ornate

adjective

or·nate | \ȯr-ˈnāt

\

Definition of ornate

1 : marked by elaborate rhetoric (see rhetoric sense 2b) or florid (see florid sense 1b) style is clear and simple rather than ornate and pompous — The Times Literary Supplement (London)

2 : elaborately or excessively decorated an ornate mantle an ornate townhouse ornate chandeliers

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Examples of ornate in a Sentence

She doesn't like ornate jewelry. an ornate gambling casino that is designed to look like an Italian palace

Recent Examples on the Web

Hardaway stands inside a hotel ballroom on that May evening, underneath ornate gold ceilings, next to his bronze Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame bust. — Greg Bishop, SI.com, "Run TMC Lives on as the Rare Team Celebrated for Style Rather Than Record," 28 June 2018 Kate Middleton wore her traditional Alexander McQueen, and both women donned ornate hats. — Morgan M. Evans, Fox News, "Meghan Markle attends annual Trooping the Colour parade, makes Buckingham Palace balcony debut," 9 June 2018 Like most New Orleans cemeteries, Carrollton is congested with ornate figurines perched atop crumbling marble and sprawling family plots lodged within the wild, undulating ground. — Hanna Krueger, NOLA.com, "Over 10,000 days of life spent digging graves for New Orleans' dead," 29 May 2018 The most iconic structure remains downtown’s Petroleum Building, an ornate 12-story tower that was finished in 1929, months before the economy and oil prices crashed. — Jeffrey Ball, Fortune, "Photographing The Permian Basin," 25 May 2018 That oven churns out beautiful Neapolitan pizzas, classics like Margherita and marinara and bowling-appropriate pepperoni but also more ornate options with prosciutto and arugula, and a full complement of seven white pizzas. — Ben Mesirow, Los Angeles Magazine, "The Ultimate Pizza Crawl Through Northeast L.A.," 23 May 2018 Take note of decorated stepped gable, ornate terracotta and limestone facade sculpture and banding and art glass windows. — Emily Hines, Indianapolis Star, "See Indianapolis from a new perspective with these 7 postcard-worthy sites," 22 May 2018 The ornate floral decorations on the stairwell have worn down. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "There Are Secrets in the Texas Theatre," 25 May 2018 This scene is quickly replaced by an ornate domestic space displaying religious figurines. — Kerry Cardoza, Chicago Reader, "The American dream, in frosting: the art of Yvette Mayorga," 25 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ornate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near ornate

ornaments rubric

Statistics for ornate

Last Updated

12 Oct 2018

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Time Traveler for ornate

The first known use of ornate was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for ornate

ornate

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of ornate

: covered with decorations : covered with fancy patterns and shapes

: using many fancy words

See the full definition for ornate in the English Language Learners Dictionary

ornate

adjective

or·nate | \ȯr-ˈnāt

\

Kids Definition of ornate

: decorated in a fancy way The traditional costume includes an ornate headdress.

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