10 descriptive words

List of Descriptive Words: Adjectives, Adverbs, & Participles

Which is more intriguing — a dark, spooky night or a pitch-black, starless, ominous night? Would you rather eat a delicious cake or a mouthwatering, sugar-sweet chocolate cake? Using descriptive words makes readers feel like they’re in your scene instead of just reading it. When you’ve got the proper list of descriptive words, you can easily turn handsome into chiseled or pretty into dazzling.

lists of descriptive adjectives, adverbs, and participles

Adjectives as Descriptive Words

Adjectives are descriptive words that modify nouns. They’re what you need to tell the difference between an acrobatic cat, a delirious cat, and a precious cat (or maybe a cat that’s all three).

acrobatic	adorable	adventurous
bitter	boundless	bright
brilliant	brittle	delirious
diminutive	exultant	filthy
foolhardy	gregarious	intrepid
jocular	joyful	jubilant
keen	kooky	lanky
lazy	limp	lush
luxurious	macabre	magnanimous
mellow	miserable	nimble
nocturnal	opulent	ornate
ordinary	palatial	parsimonious
peevish	picturesque	potent
practical	precious	putrid
questionable	quirky	radiant
raspy	rustic	scornful
scrumptious	silky	sly
spider-like	spectacular	tentacular
tense	thorny	verdant
whimsical	woeful	zesty

Adverbs as Descriptive Words

Use an adverb to describe an action rather than a noun, or if you want to add even more detail to an adjective. Most adverbs end in -ly (though not all of them), and they’re helpful ways to strengthen your writing.

amusingly	angrily	apathetically
assertively	begrudgingly	blissfully
blithely	boldly	boisterously
chillingly	coyly	darkly
dazzlingly	deafeningly	dutifully
eagerly	facetiously	faintly
falteringly	frivolously	greedily
grimly	gloweringly	guiltily
hastily	hungrily	intelligently
kindly	lavishly	lazily
listlessly	masterfully	meagerly
methodically	naively	narrowly
neglectfully	nerve-wrackingly	numbly
offensively	passionately	pleasantly
pointlessly	quickly	rapidly
rashly	secretly	seriously
swiftly	tactfully	teasingly
tenderly	timorously	tragically
underhandedly	vacantly	vividly
weirdly	youthfully	zealously

Participles as Descriptive Words

You can even use verbs as describing words — although they’re called participles in that context. Past participles end in -ed or -en, present participles end in -ing, and they all look like descriptive words that you probably use all the time.

acclaimed	accomplished	amazing
amused	baby-faced	battered
beaten	bleeding	boring
broken	blushing	bow-legged
captivating	cluttered	confusing
chosen	complicated	condemned
crystallized	customized	dazzling
depressed	disgusting	distressing
disturbing	dreaming	driven
dyed	embarrassing	exciting
far-reaching	fascinated	freckled
frustrating	hard-hearted	humiliating
interesting	irritating	lying
melted	mouthwatering	peaked
puzzling	relaxing	riveting
satisfied	scared	scented
shocking	sickening	side-splitting
staggering	sweeping	tattered
threatening	thrilled	tired
towering	weathered	wrinkled

Using Descriptive Words in Your Writing

Descriptive words help paint a picture in the reader's mind. The sentence "It was windy," might give the reader information, but it's not very descriptive. Consider how much imagery you can add with the words gusty, torrential, breezy, or windswept in front of your nouns.

Using descriptive words can:

bring characters to life in a novel or short story
sell an item in a product advertisement
convince an audience in a persuasive writing piece
explain the setting of a news story
provide instructions for a DIY project

Using illustrative descriptors makes your writing impossible to put down. Whether you're using descriptive words in poetry or informational writing, there are always opportunities to make sentences more vivid.

Describing Our World With Words

When it comes to using descriptive words, variety is key. Go beyond the list of adjectives, adverbs, and participles above to help you set the scene with just the right imagery.

Appeal to your readers' senses with a list of strong sensory words.
Use descriptive words for scents to describe pleasant (or unpleasant) smells.
Describe an aquatic scene with water words for descriptive writing.
Learn to describe a person’s (or character’s) physical appearance.
Choose the right descriptive words to describe someone’s personality.
Paint a delicious picture with descriptive language for food.

