Ornate Meaning
/ɔɹˈneɪt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjElaborately ornamented, often to excess.
adjFlashy, flowery or showy.
Sentence Examples
That ornate silver platter is my favorite!
The loaf of bread was adorned with ornate tiny squirrels.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The royal palace had an ____ ceiling decorated with gold and precious stones.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ frame around the painting was gilded with gold leaf and carved with floral patterns.
Word Origin & History
Learned borrowing from Latin ōrnātus, perfect passive participle of ōrnō (“to equip, adorn”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Doublet of orné.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"a graceful and ornate rhetoric"
— [1644], [John Milton], Of Education. To Master Samuel Hartlib, [London]: […] [Thomas Underhill and/or Thomas Johnson], →OCLC:
"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:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The royal palace had an ____ ceiling decorated with gold and precious stones.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ frame around the painting was gilded with gold leaf and carved with floral patterns.