Sensory words describe what something looks, sounds, smells, tastes or feels like: glistening tar, a gurgling drain, a mildewed shower curtain, chalky tablets, a nubbly wool sweater. The 347 below are grouped by the five senses, plus two groups that go beyond them: movement and balance, and the body's inner sensations, such as hunger or a racing heart. A last set of crossover words borrows one sense to describe another, and each word comes with a short example phrase written for this list.
The ferry lurched away from the pier and Ana caught the railing, ice-cold and pitted with rust. Gulls were shrieking over the wake. The diesel fumes thinned as they cleared the breakwater, and the air turned seaweedy and raw. By the second buoy she was queasy, and the coffee in her paper cup had gone tepid and tasted faintly burnt.
Words from the list: lurching (286), ice-cold (257), pitted (231), shrieking (92), diesel (174), seaweedy (171), raw (258), queasy (311), tepid (251) and burnt (157). Movement, touch, sound, smell, the inner body and taste in four sentences; sight gets only the setting and the rust.
Two of those choices show how to pick between near-synonyms. Pitted, not rough: rust eats small pits into metal, so the word tells you the railing is old and neglected as well as how it feels under her hand. Seaweedy, not salty: salt itself has no smell, so “salty air” borrows a word from taste, while seaweedy names something the reader can actually smell at a harbor.
For the craft behind them, how much sensory detail a scene needs and why filter words get in the way, see the guide to sensory language. For words by subject, such as people, places, weather and mood, see the descriptive words list.
| If you're describing… | Look under | Words |
|---|---|---|
| If you're describing…Light, color, shape, things in motion | Look underSight | Words1–69 |
| If you're describing…Noise, quiet, voices | Look underSound | Words70–128 |
| If you're describing…Scents and odors | Look underSmell | Words129–177 |
| If you're describing…Flavor, and how food feels | Look underTaste | Words178–223 |
| If you're describing…Texture, temperature, pain | Look underTouch | Words224–285 |
| If you're describing…Motion and balance (beyond the five) | Look underMovement | Words286–306 |
| If you're describing…Hunger, tiredness, a racing heart (beyond the five) | Look underThe inner body | Words307–329 |
| If you're describing…One sense in terms of another | Look underCrossover words | Words330–347 |
Sight words for light and color
Words for brightness and shadow, color, shape and the movement you can see.
Light and shine
- blazing — blazing headlights on the wet road
- dazzling — a dazzling glare off the snowfield at noon
- gleaming — gleaming taps in a showroom bathroom
- glimmering — a glimmering line of light under the door
- glistening — glistening tar after the rain
- glowing — the glowing tip of a cigarette in a dark yard
- luminous — the luminous dial of an old wristwatch
- lustrous — lustrous black hair pinned up for the wedding
- radiant — radiant winter sun through the kitchen blinds
- shimmering — shimmering heat above the parking lot
- sparkling — sparkling frost on the windshield
- twinkling — twinkling lights on the far side of the bay
- flaring — a match flaring in cupped hands
- phosphorescent — phosphorescent waves on a summer night
- translucent — translucent rice-paper screens
- glossy — glossy black paint on the railings
Dark and shadow
- dim — a dim stairwell with one working bulb
- gloomy — a gloomy back office with the blinds down
- inky — inky water under the pier
- pitch-black — a pitch-black cellar after the fuse blew
- shadowy — shadowy figures at the end of the platform
- silhouetted — a heron silhouetted against the sunset
- shrouded — hills shrouded in low cloud
- half-lit — a half-lit bar after closing time
- moonlit — a moonlit field of stubble
- candlelit — a candlelit table by the window
- backlit — a backlit figure in the doorway, face unreadable
Color
- crimson — crimson berries on the holly
- scarlet — a scarlet coat on a gray platform
- vermilion — a vermilion gate at the temple entrance
- ochre — ochre cliffs at low tide
- saffron — saffron robes in the morning market
- cerulean — a cerulean sky after the storm
- cobalt — a cobalt glass bottle on the windowsill
- indigo — indigo jeans, stiff and new
- teal — a teal door on a street of white ones
- emerald — emerald moss on a north-facing wall
- mustard — a mustard sofa from the 1970s
- rust-colored — rust-colored leaves banked against the fence
- ivory — ivory piano keys gone yellow at the edges
- charcoal — a charcoal suit for the funeral
- slate-gray — slate-gray water before a squall
- sallow — sallow skin after a winter indoors
- livid — a livid bruise on her shin
- bleached — bleached driftwood on the shore
- garish — garish wallpaper in the motel lobby
- muted — the muted greens of an old tweed jacket
Shape and size
- bulbous — a bulbous nose reddened by the cold
- gnarled — a gnarled olive trunk
- hooked — the hooked beak of a gull
- knotted — knotted roots across the path
- tapered — tapered candles in brass holders
- warped — warped floorboards by the back door
- bowed — a bookshelf bowed under the dictionaries
- buckled — a buckled bicycle wheel
- sagging — a sagging porch roof
- stubby — stubby fingers on the piano keys
- skeletal — the skeletal frame of an unfinished tower
Movement you can see
- billowing — billowing sheets on the line
- bobbing — buoys bobbing in the harbor
- fluttering — fluttering bunting over the main street
- quivering — a quivering leaf at the top of the aspen
- rippling — wheat rippling in the wind
- swaying — lanterns swaying at the night market
- swirling — snow swirling under the streetlight
- teetering — a teetering stack of plates
- undulating — undulating dunes
- writhing — an eel writhing in the bucket
- drifting — smoke drifting from the bonfire
Sound words, loud to soft
Words for noise and quiet, sharp and deep sounds, wet sounds and the sounds people make. Many work best as verbs.