Staff Writer

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120 Adjectives That Start With “D”
Desperate for delightful adjectives that start with “D”? Or are you looking for more difficult and distasteful words to describe a dire situation? Either way, you’ll find a wealth of “D” adjectives ready for dreamy dates or dastardly deeds.
90 Adjectives That Start With “G”
Good gravy! The letter “G” has great times written all over it. There’s nothing as gratifying as using a “G” adjective, which are words that describe people, places, and objects. With adjectives like gorgeous, gracious, and gluttonous, “G” is just the gift that keeps on giving.

Descriptive Words for Scents: List of Smell Adjectives

Isn't it amazing how words can take shape and materialize into depictions of real-world encounters, including scents? The more descriptive the word, the greater the chance that the imagination will recreate the scent. That's why it's vital for writers to have a few descriptive words for scents ready to go. You never know when you'll want to share the memory of a fine day, right down to the jasmine wafting through the air. Use these smell adjectives to enhance the sensory appeal of your writing.

scent word floral girl smelling flowers

Describing a Scent

Some descriptive words for scents refer to what made the smell or explain what it smells like. Review words and meanings here or download a printable list of scent words.

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Outdoorsy or Natural Adjectives for Smell

The great outdoors is filled with fragrances that most people can relate to, so nature words are often used to describe or explain scent.

airy - natural smelling, like clean, fresh air
clean - very light scent, clean and natural
crisp - fresh and natural
earthy - recently dug or tilled soil
fresh - natural smelling, rather than artificial
loamy - fragrance with an earthy note
feminine - floral fragrances
floral - scents associated with flowers
flowery - fragrance similar to flowers
masculine - earthy fragrances
pine - crisp, refreshing evergreen smell
lilac - rich floral scent combining rose with vanilla
moist - smell of dew or rainfall
rose - spicy yet sweet fragrance
smoky - scent of burning wood
woodsy - forest-like smell

Food-Related Words to Describe Smell

There can be a close association between the senses of taste and smell, so it makes sense that fragrances are often described in terms of foods.

citrusy - crisp notes of any citrus fruit
fishy - smelling of fish; pungent, strong, unpleasant
lemony - tart, piquant citrus notes
lime - refreshing and zesty citrus smell
minty - menthol-like smell, think mint tea or peppermint candy
savory - spicy, salty scent that has no elements of sweetness
spicy - sharp, heady, can sting or tickle the nose
sour - rancid, sickly sweet smell
sweet - sugary smell
tart - sharp fragrance

Adjectives to Describe the Depth of Scent

Some scents are very light while others are extremely strong with a lot of variation in between.

billowy - scent that surges and wanes
biting - pungent, sharp or harsh fragrance
faint - very light or mild fragrance; can barely be detected
heady - very strong aroma
misty - mild fragrance, not overpowering
overpowering - too strong of a smell
pungent - strong fragrance
redolent - having a strong, permeating odor
rich - a strong, resounding smell that is appealing to the senses
sharp - pungent fragrance that permeates the air
wispy - hint of fragrance in the air
perfumed - artificial fragrance, not natural-smelling

Descriptive Terms for Unpleasant Scents

Simply saying that something smells bad isn’t very descriptive. Use appropriate adjectives to convey what an unpleasant odor smells like.

acid - sour, burnt odor; vinegary smell
acrid - strong, biting smell, such as something that’s on fire
dirty - nasty, unpleasant odor; unwashed and in need of washing
doggy - odor like an unbathed or wet canine
fetid - decaying or rotting smell
mildewed - soaked in wetness that has gone stale
moldy - damp, fungus-like odor
musty - old smell; stale and probably moldy
nauseating - odor that makes one sick to one’s stomach
plastic - artificial chemical polymer odor
putrid - stench of decay
rancid - spoiled; food that has gone bad
repulsive - off-putting odor
rotten - spoiled, rancid, unpalatable
skunky - noxious smell that lingers; sulfuric (like rotten eggs) odor
stale - old, dusty, stagnant odor
spoiled - rotten; something that has “gone bad”
stinking - unpleasant, foul smell
sweaty - perspiration odor

Scent Synonyms

The word scent can refer to a lovely perfume or a strong odor. There are many synonyms you can use instead to avoid repetition. While each of these words can be used to mean the same thing as scent in certain contexts, the associated connotation can be quite different. You might talk about how much you love the aroma of freshly baked bread, but it wouldn't make much sense to talk about the pheromone of freshly baked bread.

aroma - strong, yet pleasant scent
aura - smell surrounding something
balm - soothing scent
bouquet - blend of floral scents
essence - basic, natural scent
fragrance - pleasant smell
incense - strong scent
odorize - changing the scent
perfume - added scent
pheromone - natural scents
smell - odor, smell, scent
trace - a tiny amount of fragrance
whiff - a fleeting scent

If you're looking for antonyms of the word "scent" instead, you could use such words as stench, stink or reek. These have much more of a negative connotation to them, like how you might talk about the stench of a dumpster in a back alley.

