How do you describe the way something looks? A room can be beautiful, fancy, rich, flashy or bare, and each word tells the reader whether you admire it or wince at it.
Key idea
Beauty: aesthetic (to do with beauty), exquisite (delicate and fine), sublime (awe-inspiring). Rich and fancy: ornate, opulent. Showing off: ostentatious, flamboyant. Too much: gaudy, garish. Bare: austere.
Pay attention to tone. Ornate and opulent can be praise or a gentle complaint; ostentatious, gaudy and garish always criticize; flamboyant can be either, depending on whether you enjoy the show.
The ten words
Common mistake
aesthetic (about beauty) is not ascetic (self-denying). gaudy and garish always criticize; ornate and opulent can praise.
| word | tone | example |
|---|---|---|
| exquisite, sublime | praise | an exquisite vase; a sublime view |
| ornate, opulent | praise or gentle complaint | an ornate ceiling; an opulent hotel |
| flamboyant | either | a flamboyant performer |
| ostentatious | criticism (showing off) | an ostentatious gold car |
| gaudy, garish | criticism (tasteless, too bright) | a gaudy sweater; garish neon |
| austere | neutral or stern | an austere room |
Aesthetic (about beauty) sounds like ascetic (living a strict, self-denying life), but the two are unrelated. And austere is the opposite of ornate and opulent.