Loud
- blaring — a TV blaring in the next apartment
- deafening — deafening applause as the band came back on
- thundering — thundering hooves on the dry track
- roaring — a roaring crowd at the final whistle
- bellowing — a coach bellowing from the sideline
- clamorous — a clamorous street market
- cacophonous — a cacophonous school band warming up
- earsplitting — an earsplitting fire alarm
- crashing — waves crashing against the seawall
- pounding — pounding on the front door at 2 a.m.
Quiet and soft
- whispering — whispering grass on the dunes
- faint — the faint whine of a mosquito
- purring — an engine purring at the lights
- pattering — rain pattering on the tent
- soughing — wind soughing through the pines
- tinkling — ice tinkling in a glass
- ticking — a clock ticking in the waiting room
- swishing — a skirt swishing on the stairs
- padding — a dog padding across the kitchen
- sighing — the sighing of the bus doors
- lapping — water lapping at the hull
Sharp and harsh
- screeching — brakes screeching at the corner
- shrieking — gulls shrieking over the landfill
- squealing — tires squealing in the parking garage
- scraping — chairs scraping at the end of the lecture
- grinding — gears grinding on the hill
- crunching — gravel crunching under the tires
- cracking — ice cracking on the pond
- snapping — twigs snapping in the dark
- popping — corn popping in a covered pan
- clicking — a pen clicking in the exam hall
- clinking — glasses clinking for the toast
- jingling — coins jingling in a pocket
- rattling — a window rattling in the wind
Deep and resonant
- sonorous — a sonorous church bell
- throbbing — bass throbbing through the wall from the club next door
- thrumming — the thrumming of a ship's engines
- reverberating — thunder reverberating down the valley
- tolling — a bell tolling for the funeral
- growling — a diesel engine growling at idle
Wet sounds
- gurgling — a gurgling drain
- burbling — a burbling stream
- sloshing — water sloshing in the bilge
- splashing — children splashing in the shallows
- dripping — a tap dripping at night
- plinking — rain plinking into a tin bucket
- squelching — boots squelching in the mud
- slurping — someone slurping noodles at the counter
- sizzling — onions sizzling in the pan
Voices and bodies
- cackling — cackling laughter from the back row
- wheezing — an old man wheezing on the third flight of stairs
- sniffling — a child sniffling at the bus stop
- gasping — swimmers gasping at the finish
- grunting — weightlifters grunting in the gym
- groaning — a patient groaning as the anesthetic wore off
- mumbling — mumbling an apology into his scarf
- warbling — a blackbird warbling at dusk
- yelping — a yelping puppy
- snoring — snoring from the back seat
Smell words, pleasant and foul
English has few words for smells themselves, so many of these name a source. Name the source and the reader supplies the smell.
