered, aureate, bright, brilliant, busy, colored, convolutedExamples from the Web for ornate
Contemporary Examples
The tomb, though much smaller than the palace, is similarly a vision of ornate twists, arches, and peaks.
Entering the theater brings visitors to an ornate lobby with vaulted ceilings, golden walls, and an enormous chandelier.
In 1997, Whit Stillman re-created Studio 54 in its ornate lobby for his film The Last Days of Disco.
Their services have been held in small chapels, ornate synagogues, simple firehouses, and grand cathedrals.
Stairways painted blue connect covered walkways stuffed with small stores selling jewelry, scarves, and ornate pottery.
Historical Examples
The mass was an ornate one, though not more so than they were accustomed to at Beaulieu.
The Armourer's PrenticesCharlotte M. Yonge
During the remaining years of the century the foot was worked into ornate lobes.
English VillagesP. H. Ditchfield
His eyes and tongue were caught away by the ornate structure of the opera-house.
In a Little TownRupert Hughes
Its crenellations and turrets are military and forceful, not ornate.
Cathedrals and Cloisters of the South of France, Volume 1Elise Whitlock Rose
Yes, it is very handsome, no doubt, but too ornate and pie-crusty for my—taste.
Mary Louise and Josie O'GormanEmma Speed Sampson
ornate
- heavily or elaborately decorated
- (of style in writing) overembellished; flowery
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Word Origin
C15: from Latin ornāre to decorate
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for ornate
adj.
early 15c., from Latin ornatus "fitted out, furnished, supplied; adorned, decorated, embellished," past participle of ornare "adorn, fit out," from stem of ordo "order" (see order (n.)). Earliest reference is to literary style. Related: Ornately; ornateness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper