ornate
/ɔɹˈneɪt/adjective
ornate is spelled O-R-N-A-T-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ornate means “Elaborately ornamented, often to excess” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ornate?
| Letters | 6: O-R-N-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ornate?
Ornate appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ornate?
- US /ɔɹˈneɪt/
Ornate has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ornate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ornate?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ornate from its last stressed vowel (/eɪt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ornate
- more ornate comparative
- most ornate superlative
- ornates present, singular, he/she/it
- ornating participle, present
- ornated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ornate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Elaborately ornamented, often to excess.
- 2
Flashy, flowery or showy.
- 3
Finely finished, as a style of composition.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo adorn or honour (someone or something).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ornate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense elaborately ornamented, often to excess:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | kunstvoll, ornamentreich, reich verziert |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ornate come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin ōrnātus, perfect passive participle of ōrnō (“to equip, adorn”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Doublet of orné.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).