Wordsmith collection

Literary Style & Mood

by Wordsmith @wordsmith

The vocabulary of tone and atmosphere: 75 words for describing style, mood and voice in writing — evocative, sardonic, haunting and beyond.

• gothic Alternative letter-case form of Gothic.
• austere Grim or severe in manner or appearance.
• nostalgic Of, having, or relating to nostalgia.
• tongue-in-cheek Not intended seriously; jocular or humorous.
• saturnine Of a person: having a tendency to be cold and gloomy
• pensive Engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought.
• whimsical Given to whimsy.
• somber US standard spelling of sombre.
• heartfelt Believed or felt deeply and sincerely.
• sublime High, tall, towering; also, positioned in a high place; high-up, lofty.
• brooding Broody; incubating eggs by sitting on them.
• visceral Of or relating to, made up of, or positioned among or within, the viscera (“internal organs of the body, especially those contained within the abdominal and thoracic cavities”).
• melancholic Filled with or affected by melancholy—great sadness or depression, especially of a thoughtful or introspective nature.
• frank Honest, especially in a manner that seems slightly blunt; candid; not reserved or disguised.
• ephemeral Lasting for a short period of time.
• terse Of speech or style: brief, concise, to the point.
• macabre Representing or personifying death.
• dramatic Of or relating to the drama.
• chaotic Filled with chaos.
• foreboding Of ominous significance; serving as an ill omen; foretelling of harm or difficulty.
• facetious Treating serious issues with (often deliberately) inappropriate humour; flippant.
• florid Having a rosy or pale red colour; ruddy.
• baroque Ornate, intricate, decorated, laden with detail.
• morose Sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour.
• ominous Of or pertaining to an omen or to omens; being or exhibiting an omen; significant.
• symbolic Pertaining to a symbol.
• satirical Of, pertaining to, or connected with satire.
• haunting Remaining in the mind; not easily forgotten.
• cynical Of or relating to the belief that human actions are motivated only or primarily by base desires or selfishness.
• earnest Serious, sincere, ingenuous.
• playful Enjoying play; sportive; prone to playing frequently, in the manner of a child or young pet (viz. puppy or kitten).
• eerie Inspiring fear, especially in a mysterious or shadowy way; strange, weird.
• minimalist Believing in or seeking a minimal state; seeking to minimize or reduce to a minimum.
• vivid Clear, detailed, or powerful.
• imagery The work of one who makes images or visible representation of objects.
• uplifting Improving the mood; causing cheerfulness.
• melodramatic Of or pertaining to melodrama; like or suitable to a melodrama; unnatural in situation or action.
• sullen Having a brooding ill temper; sulky.
• sarcastic Containing sarcasm.
• lighthearted Joyful, glad, taking pleasure in being alive; not depressed or sad.
• sardonic Scornfully mocking or cynical.
• tense Showing signs of stress or strain; not relaxed.
• grandiloquent Given to using language in a showy way by using an excessive number of difficult words to impress others; bombastic; turgid.
• idyllic Of or pertaining to idylls.
• witty Clever; amusingly ingenious.
• flippant Showing disrespect through a casual attitude, levity, and a lack of due seriousness; pert.
• figurative Of use as a metaphor, simile, metonym or other figure of speech, as opposed to literal; using figures.
• succinct Encircled by, or as if by, a girdle; drawn up or wrapped tightly.
• metaphorical Pertaining to or characterized by a metaphor; figurative; symbolic.
• poignant Sharp-pointed; keen.
• bombastic showy in speech and given to using flowery or elaborate terms; grandiloquent; pompous
• pervasive Manifested throughout; pervading, permeating, penetrating or affecting everything.
• ornate Elaborately ornamented, often to excess.
• amiable Friendly; kind; sweet; gracious
• ironic Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony.
• atmospheric Of, relating to, produced by, or coming from the atmosphere.
• gloomy Not very illuminated; dim because of darkness, especially when appearing depressing or frightening.
• eloquent Fluently persuasive and articulate.
• flowery Pertaining to or characteristic of flowers.
• preachy Tending toward excessive moralization.
• dystopian Of or pertaining to a dystopia.
• evocative That evokes (brings to mind) a memory, mood, idea, feeling, or image; redolent or reminiscent.
• jubilant In a state of elation.
• suspenseful Inducing suspense.
• sentimental Characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion; appealing to the emotions (especially tender emotions) rather than reason, morality, aesthetic taste, etc.
• didactic Instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate, especially with regard to morality.
• sincere Genuine; meaning what one says or does; heartfelt.
• irreverent Lacking respect; not having or not showing respect for or seriousness towards something that is usually treated with respect; going against conventional precepts.
• maudlin Affectionate or sentimental in an effusive, tearful, or foolish manner, especially because of drunkenness.
• bleak Without color; pale; pallid.
• gritty Containing sand or grit; consisting of grit; caused by grit; full of hard particles.
• allegorical Of, relating to, or containing allegory.
• frantic Insane, mentally unstable.
• verbose Containing or using more words than necessary; long-winded, wordy.
• lyrical Appropriate for or suggestive of singing.

Definitions from Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0) and Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).