decorative

«decorative» in Mova's school dictionary: used to make something look pretty or attractive, rather… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

adjective (decorative, more decorative, most decorative)

meaning for a pupil

1) Decorative means used to make something look pretty or attractive, rather than to be useful. tree →

2) Decorative can also describe someone or something that looks nice but does little work. tree →

sense in the lessons

In art and design lessons, decorative patterns, borders and lettering make work look attractive. At home, decorative cushions, plates and lights are for looks. In stories, «purely decorative» can be a joke about a useless thing. Common phrases: «decorative border», «purely decorative», «decorative arts», «decorative lights».

examples

• We drew a decorative border around our poems. tree →
• The plates on Nan's wall are only decorative, not for eating off. tree →
• Christmas lights are decorative and cheerful. tree →
• The cake had decorative icing flowers on top. tree →
• The old fireplace is decorative and never used. tree →
• Celtic knots are a famous decorative pattern. tree →
• The sword on the wall was purely decorative and very blunt. tree →

note

Say DEC-or-a-tive. Related: «decorate» (verb), «decoration» (noun). Opposite in meaning: «useful», «practical», «functional».

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «decorative» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.