Definitions

ornate

[awr-neyt] / ɔrˈneɪt /

ADJECTIVE

fancily decorated

Synonyms

STRONGEST

baroque beautiful elegant embroidered fancy gaudy gilded glamorous lavish magnificent opulent rococo sparkling sumptuous

WEAK

adorned aureate bedecked bright brilliant busy colored convoluted dazzling elaborate fine flamboyant flashy flaunting florid flowery fussy glitzy glossy high-wrought jeweled luscious meretricious ornamented ostentatious overdone overelaborate pretentious resplendent rich showy splashy superficial tawdry variegated

Antonyms

STRONGEST

dull offensive plain poor ugly unsophisticated

WEAK

simple

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The paper had yellowed from age and the cursive was so ornate the words were hard to make out.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026

A maximalist to the end, he likes things ornate.

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026

After Sabarsky died in 1996, Lauder shouldered on, renovating the ornate space with its grand staircase and adding a Viennese-style cafe on the ground floor.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

The shrine is the ornate burial place of Ali -- the Prophet Mohammed's son-in-law, the fourth Islamic caliph and the first Shia Imam.

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

Sasha played a mouse, dressed in a black leotard with fuzzy ears and a tail, performing her part while an ornate sleigh drifted through the swelling orchestral music and showers of glittering fake snow.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Vocabulary lists containing ornate

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