| Term | Definition |
|---|
| ironic | involving the use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning |
| hard-boiled | callous, unfeeling; unsentimental and practical; tough; from detective novels |
| deadpan | impassively matter-of-fact; displaying no excitement or feeling when the content is in the extremes |
| sarcastic | witty language intended to wound, ridicule or express contempt |
| laconic | using or marked by the use of few words |
| familiar | of established friendship; intimate; informal |
| engaging | attractive |
| defensive | sensitive to criticism or injury to one's ego |
| authoritative | official; commanding |
| polite | showing good manners; courteous |
| quizzical | questioning; mocking |
| querulous | full of complaints; peevish; whiny |
| icy | lacking warmth of feeling; chilling in manner |
| confiding | trustful |
| breezy | lively; carefree |
| antic | ludicrous; funny |
| chatty | friendly and talkative |
| whimsical | unpredictable |
| pedantic | characterized by a concern for book learning and formal rules; show-offy in a scholarly way |
| erudite | learned; scholarly |
| oratorical | relating to public speaking; rhetorical skill and eloquence |
| bombastic | pompous; trying to impress other; noisy |
| sententious | concise but full of meaning; pithy |
| didactic | instructive |
| conversational | informal |
| epistolary | of or associated with letters or the writing of letters |
| reportorial | factual, dry, neutral |
| florid | ornate |
| terse | effectively concise, clippy |
| jocular | humorous; playful |
| aphoristic | using proverbs and saying |
| jargon | language used by a profession that aren't understood or used by other people; meaningless talk |
| lingo | language used by a group (ie. camp, jazz) |
| legalese | language used in legal documents |
| boilerplate | clichéd writing |
| circumlocution | the use of unnecessarily wordy and indirect language |
| purple prose | elaborate; ornate; show-offy; overly poetic |
Combine with other sets
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