Words to Describe Tone and Diction

These flashcards provide vocabulary words that describe tone and language along with their definitions for exam preparation.

Admiring

Complimentary, favorable.

Alarmed

Excited, worried.

Aloof

Haughty, distant.

Ambivalent

Indecisive, having mixed emotions.

Anxious

Uneasy, brooding.

Apathetic

Uncaring, uninvolved.

Apologetic

Regretful, sorry.

Audacious

Overly bold, insolent.

Belligerent

Contentious, aggressive.

Benevolent

Kindly, full of good will.

Bitter

Hateful, malicious, resentful, rancorous.

Candid

Frank, truthful.

Censorious

Severely critical, condemnatory.

Clinical

Detached, coolly dispassionate.

Complacent

Self-satisfied, smug.

Condescending

Showing superiority, patronizing.

Contemptuous

Scornful, disdainful, disrespectful, irrelevant.

Critical

Judging harshly.

Cynical

Distrustful of human nature and motives, misanthropic.

Dejected

Sad, hopeless, depressed.

Delirious

Suggesting frenzied excitement.

Detached

Unconcerned, aloof, distant, unbiased.

Didactic

Instructive (has a negative connotation).

Dispassionate

Unaffected by strong feeling; showing coolness of judgment.

Dogmatic

Authoritative, assertive, arrogant.

Dreamy

Vague, in a state of reverie, appearing tranquil.

Effusive

Excessively demonstrative, gushing.

Elated

Joyful, extremely happy.

Facetious

Ironic, tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic.

Flippant

Lacking proper respect or seriousness.

Forgiving

Pardoning, excusing.

Frivolous

Lacking seriousness, playful, silly.

Giddy

Lightheartedly silly.

Impartial

Unbiased, objective.

Impassioned

Ardent, fervent, fervid.

Importunate

Overly persistent in demand.

Incredulous

Not believing.

Indignant

Showing anger at injustice.

Insolent

Arrogant, overbearing, impudent.

Irate

Very angry.

Ironic

Expressing the opposite of literal meaning.

Irreverent

Very disrespectful.

Jocular

Joking, humorous.

Laudatory

Full of praise, complimentary.

Matter-of-fact

Concerned with fact only, not imaginative or fanciful; objective.

Maudlin

Overly sentimental.

Melancholy

Depressed, dejected, very sad.

Menacing

Threatening, looming over.

Optimistic

Inclined to expect the best possible outcome.

Pedantic

Overly concerned with minor details; overly academic.

Pompous

Arrogant, self-important, condescending.

Puerile

Childish, juvenile.

Pungent

Caustic, stinging, biting.

Sardonic

Disdainfully humorous, mocking, sarcastic.

Skeptical

Questioning, doubting.

Somber

Serious, solemn, gloomy, grave.

Sympathetic

Favoring, pitying.

Urgent

Urging insistently, earnest.

Vexed

Annoyed, agitated.

Vindictive

Vengeful, spiteful, vicious.

Whimsical

Playful, fanciful, amusing.

Zealous

Eager, passionate, fervent.

Connotative

Suggestive of an associative or secondary meaning.

Esoteric

Intended for people with a specialized knowledge or interest.

Jargon

Full of specialized words difficult for others to understand.

Artificial

Not natural.

Colloquial

Used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not literary or formal.

Colorful

Vibrant, varied.

Concrete

Not abstract, to the point.

Elevated

More formal or sophisticated than spoken or colloquial language.

Euphemistic

Phrased in an indirect way to refer to something unpleasant.

Grotesque

Repulsively ugly and distorted.

Homespun

Simple, unsophisticated, rustic.

Idiomatic

Containing expressions natural to a native speaker.

Insipid

Lacking flavor, dull, lifeless.

Picturesque

Visually attractive.

Plain

Unadorned and to the point.

Poetic

Imaginative, figurative, emotionally expressive.

Pretentious

Attempting to impress through affectation.

Prosaic

Commonplace, unromantic, everyday.

Scholarly

Relating to serious academic study.

Sensuous

Relating to the senses rather than the intellect.

Vulgar

Lacking sophistication or good taste; unrefined.