4 uses
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Definition
of a thing: having lots of decorative detail
of speech: more complicated than necessary because of unusual words and phrases (fans might call it flowery or finely finished, but most would call it too complicated or showy)
of speech: more complicated than necessary because of unusual words and phrases (fans might call it flowery or finely finished, but most would call it too complicated or showy)
- They hadn't yet turned the lamps on, if they still worked, but the arched window facing to the east drew enough sun from the mostly shaded lawn to raise a glitter on the silver vases that once had held flowers, and to glint on the dim prisms of the lamps, the highly polished walnut of the mantelpiece, the ornate legs of tables and chairs.1 — The Watchdog (75% in)
- At the corner of the house, standing in the twilight shadow of hundred-year-old oaks and eight-year-old maples, in the cool perfection of pointlessly curving stone walls and wide slate shingles, the Senator paused and pointed across the broad, flawlessly mown and deeply shaded lawn toward a long stone building as handsomely gabled and ornately dressed as the house itself.14 — The Wilderness (46% in)
- Leaving no tip—he never left tips except to impress—he carried his restaurant check to the ornate, ostentatiously large black cash-register, long obsolete but still very grand, counted out the exact change, and went out to the street without a word.14 — The Wilderness (59% in)
- He saw Kleppmann's huge barn, clean-lined against the mist, windows lighted as on a Christmas card, and Kleppmann's long chickenhouse of cinder-block, and to the east, the ornate, absurd old house, sheltered by maples.18 — The Dragon's Dwelling-Place and the Court for Owls (46% in)
There are no more uses of "ornate" in The Sunlight Dialogues.
Typical Usage
(best examples)