Standard Lemma guide

ornamental

adj · noun · 5 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: /ˌɔː.nəˈmɛn.təl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ˌɔɹ.nəˈmɛn.təl/
  • CMU ARPABET: AO2 R N AH0 M EH1 N T AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Serving as an ornament; having no purpose other than to make more beautiful.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Some think it most ornamental to wear their bracelets on their wrists; others, about their ankles.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: beautifying, embellishing, decorative

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Bred for aesthetic or decorative purposes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: usually

Topics: biology, fish, ichthyology, natural-sciences, zoology

Examples

  • Those cranberry bushes are ornamental, so they're not edible.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An ornamental plant.

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, decorative

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

any plant grown for its beauty or ornamental value

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: plant, flora, plant life

Narrower terms: flowering maple

History

Etymology

From ornament + -al.

Across languages

Translations

50 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: декоративен (dekorativen) — serving to ornament
  • Catalan: ornamental — serving to ornament
  • Chinese Mandarin: 裝飾性的 /装饰性的 (zhuāngshìxìng de) — serving to ornament
  • Chinese Mandarin: 觀賞性的 /观赏性的 (guānshǎngxìng de) — serving to ornament
  • Chinese Mandarin: 觀賞的 /观赏的 (guānshǎng de) — serving to ornament
  • Czech: ornamentální — serving to ornament
  • Dutch: ornamenteel — serving to ornament
  • Finnish: koristeellinen — serving to ornament
  • French: ornemental — serving to ornament
  • Friulian: ornamentâl — serving to ornament
  • Galician: ornamental — serving to ornament
  • German: Zier- — serving to ornament
  • German: dekorativ — serving to ornament
  • Hungarian: díszes — serving to ornament
  • Hungarian: ékes — serving to ornament
  • Indonesian: ornamental — serving to ornament
  • Irish: ornáideach — serving to ornament
  • Irish: gréagáin — serving to ornament
  • Italian: ornamentale — serving to ornament
  • Old English: gefrætwod — serving to ornament
  • Old English: glengful — serving to ornament
  • Polish: ozdobny — serving to ornament
  • Portuguese: ornamental — serving to ornament
  • Romanian: ornamental — serving to ornament
  • Spanish: ornamental — serving to ornament
  • Bulgarian: декоративен (dekorativen) — bred for aesthetic or decorative purposes
  • Chinese Mandarin: 裝飾性的 /装饰性的 (zhuāngshìxìng de) — bred for aesthetic or decorative purposes
  • Chinese Mandarin: 觀賞性的 /观赏性的 (guānshǎngxìng de) — bred for aesthetic or decorative purposes
  • Chinese Mandarin: 觀賞的 /观赏的 (guānshǎng de) — bred for aesthetic or decorative purposes
  • Finnish: koriste- — bred for aesthetic or decorative purposes
  • Finnish: koristeellinen — bred for aesthetic or decorative purposes
  • Indonesian: ornamental — bred for aesthetic or decorative purposes
  • Bulgarian: декорация (dekoracija) — plant serving to ornament
  • Catalan: ornamental — plant serving to ornament
  • Chinese Mandarin: 觀賞植物 /观赏植物 (guānshǎng zhíwù) — plant serving to ornament
  • Czech: okrasná rostlina — plant serving to ornament
  • Dutch: sier- — plant serving to ornament
  • Dutch: sierplant — plant serving to ornament
  • Finnish: koristeellinen — plant serving to ornament
  • French: ornemental — plant serving to ornament
  • French: ornementale — plant serving to ornament
  • Galician: ornamental — plant serving to ornament
  • German: Zierpflanze — plant serving to ornament
  • Greek: διακοσμητικό (diakosmitikó) — plant serving to ornament
  • Greek: διακοσμητική (diakosmitikí) — plant serving to ornament
  • Ido: ornementala — plant serving to ornament
  • Italian: ornamentale — plant serving to ornament
  • Japanese: 装飾用 — plant serving to ornament
  • Malay: tanaman hiasan — plant serving to ornament
  • Russian: орнаментальная (ornamentalʹnaja) — plant serving to ornament
Real reading context

ornamental in complete knowledge articles

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