Descriptive Words Set the Mood

It is said that a person’s sense of smell may be the strongest link to memories, even more than sight or hearing. Indeed, scents can bring back the past or can set the mood for new experiences. Take a second to stop and smell the flowers with fun sunflower facts.

With a few poetic lines, a reader can visualize precisely how an author was feeling, down to the very smell in the room. It’s only natural to incorporate adjectives for smell into writing and dialogue. As you continue to create interesting scenes within your writing, utilize this list of descriptive words to help engage readers in your stories. Get ready to bring entire universes to life with your words.

Staff Writer

Adjectives characterizing a person - list

Rubric: For every day

Here are collected words (adjectives) that characterize a person (both a man and a woman). Words are arranged in a list, for convenience, divided by letters of the alphabet. This list can be useful to you for compiling a resume, characterization, compiling announcements (for hiring or searching for a person) and simply for describing people (if necessary).

Please note: Not all adjectives that can describe a person are collected here, but only those that can characterize people (that is, there are no such words as “beautiful”, “tall”, “small”, “barrel-shaped”, "shaved", etc. They refer to the description of appearance and are not related to the description of personality, character, behavior).

A

Adventurized
Authority
Aggressive
adequate
Azartic
Neat
ALCH
Elogical logic)
Altruistic (altruistic)
Alcohol addict
Immoral
Ambitious
Amorphous
Anecdotal
Apathetic
Apolitical
Ascetic
Assertive rights, not to depend on external assessments, influences and do it without violating the rights others)
Asocial
Autical
Artistic
aristocratic

B

Palled
Black
Perepsychia
Dilanthin0012
Windle
Nonsense
Explosive
Scruffy
Guilty
Fitty
ACTIVITIVE
Available
exalted
exalted
exalted attitude towards something or someone)
Strong-willed
Free
Free-thinking
Freedom-loving
Thievish
Grouchy
Receptive
Enthusiastic
Impressive
Hostile (hostile, hostile-cold)
Harmful
Omnivorous (here - promiscuous, not the one who eats everything)
Fixing
vulgar
Office
Outstanding
Highly moral
Highly exaggerated
High -EVEIDEN0012
Great
Trusty
Hasty
Lolder -out
Dominative
House
Decent
NEDDICAL (here, DEMODICAL
DRIMEN ignorant)
Friendly
Dirty
Bad
Foolish
Spiritual and moral
Spiritual
Mental
Mentally ill
0012

E

Broken
Bossy
Natural
Echered

greedy
Miserable
hard, reinforced concrete)
Bile
Effeminate
Feminine
Womanly
Cute
Cruel
Rigid
Critical
PROSOLABLE
MORY
Cultural

Laby (here is mood)
Laconic
Latennaya
Light (not for weight. easy "on the rise")
Gullible
Frivolous
Frivolous
Easily irritable (easily irritated)
Easily controllable
Easily vulnerable
Unseasoned (not about cognac, but about the lack of endurance in a person)
Unbearable
Unbearable
Disharmonious
Negative (negatively tuned) , thinking)
Shallow (here is not about the depth of the reservoir, but about the depth of the inner content of a person)
Non-proud
Inhospitable
Illiterate
Unnecessary
optional (here is not a loving obligations that does not recognize them, avoiding duties, etc.)
incorpected
Fear
Fisherous
Direct
2 Unsuitable
NOTSED NOW THE
NOT Untrue
Non-idle
Impractical
Unpredictable
Unforeseen
Inflexible
Moral
Cut

O

Charming
Obvornoye
Offective
Offended (here in the meaning - offended by life, on fate, etc. )
deceitful
See Educated
Sociable
Objective
Compulsory
Gifted
Possessed (here in the meaning - obsessed with work, work, the devil, etc.)
Standard
dull
Lastly
Desperate
Owl
Oygnidic
numb, charming
Eye