decorativedec‧o‧ra‧tive /ˈdekərətɪv $ ˈdekərə-, ˈdekəreɪ-/ ●○○ adjective 
Examples
a decorative panel above the door—decoratively adverb
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Cut out decorative shapes with a cookie cutter.
- Many of the nature books are purely decorative, but a few are very informative.
- The poem had been embroidered on a pretty decorative pillow.
- A generous pile of cushions, or a treasured marble bust can add the required decorative touch.
- A shelf for decorative plates running at picture rail height will instantly bring an interior to life.
- Lamps, decorative objects, rugs, wall coverings and fabrics are only a few of the most commonly licensed home furnishings.
- Prices, where stated at all, were scribbled in decorative script upon tiny cards, an afterthought.
- The decorative scheme incorporates portrait Roman heads, animals, birds, fishes and Roman geometrical decorative forms.
- The reality in these stories is only decorative.
- There's no point in getting all the other decorative details perfect if your plates and knives and forks are all wrong.
Longman Language Activatorused to decorate something► decorations
Collocations things that you use to decorate a place, object, piece of furniture etc especially for a special occasion: · Have you put up your Christmas decorations yet?· The bride's mother had made all the table decorations.
► decoration designs and patterns used to decorate buildings, clothes, or furniture: · The only decoration in the room was a picture above the fireplace.· The building was very plain with hardly any decoration at all.for decoration: · These plants are grown mainly for decoration.
► ornament an object, often something fairly small, that is used in a room or house to make it look more attractive: · I bought a new Christmas tree ornament - do you want to see it?· Thieves stole all the silver and gold ornaments from the palace.
► garnish a small amount of food, often of a different colour, that is used to make a dish look nice or to add taste to it: · Serve the fish with a garnish of lemon.· Fresh parsley is often used for garnishes.
► decorative something that is decorative is intended to make a place, object, piece of furniture etc look attractive - use this especially about designs and patterns: · The poem had been embroidered on a pretty decorative pillow.purely/highly decorative: · Many of the nature books are purely decorative, but a few are very informative.
► ornamental something ornamental , especially in a garden or building, is intended to make a place look more attractive, and usually does not have a useful purpose: · A gardener comes in each week to trim the ornamental trees and bushes.· an ornamental pond
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► purely
Word family· These arches are purely decorative, so no cutting of brickwork is needed.· Other Simlawood items are purely decorative.
► very· These wheels were very good workers and many replicas have been built; some very decorative specimens.· It is not very decorative and is of limited importance to aquarists.· There is also a wide range of paving materials that can create a very decorative effect.· It is a minute, very decorative herb with a thin and creeping rooting system.· The plant is light green and very decorative.· A comparatively rare plant, Acorus is propagated with difficulty but it is a very decorative plant when used in aquariums.· It is a very decorative plant.· The plant is very decorative with its dark-veined leaves.
NOUN► art· Their new collection also includes scarves, ties and braces and all designs are based on antique decorative arts.· The Pageant of the Masters uses live models to re- create notable paintings, sculptures and decorative art.· Museums of design or decorative arts validate their collections in different terms.· In the field of eighteenth-century art, we've had paintings, decorative arts and period rooms divorced from each other.· There are also some decorative arts scattered around the museum, and one wishes there were more.· More than forty dealers in furniture and the decorative arts will participate and proceeds go to the Carnegie Museum of Art.· There will be space devoted to prints and drawings, as well as sculpture and the decorative arts.· There were no clear distinctions between the fine and the decorative arts in Mannerist or Baroque Prague.
► scheme· The decorative scheme incorporates portrait Roman heads, animals, birds, fishes and Roman geometrical decorative forms.· From an early date the imperial palaces at Constantinople incorporated decorative schemes that emphasized and glorified imperial power and dominion.· There were minor additions made to the decorative scheme in the 19C.
► style· Internally the house is bright and airy with stripped doors and has a light decorative style.· But his decorative style is as spartan as any Internationalist.· The simpler decorative style of the wide boats echoes that of the seagoing ships alongside which they were built.
► touch· A generous pile of cushions, or a treasured marble bust can add the required decorative touch.· Left: Most boatyards had a signwriter who painted the boats in their company liveries and added the decorative touches.· It is surprising the difference such a relatively small decorative touch can make to an ordinary room or staircase.· Shaped hemlines are just one way to add a decorative touch.· Adding a decorative touch to the plain brick wall, they also give the room quite a Continental feel.
WORD FAMILYnoundecordecorationdecoratoradjectivedecorativeverbdecorateadverbdecoratively
pretty or attractive, but not always necessary or useful: a decorative panel above the door—decoratively adverb