ornate

O1R1N1A1T1E1
US/ɔɹˈneɪt/

adjective

Elaborately ornamented, often to excess.

Less commonScrabble 6

Meanings

ornate1

adjectiveornate (comparative more ornate, superlative most ornate)

comparative more ornate · superlative most ornate

  1. Elaborately ornamented, often to excess.
    1 more example

    The house of Ruthven was a small but ultra-modern limestone affair, between Madison and Fifth ;[…]. As a matter of fact its narrow ornate façade presented not a single quiet space that the eyes might rest on after a tiring attempt to follow and codify the arabesques, foliations, and intricate vermiculations of what some disrespectfully dubbed as “near-aissance.”

    1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter V, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC

    Synonyms: fancy

  2. Finely finished, as a style of composition.

    a graceful and ornate rhetoric

    [1644], [John Milton], Of Education. To Master Samuel Hartlib, [London]: […] [Thomas Underhill and/or Thomas Johnson], →OCLC

ornate2

verbornate (third-person singular simple present ornates, present participle ornating, simple past and past participle ornated)

present singular third person ornates · participle present ornating · participle past ornated · past ornated

  1. obsoleteTo adorn or honour (someone or something).

    And truely thoſe that lyue in the feare of god, (conſydering that they ſerue not only their carnal maiſters, but God hymſelfe,) they be in a good caſe: but they may not bee eye ſeruauntes. […] Saincte Paule woulde haue them to lyue ſo, that they maye ornate and ſanctifye the name of God.

    1552, Hughe Latymer [i.e., Hugh Latimer], Augustine Bernher, compiler, “The Second Sermon”, in Certayn Godly Sermons, Made uppon the Lords Prayer, […], London: […] John Day, […], published 1562, →OCLC, folio 13, verso

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveElaborately ornamented, often to excess.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivemarked by elaborate rhetoric and elaborated with decorative details

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

ornate · adjective

  1. Latinōrnātus
  2. Englishornate

Learned borrowing from Latin ōrnātus, perfect passive participle of ōrnō (“to equip, adorn”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Doublet of orné.

Full word history & related roots →

ornate · verb

  1. Latinōrnātus
  2. Englishornate

From Latin ōrnātus, perfect passive participle of ōrnō (“to equip, adorn”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Compare French orner.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian натруфен
  • натруфен (natrufen)elaborately ornamented, often to excess
Dutch sierlijk, barok
  • sierlijkelaborately ornamented, often to excess
  • barokelaborately ornamented, often to excess
  • bloemrijkflashy, flowery or showy
  • overladenflashy, flowery or showy
Esperanto ornamita
  • ornamitaelaborately ornamented, often to excess
Finnish koristeellinen, koristeltu
  • koristeellinenelaborately ornamented, often to excess
  • koristeltuelaborately ornamented, often to excess
  • prameaflashy, flowery or showy
German kunstvoll, ornamentreich
  • kunstvollelaborately ornamented, often to excess
  • ornamentreichelaborately ornamented, often to excess
  • reich verziertelaborately ornamented, often to excess

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with ornate

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

ornate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ornate

MLA

“ornate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ornate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ornate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ornate.

Source: ornate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.