Ornament

Examples

• I told his impudence that the gilt pestle and mortar was quite ornament enough; as if I was born, indeed, to be a country surgeon's wife! William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
• Jo in maroon, with a stiff, gentlemanly linen collar, and a white chrysanthemum or two for her only ornament. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
• Her persecutions ought to be ended: she ought to return to the society of which she was an ornament. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
• I am very glad it's yours, because I'd rather ornament it for you than for any one else. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
• These fishes are reared by the Chinese in small ponds, in basins or porcelain vessels, and kept for ornament. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
• You are not to have, in any object of use or ornament, what would be a contradiction in fact. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
• Strip it of all its ornament, run it down to the root and nucleus of the whole, and what is it? Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
• Is the absence of unlimited proprietary rights felt more strongly in the case of personal chattels (such as furniture and ornaments) than in the case of land or machinery? Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
• Somewhat later, the handle became pointed, and was engraved with bright, cut ornaments and a cartouch at the end in which were engraved the initials of the owner. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
• They buried their dead, often with ornaments, weapons, and food; they used a lot of colour in the burial, and evidently painted the body. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
• He neither speaks nor understands any European tongue--and his ornaments and weapons are those of the West Coast savages. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
• With the exception of their ornaments all were naked. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
• These ornaments are of value, yet are they trifling to what he would bestow to obtain our dismissal from this castle, free and uninjured. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
• I wished the room had not been so well lighted, that I might not so clearly have seen the little pictures, the ornaments, the screensthe worked chair. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
• The royal crown of France is a circle ornamented with eight fleur-de-lis, from which rise as many quarter-circles closing under a double fleur-de-lis. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
• Lucy was a very neat, lady-like little creature, who used to wear very fine muslin gowns, ornamented with her own beautiful embroidery. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
• Its top is spreading, and is ornamented with a thick and glossy foliage. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
• The bow is ornamented with a steel comb with a battle-ax attachment which threatens to cut passing boats in two occasionally, but never does. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
• Large glass doors at the lower end opened on to a terrace, beautifully ornamented along its whole length with a profusion of flowers. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
• The gate, ornamented at the upper part by smartly-painted trellis-work, was locked. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
• She received a letter from Winifred Crich, ornamented with drawings. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
• It was a cover for his book-table that I happened to be ornamenting. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.

Editor: Martin