rococo
Dripping with embellishment
Rococo describes an ornate, elaborate decorative style characterized by curves, scrollwork, and pastel colors.
The term originated with an 18th-century European art movement but now applies broadly to anything excessively ornamental or florid: rococo prose, rococo architectural details.
The word often carries a slightly dismissive tone, suggesting something overwrought or fussy. (Capitalized Rococo refers specifically to the historical art movement.)
Excessively ornate or ruddy
- intricateElaborately detailed, many parts
- elaborateComplex and detailed
- luxuriantAbundantly rich, profuse
- ornamentedMade visually elaborate
festooned · opulent · sumptuous · lavish · fussy · overwrought · decorated · filigree
Inclined toward fun
- fancifulImaginatively unrealistic
- frivolousNot worthy of attention
- lightheartedCheerful and without worry
- capriciousSubject to sudden changes
delicate · airy · frothy · theatrical · exuberant · effervescent · dainty · pretty
Tastelessly ornate
- clutteredCrowded with disorder
- ostentatiousShowily excessive
- pretentiousFalsely grand or important
- kitschTasteless, garish art
garish · tacky · superficial · indulgent
florid
Excessively ornate or ruddy
- intricateElaborately detailed, many parts
- elaborateComplex and detailed
- luxuriantAbundantly rich, profuse
ornamented · festooned · opulent · sumptuous · lavish · fussy · overwrought · decorated · filigree · scrollwork
playful
Inclined toward fun
- fancifulImaginatively unrealistic
- frivolousNot worthy of attention
- lightheartedCheerful and without worry
capricious · delicate · airy · frothy · theatrical · exuberant · effervescent · dainty · pretty
gaudy
Tastelessly ornate
- clutteredCrowded with disorder
- ostentatiousShowily excessive
- pretentiousFalsely grand or important
kitsch · garish · tacky · superficial · indulgent
- art stylesimpressionism, surrealism, cubism, realism, pop art
- paintingoil painting, watercolor, acrylic paint, oils, oil paints
- aesthetic stylesminimalism, vintage, retro, bohemian, industrial
- decor stylesmodern, contemporary, traditional, rustic, bohemian
- decoratedadorned, bedecked, decorated, embellished, festooned
- flashyshowy, flamboyant, glitzy, gaudy, garish
rococoBauhaus
Influential modernist design school
modernism · neoclassicism · International Style · brutalism · functionalism
rococoplain-spoken
Speaking without ornament
straightforward · direct · clear · unvarnished · blunt