Describing Words | List of 380+ Useful Words to Describe People and Things

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Describing words are used every single day that we speak or write or read. They help to add an extra element to the English language that would otherwise be missed and they’re really great to understand for anyone trying to further their knowledge of the English language. They’re not that difficult to get used to either, once you’ve learned a few of the words from the coming lists, you’ll be a descriptive speaker in no time!

Describing Words

What Are Describing Words

To put it simply, a describing word is used to help a reader or listener to understand or visualize something that they otherwise might not have been able to without any description. They can also be used as a way to define certain objects or words or explain information in a more comprehensible way for people.

Most describing words can be considered adjectives or adverbs, as these are the most commonly used words when used to describe something. You can describe something in either a positive or negative way based on its appearance or its definition. The words that can be described are limitless. You can describe places, times, events, people, situations, actions, information, and loads more.

List Of Describing Words

Although there are plenty of describing words out there, we thought it best not to overwhelm you and instead focus our efforts on showing you a list of describing words. Firstly, we’ll show you a list of words used to describe people, then we’ll show you a list of words used to describe things and you can work out which one you’ll want to use in which situations from there.

Describing Words To Describe People

• Able
• Analytical
• Angelic
• Apathetic
• Apprehensive
• Ardent
• Artificial
• Artistic
• Assertive
• Attentive
• Average
• Awesome
• Careful
• Careless
• Caustic
• Cautious
• Charming
• Cheerful
• Chic
• Childish
• Childlike
• Churlish
• Circumspect
• Crabby
• Crafty
• Cranky
• Crass
• Critical
• Cruel
• Curious
• Cynical
• Dainty
• Decisive
• Disruptive
• Distant
• Distraught
• Distrustful
• Dowdy
• Dramatic
• Dreary
• Drowsy
• Drugged
• Drunk
• Flaky
• Flashy
• Frank
• Friendly
• Grouchy
• Guarded
• Hateful
• Hypercritical
• Hysterical
• Idiotic
• Idle
• Illogical
• Imaginative
• Immature
• Immodest
• Impatient
• Imperturbable
• Inconsiderate
• Industrious
• Inexperienced
• Insensitive
• Inspiring
• Intelligent
• Interesting
• Irritating
• Jocular
• Jovial
• Level-Headed
• Listless
• Lithe
• Lively
• Local
• Logical
• Long-Winded
• Lovable
• Lovely
• Maternal
• Mature
• Mean
• Meddlesome
• Mercurial
• Methodical
• Meticulous
• Mild
• Naive
• Nasty
• Natural
• Nosy
• Numb
• Obliging
• Obnoxious
• Old-Fashioned
• One-Sided
• Orderly
• Ostentatious
• Outgoing
• Outspoken
• Passionate
• Passive
• Paternal
• Paternalistic
• Petulant
• Picky
• Polite
• Popular
• Positive
• Powerful
• Practical
• Prejudiced
• Pretty
• Proficient
• Proud
• Provocative
• Prudent
• Punctual
• Respected
• Respectful
• Responsible
• Restless
• Revered
• Ridiculous
• Sad
• Sassy
• Saucy
• Sedate
• Self-Assured
• Selfish
• Sensible
• Sensitive
• Sentimental
• Serene
• Serious
• Sharp
• Short-Tempered
• Shrewd
• Shy
• Silly
• Sincere
• Sleepy
• Slight
• Sober
• Somber
• Sophisticated
• Soulful
• Soulless
• Sour
• Spirited
• Spiteful
• Stable
• Staid
• Steady
• Stern
• Stoic
• Striking
• Strong
• Stupid
• Surly
• Suspicious
• Sweet
• Thoughtful
• Thoughtless
• Timid
• Tired
• Tolerant
• Touchy
• Tranquil
• Ugly
• Unaffected
• Unbalanced
• Uncertain
• Uncooperative
• Undependable
• Unemotional
• Unfriendly
• Unguarded
• Unhelpful
• Unimaginative
• Unthinking
• Unwilling
• Watchful
• Weak
• Well-Behaved
• Well-Rounded
• Willing
• Wonderful
• Zealous

Describing Words To Describe Things

• Abundant
• Agreeable
• Alive
• Ancient
• Angry
• Better
• Bewildered
• Big
• Bitter
• Black
• Blue
• Boiling
• Brave
• Breeze
• Brief
• Broad
• Broken
• Bumpy
• Calm
• Careful
• Chilly
• Chubby
• Clever
• Clumsy
• Cold
• Colossal
• Cooing
• Cool
• Creepy
• Crooked
• Crooked
• Cuddly
• Curly
• Curved
• Damaged
• Damp
• Dead
• Deafening
• Deep
• Defeated
• Delicious
• Delightful
• Dirty
• Dry
• Dusty
• Eager
• Early
• Easy
• Embarrassed
• Empty
• Faint
• Faithful
• Famous
• Fast
• Fat
• Few
• Fierce
• Filthy
• Flaky
• Flat
• Fluffy
• Freezing
• Fresh
• Full
• Gentle
• Gifted
• Gigantic
• Gray
• Greasy
• Great
• Green
• Grumpy
• Happy
• Heavy
• Helpful
• Helpless
• High
• Hissing
• Hollow
• Hot
• Huge
• Icy
• Immense
• Important
• Inexpensive
• Itchy
• Jealous
• Jolly
• Juicy
• Kind
• Large
• Late
• Lazy
• Light
• Little
• Lively
• Long
• Loose
• Loud
• Low
• Mammoth
• Many
• Massive
• Melodic
• Melted
• Miniature
• Modern
• Mushy
• Mysterious
• Narrow
• Nervous
• Nice
• Noisy
• Numerous
• Nutritious
• Obedient
• Obnoxious
• Odd
• Old
• Old-Fashioned
• Orange
• Panicky
• Petite
• Powerful
• Prickly
• Proud
• Puny
• Purple
• Purring
• Quick
• Quiet
• Rainy
• Rapid
• Raspy
• Red
• Relieved
• Repulsive
• Rich
• Rotten
• Round
• Salty
• Scary
• Scrawny
• Screeching
• Shallow
• Short
• Short
• Shy
• Silly
• Skinny
• Slow
• Small
• Sparse
• Square
• Steep
• Sticky
• Straight
• Strong
• Substantial
• Sweet
• Swift
• Tall
• Tart
• Tasteless
• Teeny
• Teeny-Tiny
• Tender
• Thankful
• Thoughtless
• Thundering
• Tiny
• Uneven
• Uninterested
• Uptight
• Vast
• Victorious
• Voiceless
• Warm
• Weak
• Wet
• Wet
• Whispering
• White
• Wide
• Witty
• Wooden
• Worried
• Wrong
• Yellow
• Young
• Yummy
• Zealous

Describing Words | Image