Ornamental

//ˌɔːnəˈmɛntl// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An ornamental plant.

    "The tumbleweed is a gracious gift from the Russians, having been imported as a favored ornamental from the steppes of central Asia."

  2. 2
    any plant grown for its beauty or ornamental value wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Serving as an ornament; having no purpose other than to make more beautiful.

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

  2. 2
    Bred for aesthetic or decorative purposes. usually

    "Those pine trees on the lawn are the fastest-growing ornamentals we could find."

Adjective
  1. 1
    serving an esthetic rather than a useful purpose wordnet

Example

More examples

"Tom has several ornamental birds in his backyard as well as a garden gnome."

Etymology

From ornament + -al.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.