ornate
Decorated with lots of fancy patterns and details.
ornate in a sentence
- The ornate mirror was covered in carved roses and curling golden leaves.
- Her birthday cake had an ornate design of sugar swirls, ribbons and tiny icing stars.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to ornate?
- Aplain
- Bfancy
- Csimple
- Dbare
Show the answer
B: fancy. The other three mean the opposite of ornate.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to ornate?
- Aplain
- Bdecorated
- Cshowy
- Dfancy
Show the answer
A: plain. The other three mean nearly the same as ornate.
Words that mean something similar
fancy, decorated, showy
Words that mean the opposite
plain, simple, bare
More words about appearance & looks
- ostentatious: Showy in a way that is meant to impress other people.
- outlandish: Very strange and unusual, almost unbelievable.
- parallel: Side by side and always the same distance apart, never meeting.
- peculiar: Strange or unusual.
- preen: To tidy and admire your own appearance.
- pristine: Perfectly clean and unspoilt, like new.
- prominent: Easy to see or notice; standing out.
- quizzical: Showing that you are puzzled or curious, often in a joking way.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test