| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Abstract | Theoretical, without reference to specifics |
| Absurd | Contrary to logic, but sometimes artistically viable |
| Affected | Assuming a false manner or attitude to impress others |
| Ambiguous | Having two or more possible meanings |
| Analytical | Inclined to examine things by studying their contents or parts |
| Anecdotal | Involving short narratives of interesting events |
| Angry | Resentful, enraged |
| Archaic | In the style of an earlier period |
| Austere | Stern, strict, frugal, unadorned |
| Banal | Pointless and uninteresting |
| Baroque | Elaborate, grotesque, and ornamental |
| Bizarre | Unusually strange or odd |
| Bland | Undisturbing, unemotional, and uninteresting |
| Bombastic | Pretentious and pompous |
| Breezy | Quick-paced, but sometimes superficial |
| Childish | Immature (when applied to adults or to writing) |
| Cinematic | Having the qualities of a motion picture |
| Classical | Formal, enduring, and standard, adhering to certain traditional methods |
| Colloquial | Characteristic or ordinary and informal conversation |
| Comic | Humorous, funny, light (there are many levels of comedy) |
| Concise | Using very few words to express a great deal |
| Confessional | Characterized by personal admissions of faults |
| Contemptuous | Expressing contempt or disdain |
| Convincing | Persuasive, believable, plausible |
| Convoluted | Very complicated or involved (as in the case of sentences with many qualifiers, phrases , and clauses) |
| Crepuscular | Having to do with twilight or shadowy areas (as in the darker and more hidden parts of human experience) |
| Cynical | A tendency to believe that all human behavior is selfish and opportunistic |
| Decadent | Marked by a decay in morals, values, and artistic standards |
| Depressing | Sad, gloomy (without any redeeming qualities of true tragedy) |
| Detached | Disinterested, unbiased, emotionally disconnected |
| Discursive | Moving pointlessly from one subject to another; rambling |
| Dreamlike | Having the characteristics of a dream |
| Earthy | Realistic, rustic, coarse, unrefined, instinctive, animalize |
| Effeminate | Soft, delicate, unmanly |
| Elegiac | Expressing sorrow of lamentation (elegy is a mournful poem) |
| Emotional | Much given to strong feelings |
| Epistolary | Involving letters |
| Erudite | Learned, scholarly |
| Eulogistic | Involving formal praise in speech or writing, usually in honor of someone dead |
| Evocative | Having the ability to call forth memories or other responses |
| Expressionistic | Stressing the subjective and symbolic in art and literature |
| Facetious | Amusing, but light, unserious, frivolous |
| Farcical | Humorous in a light way, comedy with high exaggeration |
| Fatalistic | Believing that everything that happens is destined and, therefore, out of the hands of the individual |
| Flamboyant | Conspicuously bold or colorful |
| Fluid | Flowing smoothly |
| Iconoclastic | Inclined to attack cherished beliefs and traditions |
| Impressionistic | Inclined to use subjective impressions rather than objective reality |
| Ironic | Characterized by an unexpected turn of events, often the opposite of what was intended |
| Irreverent | Showing disrespect for things that are usually respected or revered |
| Journalistic | Characterized by the kind of language used in journalism |
| Lyrical | Intense, spontaneous, musical |
| Metaphorical | Having the characteristics of melodrama in which emotions and plot are exaggerated and characterization is shallow |
| Mournful | Feeling or expressing grief (certain literary forms are devoted to the expression of grief, such as elegies) |
| Mundane | Ordinary of common, as in everyday matters ("His mind was filled with mundane matters") |
| Naturalistic | Tending to present things in art and literature as they appear in nature or actuality |
| Nostalgic | Inclined to long for or dwell on things of the past; sentimental |
| Objective | Uninfluenced by personal feelings; seeing things from the outside, not subjectively |
| Ominous | Indicating or threatening evil or danger as dark clouds indicate that a storm is coming |
| Parody | A satirical imitation of something serious, such as a comic takeoff of Romeo and Juliet (the parody must have enough elements of the original for it to be recognized) |
| Persuasive | Able to get a person to do something or agree with one by an appeal to reason or other convincing devices |
| Philosophical | Interested in the study of basic truths of existence and reality |
| Pious | Having or displaying a reverence for God and religion; sometimes used pejoratively, when the display is excessive and overly righteous |
| Poetical | Having the qualities of poetry, such as pleasing rhythms or images |
| Pompous | Displaying one's importance in an exaggerated way; sometimes this quality is found in some comic characters |
| Primitive | Simple and crude (Primitivism in the arts tries to make use of a sophisticated way of what seems simple and crude.) |
| Prurient | Preoccupied with lewd and lustful thoughts |
| Psychological | Having to do with the human mind and human behavior |
| Puritanical | Strict or severe in matters or morality |
| Realistic | Inclined to represent things as they really are |
| Rhythmic | Characterized by certain patters, beats, or accents (as in dancing, music, poetry) |
| Romantic | Having feelings or thoughts of love, but when associated with nineteenth century literature or any such literature it suggests a style that emphasizes freedom of form, imagination, and emotion |
| Sardonic | Mocking, taunting, bitter, scornful, sarcastic |
| Satirical | Using sarcasm and irony, often humorously to expose human folly |
| Sensuous | Taking pleasure in things that appeal to the senses; sensual suggests a strong preoccupation with such things, especially sexual pleasures |
| Stark | Plain, harsh, completely (as in "stark raving mad"); simple or bare, when applied to style, sometimes even bleak or grim |
| Subjective | Relying on one's own inner impressions, as opposed to being objective |
| Surrealistic | Stressing imagery and the subconscious and sometimes distorting ordinary ideas in order to arrive at artistic truths |
| Terse | Effectively concise, brief |
| Trite | Stale, worn out, as in trite expressions |
| Urbane | Sophisticated, socially polished |
| Victorian | Prudish, stuffy, and puritanical (qualities associated with Queen Victoria's reign) |
| Whimsical | Inclined to be playful, humorous, or fanciful |
| Wordy | Using more words than necessary to say what you have to say |
Combine with other sets
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