ornate style; flowery prose
Refers to a highly decorative, elegant, or elaborate writing style, often used in literary or rhetorical contexts. Can carry a slightly negative nuance of being overly ornate or affected.
His writing is in an ornate style and is hard to read.
In novels with a flowery style, the beauty of the language sometimes takes precedence over the content.
Compound of 美文 (bibun, 'beautiful writing') and 調 (chō, 'tone, style'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term likely emerged in literary criticism to describe an elaborately decorated prose style.