ornament

plural ornaments

1. countableuncountableAn element of decoration; that which embellishes or adorns.

   I'm a bit short on brain myself; the old bean would appear to have been constructed more for ornament than for use.

   1919, P. G. Wodehouse, My Man Jeeves

   2 more examples

   Dust are our frames; and, gilded dust, our pride / Looks only for a moment whole and sound; / Like that long-buried body of the king / Found lying with his urns and ornaments, / Which at a touch of light, an air of heaven, / Slipt into ashes and was found no more.

   1864, Alfred Tennyson, “Aylmer’s Field”, in Enoch Arden, &c., London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 51

   Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story.

   2012 March 28, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2013, page 106

   Synonyms: adornment, decoration, embellishment, garniture, garnish, garnishment, ornamentation

   1. broadlycountableuncountableChristmas ornament: a Christmas tree decoration.

      Synonyms: adornment, decoration, embellishment, garniture, garnish, garnishment, ornamentation

2. countableuncountableentertainmentA musical flourish that is unnecessary to the overall melodic or harmonic line, but serves to decorate that line.
3. countablein pluraluncountableChristianityThe articles used in church services.
4. countableuncountablebiologyA characteristic that has a decorative function (typically in order to attract a mate)

present singular third person ornaments · participle present ornamenting · participle past ornamented · past ornamented

1. To decorate.

   We will ornament the windows with trim to make the room seem brighter.

   1 more example

   After this, perhaps, the next most imposing structure in Liverpool is the railway station; it is built of stone, richly ornamented with thirty-six columns of the Corinthian order.

   1958 October 28, “Liverpool to London in 1842”, in Railway Magazine, page 679

   Synonyms: adorn, bedeck, decorate, embellish, trim

2. To add to.

   The editor ornamented his plain writing, making it fancier but less clear.

   1 more example

   Not a scene goes by that hasn't been ornamented with a split screen, a freeze frame, a caption, a voice-over, a switch between monochrome and colour, or a change of the aspect radio^([sic – meaning ratio]).

   2021 July 12, Nicholas Barber, “The French Dispatch: Four stars for Wes Anderson's latest”, in BBC