Terms for describing tone
POSITIVE TONE WORDS | NEUTRAL | NEGATIVE TONE WORDS |
---|---|---|
admiring | commanding | abhorring |
adoring | direct | acerbic |
affectionate | impartial | ambiguous |
appreciative | indirect | ambivalent |
approving | meditative | angry |
bemused | objective | annoyed |
benevolent | questioning | antagonistic |
blithe | speculative | anxious |
calm | unambiguous | apathetic |
casual | unconcerned | apprehensive |
celebratory | understated | belligerent |
cheerful | bewildered | |
comforting | biting | |
comic | bitter | |
compassionate | blunt | |
complimentary | bossy | |
conciliatory | cold | |
confident | conceited | |
contented | condescending | |
delightful | confused | |
earnest | contemptuous | |
ebullient | curt | |
ecstatic | cynical | |
effusive | demanding | |
empathetic | depressed | |
encouraging | derisive | |
euphoric | derogatory | |
excited | desolate | |
exhilarated | despairing | |
expectant | desperate | |
facetious | detached | |
fervent | disappointed | |
flippant | disliking | |
forthright | disrespectful | |
friendly | doubtful | |
funny | embarrassed | |
gleeful | enraged | |
gushy | evasive | |
happy | fatalistic | |
hilarious | fearful | |
hopeful | forceful | |
humorous | foreboding | |
interested | frantic | |
introspective | frightened | |
jovial | frustrated | |
joyful | furious | |
laudatory | gloomy | |
light | grave | |
lively | greedy | |
mirthful | grim | |
modest | harsh | |
nostalgic | haughty | |
optimistic | holier-than-thou | |
passionate | hopeless | |
placid | hostile | |
playful | impatient | |
poignant | incredulous | |
proud | indifferent | |
reassuring | indignant | |
reflective | inflammatory | |
relaxed | insecure | |
respectful | insolent | |
reverent | irreverent | |
romantic | lethargic | |
sanguine | melancholy | |
scholarly | mischievous | |
self-assured | miserable | |
sentimental | mocking | |
serene | mournful | |
silly | nervous | |
sprightly | ominous | |
straightforward | outraged | |
sympathetic | paranoid | |
tender | pathetic | |
tranquil | patronizing | |
whimsical | pedantic | |
wistful | pensive | |
worshipful | pessimistic | |
zealous | pretentious | |
psychotic | ||
resigned | ||
reticent | ||
sarcastic | ||
sardonic | ||
scornful | ||
self-deprecating | ||
selfish | ||
serious | ||
severe | ||
sinister | ||
skeptical | ||
solemn | ||
somber | ||
stern | ||
stolid | ||
stressful | ||
strident | ||
suspicious | ||
tense | ||
threatening | ||
tragic | ||
uncertain | ||
uneasy | ||
unfriendly | ||
unsympathetic | ||
upset | ||
violent | ||
wry |
POSITIVE TONE WORDS | NEUTRAL | NEGATIVE TONE WORDS |
---|---|---|
admiring | commanding | abhorring |
adoring | direct | acerbic |
affectionate | impartial | ambiguous |
appreciative | indirect | ambivalent |
approving | meditative | angry |
bemused | objective | annoyed |
benevolent | questioning | antagonistic |
blithe | speculative | anxious |
calm | unambiguous | apathetic |
casual | unconcerned | apprehensive |
celebratory | understated | belligerent |
cheerful | bewildered | |
comforting | biting | |
comic | bitter | |
compassionate | blunt | |
complimentary | bossy | |
conciliatory | cold | |
confident | conceited | |
contented | condescending | |
delightful | confused | |
earnest | contemptuous | |
ebullient | curt | |
ecstatic | cynical | |
effusive | demanding | |
empathetic | depressed | |
encouraging | derisive | |
euphoric | derogatory | |
excited | desolate | |
exhilarated | despairing | |
expectant | desperate | |
facetious | detached | |
fervent | disappointed | |
flippant | disliking | |
forthright | disrespectful | |
friendly | doubtful | |
funny | embarrassed | |
gleeful | enraged | |
gushy | evasive | |
happy | fatalistic | |
hilarious | fearful | |
hopeful | forceful | |
humorous | foreboding | |
interested | frantic | |
introspective | frightened | |
jovial | frustrated | |
joyful | furious | |
laudatory | gloomy | |
light | grave | |
lively | greedy | |
mirthful | grim | |
modest | harsh | |
nostalgic | haughty | |
optimistic | holier-than-thou | |
passionate | hopeless | |
placid | hostile | |
playful | impatient | |
poignant | incredulous | |
proud | indifferent | |
reassuring | indignant | |
reflective | inflammatory | |
relaxed | insecure | |
respectful | insolent | |
reverent | irreverent | |
romantic | lethargic | |
sanguine | melancholy | |
scholarly | mischievous | |
self-assured | miserable | |
sentimental | mocking | |
serene | mournful | |
silly | nervous | |
sprightly | ominous | |
straightforward | outraged | |
sympathetic | paranoid | |
tender | pathetic | |
tranquil | patronizing | |
whimsical | pedantic | |
wistful | pensive | |
worshipful | pessimistic | |
zealous | pretentious | |
psychotic | ||
resigned | ||
reticent | ||
sarcastic | ||
sardonic | ||
scornful | ||
self-deprecating | ||
selfish | ||
serious | ||
severe | ||
sinister | ||
skeptical | ||
solemn | ||
somber | ||
stern | ||
stolid | ||
stressful | ||
strident | ||
suspicious | ||
tense | ||
threatening | ||
tragic | ||
uncertain | ||
uneasy | ||
unfriendly | ||
unsympathetic | ||
upset | ||
violent | ||
wry |