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Glite Dictionary
tinselly ornament

tinselly ornament

4.2
A shiny decoration that people hang on a tree for the holidays
  • noun
translation icon : adorno brillante
  • He hung a bright tinselly ornament on the Christmas tree.

Examples

  • Each child received a sparkling tinselly ornament to hang during the holiday celebration.

  • The mantel was decorated with every kind of tinselly ornament imaginable.

  • Look at that tinselly ornament!

  • She hung a beautiful tinselly ornament on the tree.

  • The children admired the shiny tinselly ornament they placed on the Christmas tree.

  • During the party, every table was adorned with a charming tinselly ornament to enhance the festive spirit.

  • For the holiday, she carefully chose a stunning tinselly ornament to decorate her front door.

Surface Forms

tinselly ornament singular
tinselly ornaments plural

Morphology

tinselly + ornament

The adjective 'tinselly' means shiny or glittery and 'ornament' means a decorative item, so the phrase directly denotes a shiny decorative object. This is a regular adjective + noun composition (tinsel + -y → tinselly) and is fully compositional, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Tinselly ornament may come from old decorations made from thin strips of metal like tin that shone in candlelight. Because these bits made trees look bright and showy, today tinselly ornament means 'a shiny, often showy decoration'.