ornate

Intermediatezipf 3.19

Pronunciation

/ɔːrˈneɪt/(or-NAYT)

Part of speech

adjectiveneutral

Chinese

华丽的;装饰过多的

Definition

Elaborately or excessively decorated; using complex or flowery language.

Word family

  • ornately(adv)华丽地
  • ornateness(n)
  • ornament/ˈɔːrnəmənt/(n)装饰

Collocations

  • ornate decoration
  • ornate style
  • ornate architecture
  • ornate prose
  • highly ornate

Examples

  1. 1.The ornate ceiling of the baroque church featured gold leaf and intricate painted scenes. (elaborately decorated)
  2. 2.His ornate writing style, full of long sentences and obscure references, alienated most readers. (overly elaborate)

Synonyms

  • elaborate/ɪˈlæbərət/detailed and complex
  • decorative/ˈdɛkərətɪv/serving to decorate
  • embellished/ɪmˈbɛlɪʃt/made more attractive with details

Etymology

from Latin "ornatus" (equipped, adorned) — "ornare" (to equip, to adorn)