本文经授权转载自微信公众号:田间小站
SAT TEM8 GRE
外刊例句
- In a corner of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, beside a 500-year-old chantry, is an ornate bronze plaque inscribed in English and Amharic.
在温莎城堡的圣乔治教堂的一角,一座有着500年历史的礼拜堂旁边,有一块用英语和阿姆哈拉语刻写的华丽青铜牌匾。
——《经济学人》 - To the immediate left is a living room with a fireplace, interior shutters on the windows and an ornate ceiling rosette.
左边紧挨着是一间带壁炉的客厅,内置百叶窗,天花板上有一个富丽的玫瑰花形图案。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[adjective] elaborately or highly decorated
[形容词] 精心或高级装饰的
深入解读
Ornate 是一个与小站(微信公众号:田间小站)推送过的 fascinate, innate, contaminate, stagnate, assassinate, eliminate, culminate, inordinate 等词有着相同结尾的单词,可以一并联想记忆。
从词源上来看,该词源自拉丁语 ornare (装饰、装备)的过去分词 ornatus (装饰的、装扮的、装潢的;装备的、配备的、备有的),15世纪进入英语后则是用来表示“华美的、富丽的、豪华的”,常用来形容任何经过大量、精心、高级或过度装饰过的东西,通常涉及非常细节或复杂的图案或形状设计。比如:
- 装饰华丽的铁艺楼梯
an ornate iron staircase - 对那幅简单的图画用金框是装饰过于华丽了。
The gold frame is much too ornate for that simple picture.
从这个概念出发, ornate 还常用来形容诗歌、散文、文体等“词藻华丽的”,即以精心的修辞和华丽的文风为特点的,常使用不寻常的词语和复杂的结构。比如:
- 简单明了而非华丽浮夸
clear and simple rather than ornate and pompous
名著用例
His grace, tact, and ornate appearance gave the place an air which was most essential, while at the same time his long experience made him a most excellent judge of its stock necessities.
他的翩翩风度、圆活态度和华丽外表给了这个地方一种高雅气氛,这一点对酒店的成功是至关重要的。他有长期的工作经验,在决定购货储备上很精明。
出自美国现实主义作家西奥多·德莱赛(Theodore Dreiser)创作的长篇小说《嘉莉妹妹》(Sister Carrie)。参见:名著下载 | 嘉莉妹妹(Sister Carrie)
同近义词
- elaborate: involving many carefully arranged parts or details; detailed and complicated in design and planning
- fancy: sophisticated or expensive in a way that is intended to impress
- florid: excessively intricate or elaborate