decorative

1. 1.

   serving an esthetic rather than a useful purpose

   “cosmetic fenders on cars”

   “the buildings were utilitarian rather than decorative”

   Synonymscosmeticornamental

   Similarnonfunctional

Questions about decorative

What does decorative mean?

decorative means "serving an esthetic rather than a useful purpose".

How many syllables are in decorative?

decorative has 3 syllables: decor-a-tive. The stress falls on "decor". In IPA it is /ˈdɛkɹətɪv/.

What is another word for decorative?

Close synonyms include cosmetic, ornamental. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is decorative a common word?

decorative is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.