Vocabulary for Tone and Style
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| 17877734 | Abstract | Theoretical, without reference to specifics | |
| 17877735 | Absurd | Contrary to logic, but sometimes artistically viable | |
| 17877736 | Affected | Assuming a false manner or attitude to impress others | |
| 17877737 | Ambiguous | Having two or more possible meanings | |
| 17877738 | Analytical | Inclined to examine things by studying their contents or parts | |
| 17877739 | Anecdotal | Involving short narratives of interesting events | |
| 17877740 | Angry | Resentful, enraged | |
| 17877741 | Archaic | In the style of an earlier period | |
| 17877742 | Austere | Stern, strict, frugal, unadorned | |
| 17877743 | Banal | Pointless and uninteresting | |
| 17877744 | Baroque | Elaborate, grotesque, and ornamental | |
| 17877745 | Bizarre | Unusually strange or odd | |
| 17877746 | Bland | Undisturbing, unemotional, and uninteresting | |
| 17877747 | Bombastic | Pretentious and pompous | |
| 17877748 | Breezy | Quick-paced, but sometimes superficial | |
| 17877749 | Childish | Immature (when applied to adults or to writing) | |
| 17877750 | Cinematic | Having the qualities of a motion picture | |
| 17877751 | Classical | Formal, enduring, and standard, adhering to certain traditional methods | |
| 17877752 | Colloquial | Characteristic or ordinary and informal conversation | |
| 17877753 | Comic | Humorous, funny, light (there are many levels of comedy) | |
| 17877754 | Concise | Using very few words to express a great deal | |
| 17877755 | Confessional | Characterized by personal admissions of faults | |
| 17877756 | Contemptuous | Expressing contempt or disdain | |
| 17877757 | Convincing | Persuasive, believable, plausible | |
| 17877758 | Convoluted | Very complicated or involved (as in the case of sentences with many qualifiers, phrases , and clauses) | |
| 17877759 | Crepuscular | Having to do with twilight or shadowy areas (as in the darker and more hidden parts of human experience) | |
| 17877760 | Cynical | A tendency to believe that all human behavior is selfish and opportunistic | |
| 17877761 | Decadent | Marked by a decay in morals, values, and artistic standards | |
| 19303992 | Depressing | Sad, gloomy (without any redeeming qualities of true tragedy) | |
| 19303993 | Detached | Disinterested, unbiased, emotionally disconnected | |
| 19303994 | Discursive | Moving pointlessly from one subject to another; rambling | |
| 19303995 | Dreamlike | Having the characteristics of a dream | |
| 19303996 | Earthy | Realistic, rustic, coarse, unrefined, instinctive, animalize | |
| 19303997 | Effeminate | Soft, delicate, unmanly | |
| 19303998 | Elegiac | Expressing sorrow of lamentation (elegy is a mournful poem) | |
| 19303999 | Emotional | Much given to strong feelings | |
| 19304000 | Epistolary | Involving letters | |
| 19304001 | Erudite | Learned, scholarly | |
| 19304002 | Eulogistic | Involving formal praise in speech or writing, usually in honor of someone dead | |
| 19304003 | Evocative | Having the ability to call forth memories or other responses | |
| 19304004 | Expressionistic | Stressing the subjective and symbolic in art and literature | |
| 19304005 | Facetious | Amusing, but light, unserious, frivolous | |
| 19304006 | Farcical | Humorous in a light way, comedy with high exaggeration | |
| 19304007 | Fatalistic | Believing that everything that happens is destined and, therefore, out of the hands of the individual | |
| 19304008 | Flamboyant | Conspicuously bold or colorful | |
| 19304009 | Fluid | Flowing smoothly | |
| 19304010 | Iconoclastic | Inclined to attack cherished beliefs and traditions | |
| 19304011 | Impressionistic | Inclined to use subjective impressions rather than objective reality | |
| 19304012 | Ironic | Characterized by an unexpected turn of events, often the opposite of what was intended | |
| 19304013 | Irreverent | Showing disrespect for things that are usually respected or revered | |
| 19304014 | Journalistic | Characterized by the kind of language used in journalism | |
| 19304015 | Lyrical | Intense, spontaneous, musical | |
| 19304016 | Metaphorical | Having the characteristics of melodrama in which emotions and plot are exaggerated and characterization is shallow | |
| 19304017 | Mournful | Feeling or expressing grief (certain literary forms are devoted to the expression of grief, such as elegies) | |
| 19304018 | Mundane | Ordinary of common, as in everyday matters ("His mind was filled with mundane matters") | |
| 19304019 | Naturalistic | Tending to present things in art and literature as they appear in nature or actuality | |
| 22185421 | Nostalgic | Inclined to long for or dwell on things of the past; sentimental | |
| 22185422 | Objective | Uninfluenced by personal feelings; seeing things from the outside, not subjectively | |
| 22185423 | Ominous | Indicating or threatening evil or danger as dark clouds indicate that a storm is coming | |
| 22185424 | Parody | A satirical imitation of something serious, such as a comic takeoff of Romeo and Juliet (the parody must have enough elements of the original for it to be recognized) | |
| 22185425 | Persuasive | Able to get a person to do something or agree with one by an appeal to reason or other convincing devices | |
| 22185426 | Philosophical | Interested in the study of basic truths of existence and reality | |
| 22185427 | Pious | Having or displaying a reverence for God and religion; sometimes used pejoratively, when the display is excessive and overly righteous | |
| 22185428 | Poetical | Having the qualities of poetry, such as pleasing rhythms or images | |
| 22185429 | Pompous | Displaying one's importance in an exaggerated way; sometimes this quality is found in some comic characters | |
| 22185430 | Primitive | Simple and crude (Primitivism in the arts tries to make use of a sophisticated way of what seems simple and crude.) | |
| 22185431 | Prurient | Preoccupied with lewd and lustful thoughts | |
| 22185432 | Psychological | Having to do with the human mind and human behavior | |
| 22185433 | Puritanical | Strict or severe in matters or morality | |
| 22185434 | Realistic | Inclined to represent things as they really are | |
| 22185435 | Rhythmic | Characterized by certain patters, beats, or accents (as in dancing, music, poetry) | |
| 22185436 | Romantic | Having feelings or thoughts of love, but when associated with nineteenth century literature or any such literature it suggests a style that emphasizes freedom of form, imagination, and emotion | |
| 22185437 | Sardonic | Mocking, taunting, bitter, scornful, sarcastic | |
| 22185438 | Satirical | Using sarcasm and irony, often humorously to expose human folly | |
| 22185439 | Sensuous | Taking pleasure in things that appeal to the senses; sensual suggests a strong preoccupation with such things, especially sexual pleasures | |
| 22185440 | Stark | Plain, harsh, completely (as in "stark raving mad"); simple or bare, when applied to style, sometimes even bleak or grim | |
| 22185441 | Subjective | Relying on one's own inner impressions, as opposed to being objective | |
| 22185442 | Surrealistic | Stressing imagery and the subconscious and sometimes distorting ordinary ideas in order to arrive at artistic truths | |
| 22185443 | Terse | Effectively concise, brief | |
| 22185444 | Trite | Stale, worn out, as in trite expressions | |
| 22185445 | Urbane | Sophisticated, socially polished | |
| 22185446 | Victorian | Prudish, stuffy, and puritanical (qualities associated with Queen Victoria's reign) | |
| 22185447 | Whimsical | Inclined to be playful, humorous, or fanciful | |
| 22185448 | Wordy | Using more words than necessary to say what you have to say |
