adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈdɛk.ə.ɹə.tɪv/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈdɛk.ɹə.tɪv/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈdɛk.ə.ɹə.tɪv/
General-American:[ˈdɛk.ə.ɹə.ɾɪv]
General-American:/ˈdɛk.ɹə.tɪv/
General-American:[ˈdɛk.ɹə.ɾɪv]
Australian:/ˈdek.ə.ɹə.tɪv/
CMU ARPABET:D EH1 K R AH0 T IH0 V
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
That serves to decorate
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
Decorative embellishments give the home an elegant touch.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
That has no functional purpose.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
The phone on the film set doesn't work, it's purely decorative.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: utilitarian
3
noun
Meaning 3
A plant, tile, etc. intended for use as decoration.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adjective satellite
Meaning 4
serving an esthetic rather than a useful purpose
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
cosmetic fenders on cars
the buildings were utilitarian rather than decorative
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cosmetic, ornamental
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From Latin decorātus + -ive. Cognate with French décoratif.
Across languages
Translations
38 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
декоративен
(dekorativen)
— that serves to decorate
Catalan:
decoratiu
— that serves to decorate
Chinese Mandarin:
裝飾的 /装饰的
(zhuāngshì de)
— that serves to decorate
Czech:
ozdobný
— that serves to decorate
Czech:
zdobný
— that serves to decorate
Czech:
okrasný
— that serves to decorate
Czech:
dekorační
— that serves to decorate
Czech:
dekorativní
— that serves to decorate
Danish:
dekorativ
— that serves to decorate
Dutch:
decoratief
— that serves to decorate
Esperanto:
dekoracia
— that serves to decorate
Finnish:
koristeellinen
— that serves to decorate
Finnish:
koriste-
— that serves to decorate
French:
décoratif
— that serves to decorate
Friulian:
decoratîf
— that serves to decorate
Galician:
decorativo
— that serves to decorate
German:
dekorativ
— that serves to decorate
Greek:
διακοσμητικός
(diakosmitikós)
— that serves to decorate
Hungarian:
dekoratív
— that serves to decorate
Irish:
maiseach
— that serves to decorate
Irish:
maisiúil
— that serves to decorate
Italian:
decorativo
— that serves to decorate
Korean:
장식용
(jangsingnyong)
— that serves to decorate
Malayalam:
അലങ്കാര
(alaṅkāra)
— that serves to decorate
Norwegian Bokmål:
dekorativ
— that serves to decorate
Norwegian Nynorsk:
dekorativ
— that serves to decorate
Occitan:
decoratiu
— that serves to decorate
Persian:
تزیینی
(tazyini)
— that serves to decorate
Polish:
ozdobny
— that serves to decorate
Polish:
dekoracyjny
— that serves to decorate
Polish:
dekoratywny
— that serves to decorate
Portuguese:
decorativo
— that serves to decorate
Romanian:
decorativ
— that serves to decorate
Russian:
декорати́вный
(dekoratívnyj)
— that serves to decorate