Words to Describe Tone and Diction

Words Commonly Used to Describe Tone

• Tone refers to the attitude or emotional quality expressed in writing.

• This is not a definitive list; there are many other words out there.

Tone Descriptors

1. Admiring

   • Synonyms: complimentary, favorable

2. Alarmed

   • Synonyms: excited, worried

3. Aloof

   • Synonyms: haughty, distant

4. Ambivalent

   • Synonyms: indecisive, having mixed emotions

5. Anxious

   • Synonyms: uneasy, brooding

6. Apathetic

   • Synonyms: uncaring, uninvolved

7. Apologetic

   • Synonyms: regretful, sorry

8. Audacious

   • Synonyms: overly bold, insolent

9. Belligerent

   • Synonyms: contentious, aggressive

10. Benevolent

    • Synonyms: kindly, full of good will

11. Bitter

    • Synonyms: hateful, malicious, resentful, rancorous

12. Candid

    • Synonyms: frank, truthful

13. Censorious

    • Synonyms: severely critical, condemnatory

14. Clinical

    • Synonyms: detached, coolly dispassionate

15. Complacent

    • Synonyms: self-satisfied, smug

16. Condescending

    • Definition: showing superiority, patronizing

17. Contemptuous

    • Synonyms: scornful, disdainful, disrespectful, irrelevant

18. Critical

    • Definition: judging harshly

19. Cynical

    • Definition: distrustful of human nature and motives; misanthropic

20. Dejected

    • Synonyms: sad, hopeless, depressed

21. Delirious

    • Definition: suggesting frenzied excitement

22. Detached

    • Synonyms: unconcerned, aloof, distant, unbiased

23. Didactic

    • Definition: instructive (has a negative connotation)

24. Dispassionate

    • Definition: unaffected by strong feeling; showing coolness of judgment

25. Dogmatic

    • Synonyms: authoritative, assertive, arrogant

26. Dreamy

    • Definition: vague, in a state of reverie, appearing tranquil

27. Effusive

    • Definition: excessively demonstrative, gushing

28. Elated

    • Synonyms: joyful, extremely happy

29. Facetious

    • Synonyms: ironic, tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic

30. Flippant

    • Definition: lacking proper respect or seriousness

31. Forgiving

    • Synonyms: pardoning, excusing

32. Frivolous

    • Definition: lacking seriousness, playful, silly

33. Giddy

    • Definition: lightheartedly silly

34. Impartial

    • Synonyms: unbiased, objective

35. Impassioned

    • Synonyms: ardent, fervent, fervid

36. Importunate

    • Definition: overly persistent in demand

37. Incredulous

    • Definition: not believing

38. Indignant

    • Definition: showing anger at injustice

39. Insolent

    • Synonyms: arrogant, overbearing, impudent

40. Irate

    • Definition: very angry

41. Ironic

    • Definition: expressing the opposite of literal meaning

42. Irreverent

    • Definition: very disrespectful

43. Jocular

    • Definition: joking, humorous

44. Laudatory

    • Definition: full of praise, complimentary

45. Matter-of-fact

    • Definition: concerned with fact only, not imaginative or fanciful; objective

46. Maudlin

    • Definition: overly sentimental

47. Melancholy

    • Synonyms: depressed, dejected, very sad

48. Menacing

    • Definition: threatening, looming over

49. Optimistic

    • Definition: inclined to expect the best possible outcome

50. Pedantic

    • Definition: overly concerned with minor details; overly academic

51. Pompous

    • Synonyms: arrogant, self-important, condescending

52. Puerile

    • Definition: childish, juvenile

53. Pungent

    • Synonyms: caustic, stinging, biting

54. Sardonic

    • Definition: disdainfully humorous, mocking, sarcastic

55. Skeptical

    • Definition: questioning, doubting

56. Somber

    • Synonyms: serious, solemn, gloomy, grave

57. Sympathetic

    • Definition: favoring, pitying

58. Urgent

    • Definition: urging insistently, earnest

59. Vexed

    • Definition: annoyed, agitated

60. Vindictive

    • Synonyms: vengeful, spiteful, vicious

61. Whimsical

    • Definition: playful, fanciful, amusing

62. Zealous

    • Synonyms: eager, passionate, fervent

Words Commonly Used to Describe Language/Diction

• The language of a passage has control over tone.

• Language can be categorized into different forms such as formal, colloquial, scientific, clinical, etc.

• We often need words to describe language—to describe the force or quality of the diction, images, and details.

• These words qualify how the work is written through the author's selection of words.

• Note: These words often overlap and share similarities with tone words.

Language and Diction Descriptors

1. Artificial

   • Definition: not natural

2. Colloquial

   • Definition: used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not literary or formal

3. Colorful

   • Definition: vibrant, varied

4. Concrete

   • Definition: not abstract, to the point

5. Elevated

   • Definition: more formal or sophisticated than spoken or colloquial language

6. Euphemistic

   • Definition: phrased in an indirect way to refer to something unpleasant

7. Grotesque

   • Definition: repulsively ugly and distorted

8. Homespun

   • Definition: simple, unsophisticated, rustic

9. Idiomatic

   • Definition: containing expressions natural to a native speaker

10. Insipid

    • Definition: lacking flavor, dull, lifeless

11. Pedantic

    • Definition: overly concerned with minor details; overly academic

12. Picturesque

    • Definition: visually attractive

13. Plain

    • Definition: unadorned and to the point

14. Poetic

    • Definition: imaginative, figurative, emotionally expressive

15. Pretentious

    • Definition: attempting to impress through affectation

16. Prosaic

    • Definition: commonplace, unromantic, everyday

17. Scholarly

    • Definition: relating to serious academic study

18. Sensuous

    • Definition: relating to the senses rather than the intellect

19. Vulgar

    • Definition: lacking sophistication or good taste; unrefined