Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ornamental

/ˌɔɹ.nəˈmɛn.təl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.34 in modern English

Syllables: or-na-men-tal
IPA: /ˌɔɹ.nəˈmɛn.təl/

12

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

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

adj

Bred for aesthetic or decorative purposes.

noun

An ornamental plant.

Example Sentences

"Some think it most ornamental to wear their bracelets on their wrists; others, about their ankles."
"We shall leave to the reader to determine with what judgment we have chosen the several occasions for inserting those ornamental parts of our work."
"There were ornamental ponds and shrubs clipped into animal shapes, painted concrete gnomes sitting on mushrooms, pink flamingos standing on one leg[.]"
"Those cranberry bushes are ornamental, so they're not edible."
"The tumbleweed is a gracious gift from the Russians, having been imported as a favored ornamental from the steppes of central Asia."

Etymology

From ornament + -al.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌɔɹ.nəˈmɛn.təl/
British English: /ˌɔː.nəˈmɛn.təl/

Inflected Forms

more ornamental (comparative) most ornamental (superlative) ornamentals (plural)

Derived Forms

nonornamental ornamentalism ornamentalist ornamentality ornamentalize ornamentalness unornamental

Phrases

ornamental hermit

Frequently Paired Words

ornamentation ornamentally

Synonyms

beautifying embellishing decorative cosmetic

Rhymes With

mental environmental fundamental experimental gentle dental rental continental instrumental non-governmental accidental parental

Questions

How do you pronounce ornamental?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌɔɹ.nəˈmɛn.təl/.
What does ornamental mean?: Serving as an ornament; having no purpose other than to make more beautiful.
Where does ornamental come from?: From ornament + -al.

How to pronounce ornamental

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ornamental”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌɔɹ.nəˈmɛn.təl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ornamental”.
Repeat and practice — Say “ornamental” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.