Pleasant smells
- aromatic — aromatic cedar shavings
- perfumed — perfumed letters in a shoebox
- floral — floral soap in the guest room
- citrusy — a citrusy cleaner on the kitchen counter
- minty — minty breath after the gum
- herbal — herbal steam from the teapot
- woodsy — a woodsy aftershave
- piney — piney air on the mountain road
- powdery — the powdery smell of an old lipstick
- heady — heady lilies at the florist's
- redolent — a kitchen redolent of cloves
- line-dried — line-dried sheets folded into the closet
- fresh-cut — fresh-cut grass on a Saturday morning
Unpleasant smells
- rank — rank sweat in the locker room
- putrid — putrid meat in a broken freezer
- rotten — rotten eggs in the trash
- moldy — moldy bread at the back of the cupboard
- mildewed — a mildewed shower curtain
- skunky — skunky beer from a bottle left in the sun
- sweaty — a sweaty gym in August
- sickly-sweet — sickly-sweet air freshener in the taxi
- noxious — noxious fumes from a factory vent
- malodorous — a malodorous drain
- cheesy — cheesy socks under the bed
- swampy — swampy ditches in late summer
- ammoniac — the ammoniac reek of a neglected litter box
- boozy — boozy breath at the wedding
Kitchen smells
- garlicky — garlicky steam from the wok
- burnt — burnt toast and a shrieking smoke alarm
- caramelized — caramelized onions browning in butter
- toasty — the toasty smell of sesame oil
- nutty — nutty brown butter
- vinegary — vinegary pickles on the counter
- oniony — oniony breath
- fried — fried-fish air on the boardwalk
- greasy — greasy air over the fryer
Outdoors and places
- loamy — the loamy smell of soil turned for planting
- mossy — the mossy smell of a stone wall after rain
- green — the green smell of crushed tomato leaves
- petrichor — petrichor rising off the pavement after weeks without rain
- ozone — a whiff of ozone before the storm
- peaty — peaty smoke from the cottage chimney
- seaweedy — seaweedy rocks at low tide
- chlorinated — chlorinated air in the pool hall
- antiseptic — an antiseptic hospital corridor
- diesel — diesel fumes at the ferry terminal
- papery — the papery smell of a secondhand bookshop
- camphor — camphor from a trunk of winter coats
- singed — the singed smell of hair too close to a candle
Taste words and mouthfeel
The five basic tastes usually recognized are sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami, the last identified by the Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda in 1908. Most taste words describe flavor or texture instead, so mouthfeel gets its own group.
The basic tastes and their relatives
- sweet — sweet, milky tea
- sugary — a sugary glaze on the doughnuts
- syrupy — syrupy cough medicine
- saccharine — a saccharine diet soda
- sour — sour cherries that make you wince
- acidic — an acidic white wine
- salty — salty fries from a paper bag
- bitter — bitter greens with lemon
- umami — umami-rich miso soup
- brothy — a brothy bowl of ramen
- astringent — astringent tea, stewed too long
- puckering — puckering homemade lemonade
Flavor
- luscious — a luscious ripe mango
- mellow — a mellow aged cheddar
- herbaceous — herbaceous green olive oil
- fruity — a fruity red wine
- smoked — smoked salmon on rye
- gingery — a gingery stir-fry
- lemony — lemony roast chicken
- spicy — spicy noodles from the cart
- hot — hot mustard that clears the sinuses
- watery — watery coffee from the machine
- insipid — insipid hospital food
- funky — funky, well-fermented kimchi
- burnt-sugar — the burnt-sugar crust on a crème brûlée
- off — milk that tastes slightly off
Mouthfeel
- chewy — chewy bagels
- crunchy — crunchy peanut butter
- crispy — crispy chicken skin
- crumbly — a crumbly scone
- flaky — flaky croissants
- fluffy — fluffy rice
- gooey — gooey cheese stretching from the slice
- juicy — a juicy peach
- mushy — mushy peas
- rubbery — rubbery calamari
- silken — silken tofu
- stringy — stringy celery
- succulent — succulent roast pork
- tender — tender lamb
- gelatinous — gelatinous broth set in the fridge
- grainy — grainy pear flesh
- fizzy — fizzy ginger beer
- tingly — tingly Sichuan peppercorns
- cooling — a cooling cucumber raita
- chalky — chalky antacid tablets
Touch words for texture and temperature
Words for surfaces, heat and cold, wet and dry, and pressure and pain.
