ornamental
/ˌɔːnəˈmentl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌɔːrnəˈmentl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌȯr-nə-ˈmen-tᵊl/ (ame, mw)
ornamental — 形容詞
- ornamentalpositive
- more ornamentalcomparative
- most ornamentalsuperlative
1. intended to look attractive in a room, garden, or building, instead of having a
裝飾用的
為了好看而非實用而存在的
intended to look attractive in a room, garden, or building, instead of having a practical job to do.
Andrés filled the courtyard with ornamental lemon trees and tiny stone fountains.
Andrés 在中庭種滿了裝飾用的檸檬樹和小型石製噴泉。
ornamental + noun (plants and garden features)
The brass door handle was purely ornamental and never actually turned.
那個黃銅門把純粹是裝飾用的，從來轉不動。
predicative use after 'be' for emphasis
Meera hung ornamental glass lanterns above the dining table for her cousin's wedding.
Meera 為了表姊的婚禮，把裝飾用的玻璃燈籠掛在餐桌上方。
The old fortress has ornamental towers that were never built for defence.
這座古老的城堡有幾座裝飾用的塔樓，當初根本不是為了防禦而建。
Élise prefers ornamental plants like roses to vegetables in her small balcony garden.
Élise 在她狹小的陽台菜園裡，比起蔬菜更愛種玫瑰這類裝飾用的植物。
- decorative
near-equivalent everyday word; slightly more neutral and far more common in speech.
- showy
stresses the eye-catching effect, often with a hint that it is excessive or attention-seeking.
- fancy
informal; covers anything not plain, with no strict 'no practical use' implication.
- functional
designed mainly to do a job; the direct opposite in product design contexts.
- utilitarian
formal; chosen purely for usefulness with no concern for appearance.
- plain
lacking decoration, though it does not specifically claim a working purpose.
文法句型
ornamental + noun
用法筆記
Almost always sits in front of a noun (ornamental plant, ornamental pond, ornamental ironwork). Predicative use ('the carving is ornamental') is possible but mostly appears when the writer wants to stress that the object has no working function.
常見錯誤
ornamental — 名詞
1. a plant grown chiefly to be looked at rather than eaten or used for crops; garde
觀賞植物
主要種來觀賞而非食用的植物
a plant grown chiefly to be looked at rather than eaten or used for crops; gardeners and nurseries use it as a category label.
Ziad's nursery sells vegetables in spring and ornamentals through the summer months.
Ziad 的苗圃春天賣蔬菜，到了夏季就改賣觀賞植物。
countable plural 'ornamentals' in horticulture talk
Adaeze grouped the perennial ornamentals along the sunniest edge of the front yard.
Adaeze 把多年生的觀賞植物全部種在前院日照最充足的那一側。
Many tropical ornamentals will not survive a Taiwan winter outdoors without cover.
許多熱帶觀賞植物在台灣的冬天若不加蓋保護就無法在戶外存活。
The gardening magazine ran a feature on low-maintenance ornamentals for small city balconies.
那本園藝雜誌做了一個專題，介紹適合都市小陽台、好照顧的觀賞植物。
- decorative plant
everyday paraphrase used when 'ornamentals' would sound too technical.
- houseplant
narrower — only indoor decorative plants, while ornamentals include outdoor garden ones.
- edible
as a noun, contrasts crops grown for food (vegetables, herbs) with plants grown for looks.
文法句型
ornamentals (plural)
用法筆記
Almost always plural ('ornamentals') and almost always horticultural — you will see it in plant catalogues, gardening columns, and nursery signs, not in everyday conversation. The singular 'an ornamental' is technically possible but rare.