ornate
Americanadjective
-
elaborately or sumptuously adorned, often excessively or showily so.
They bought an ornate Louis XIV sofa.
- Synonyms:
- lavish, rich, ostentatious, showy
-
embellished with rhetoric; florid or high-flown.
an ornate style of writing.
adjective
-
heavily or elaborately decorated
-
(of style in writing) overembellished; flowery
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ornate
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin ornātus well-equipped, adorned, originally past participle of ornāre to equip; see -ate 1
Explanation
If something is ornate — whether it's a ball gown, a set of dishes, or a poem — it seems to be covered in ornaments. It's lavish, flowery, or heavily adorned. Look at the first four letters of ornate, and you'll spot the beginning of its close relative ornament. Ornate most often describes how something looks, but it doesn't have to be visual. The prose in Victorian love letters was more ornate than the email messages people send today. The ornate gilded mirrors and enormous chandeliers in the palace at Versailles were the height of fashion in Marie Antoinette's time, but home decor is simpler today. Now, it seems too ornate.
Vocabulary lists containing ornate
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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.
Ornate cabinets designed by Razan's mother have been torn apart and dumped in the bathtub and the bedrooms are still littered with the remains of harvested plants.
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026
Ornate Creole-style ironwork decorated the facades of buildings just like they do in the French Quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 7, 2026
Ornate stone craftsmanship draws the eye up to the ellipse-shaped roof, irreplaceable and meticulous woodwork lines the path toward the catafalque.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 20, 2022
Ornate chandeliers hang over a handful of dining areas, and wood-beamed ceilings top a two-story living room with a fireplace.
From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2022
Ornate birds here rested their stretched wings— horned owls, falcons, cormorants—long-tongued beachcombing birds, and followers of the sea.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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.
