decorative
made or used to look nice, not to be very useful
Made or used mainly to make something look more attractive, especially with little or no practical purpose.
about the design or style that is used to make things look beautiful, like in art or buildings
Relating to the design, ornamentation, or surface treatment that decorates objects, rooms, or buildings.
- Base: decorative
decorative arts
8art of decorating useful objects
a group of art forms like furniture design, ceramics, and textiles that focus on how useful objects look
- She curated an exhibition on European decorative arts from the 18th century.
- The museum has a large collection of decorative arts, including glass, silver, and porcelain.
decorative element
1part added to improve looks
a part of a building, room, or object that is there mainly to make it look nicer
- The balcony serves as a decorative element on the front of the house.
- The designer added a wooden beam as a decorative element in the ceiling.
decorative feature
2noticeable part mainly for looks
a clearly seen part of a house, object, or product that is there mostly to make it look good
- The fireplace is more of a decorative feature than a real heat source.
- The arches over the windows are decorative features that give the building character.
decorative lighting
3lighting mainly for appearance
lights that are used more to make a place look good than to give strong light to see by
- They added decorative lighting along the garden path for the party.
- The restaurant uses soft decorative lighting to create a relaxed atmosphere.
decorative pillow
4pillow mainly for looks
a small pillow you put on a bed or sofa mainly to make it look nice, not to sleep on
- The sofa is covered in decorative pillows that match the curtains.
- She bought a few decorative pillows to add color to the guest room.
decorative trim
5ornamental edges or borders
a line or edge of material added to clothes, furniture, or buildings mainly to make them look nicer
- The dress has decorative trim along the sleeves and collar.
- They chose white decorative trim for the windows to match the porch railings.
for decorative purposes
7intended only to decorate
used to say that something is used only to make a place or thing look nice
- These stones are sold for decorative purposes and are not suitable for construction.
- The plants are mainly there for decorative purposes in the restaurant.
purely decorative
6only for looks, not use
used to say that something is only to look nice and does not really do anything useful
- Those shelves are purely decorative and can’t support heavy books.
- The buttons on this coat are purely decorative, so you can’t actually button it up.