ornate

[awr-neyt] /ɔrˈneɪt/

adjective

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.

Origin

1375-1425; late Middle English < Latin ornātus well-equipped, adorned, orig. past participle of ornāre to equip; see -ate¹

Related forms

ornately, adverb

ornateness, noun

unornate, adjective

unornately, adverb

unornateness, noun

Synonyms

1. showy, ostentatious; rich, lavish.

Examples from the web for ornate

It was an ornate space, with a decorated ceiling and red tiled floor.
It was really ornate with the ivory keys peeling off.
Beyond the ornate gate, only a few outbuildings and the charred corner of his mansion survive.
Other designers use computer software to perfect ornate hand drawings that appear far removed from the digital world.
There was nothing soaring about his oratory, nothing ornate or mellifluous.
It's astonishing to have such ornate refinement in the middle of the stark landscape.
It's not overly ornate-the drinks and bartending are the stars.
Today's school choice discussion is weighed down with ornate words written by people who have never experienced it.
Large, ornate civic buildings often merit a lawn, because they cannot be visually comprehended close up.
His prose was wordy and ornate but also sharp-edged and funny, packing the punch of an old-style broadside.

British Dictionary definitions for ornate

ornate

/ɔːˈneɪt/

adjective

heavily or elaborately decorated

(of style in writing) overembellished; flowery

Derived Forms

ornately, adverb
ornateness, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Latin ornāre to decorate

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.