Rough, smooth and soft
- abrasive — an abrasive kitchen sponge
- bumpy — a bumpy rash on her arm
- calloused — calloused palms from rowing
- chapped — chapped lips in January
- craggy — craggy rock under her fingertips
- nubbly — a nubbly wool sweater
- pebbly — the pebbly leather of an old handbag
- pitted — a pitted metal tabletop
- ridged — the ridged edge of a coin
- rough — rough planks on the dock
- scaly — scaly skin on his elbows
- scratchy — a scratchy collar
- serrated — a serrated bread knife
- glassy — glassy ice on the front steps
- polished — a polished banister
- satiny — satiny ribbon
- sleek — the sleek flank of a seal
- slippery — slippery rocks at low tide
- supple — supple leather gloves
- plush — plush carpet underfoot
- furry — a furry hood
- squishy — a squishy stress ball
Temperature
- blistering — a blistering metal slide in July
- chilly — a chilly church
- cold — cold tiles under bare feet
- scalding — scalding coffee
- searing — a searing pan handle
- tepid — tepid tea
- mild — a mild breeze on bare arms
- numbing — numbing water from the glacier
- feverish — a feverish forehead
- steamy — a steamy bathroom mirror
- sun-warmed — sun-warmed stone
- ice-cold — an ice-cold can from the cooler
- raw — a raw wind off the harbor in March
Wet and dry
- dewy — dewy grass under bare feet
- drenched — a drenched coat on the hook
- oily — oily fingers after the takeout
- moist — moist carrot cake
- parched — parched earth
- slimy — a slimy rock in the stream
- soggy — a soggy sandwich
- sodden — a sodden lawn
- waterlogged — waterlogged boots
- dusty — a dusty windowsill
- crinkly — crinkly tissue paper
- bone-dry — bone-dry kindling
Pressure, weight and pain
- aching — aching feet after the wedding
- crushing — a crushing hug
- constricting — a constricting blood-pressure cuff
- prickling — skin prickling in the cold
- pinching — pinching new shoes
- stabbing — a stabbing pain in the side
- stinging — stinging nettles
- pulsing — a pulsing thumb after the hammer missed
- tight — a tight waistband
- tingling — fingers tingling as the blood came back
- smarting — eyes smarting from the onion
- sore — sore shoulders from the backpack
- numb — numb toes in wet boots
- itchy — an itchy wool hat
- ticklish — a ticklish feather
Movement and balance words
The first of two groups beyond the classic five senses. Kinesthetic words describe how motion, speed and balance feel from inside the body, not how they look from outside.
- lurching — a train lurching out of the station
- rocking — a boat rocking at anchor
- spinning — the room spinning after the third drink
- tilting — a tilting deck
- plunging — a plunging elevator ride
- dizzy — dizzy at the top of the ladder
- reeling — reeling from the punch
- bouncing — a bus bouncing down a dirt road
- jolting — a jolting stop
- juddering — a plane juddering on takeoff
- gliding — gliding on new skates
- floating — floating on her back in the lake
- weightless — weightless at the top of the swing
- sinking — the sinking drop of a plane in turbulence
- pitching — a ship pitching in heavy seas
- heaving — the heaving deck of a fishing boat
- unsteady — unsteady legs after the ferry
- sure-footed — sure-footed on the scree
- stiff — stiff knees on the stairs
- springy — a springy step
- buoyant — buoyant in salt water
Words for the inner body
The second group beyond the five senses. Organic words cover hunger, thirst, tiredness, sickness and the heart: what a character feels inside, which readers can feel too.
- ravenous — ravenous after the hike
- famished — famished by midafternoon
- peckish — peckish at eleven
- thirsty — thirsty after the salted almonds
- queasy — queasy in the back seat
- nauseous — nauseous at the smell of fried eggs
- bloated — bloated after the holiday meal
- light-headed — light-headed after giving blood
- woozy — woozy from the painkillers
- drowsy — drowsy after lunch
- groggy — groggy at the 6 a.m. alarm
- bone-tired — bone-tired after a double shift
- drained — drained after the interview
- shivery — shivery with a cold coming on
- breathless — breathless at the top of the stairs
- winded — winded by the hill
- racing — a racing heart before the verdict
- fluttery — a fluttery stomach before the first date
- clenched — a clenched jaw she didn't notice until it ached
- hollow — a hollow feeling under the ribs
- giddy — giddy with relief
- wired — wired on four coffees
- sated — sated after the feast
Crossover words between senses
Words borrowed from one sense to describe another. Readers usually understand them at once. The sense each one describes here is in parentheses.
- bright — a bright trumpet line (sound)
- dark — a dark roast (taste)
- sharp — a sharp cheddar (taste)
- loud — a loud shirt (sight)
- warm — a warm voice on late-night radio (sound)
- cool — cool blues and grays in the waiting room (sight)
- silvery — a silvery laugh (sound)
- heavy — heavy perfume in the elevator (smell)
- thin — a thin voice from the back of the hall (sound)
- rich — a rich cello line (sound)
- soft — soft light at dusk (sight)
- crisp — crisp autumn air (touch)
- flat — a flat note in the second verse (sound)
- velvet — a velvet baritone (sound)
- hard — hard noon light (sight)
- brassy — brassy autumn sunlight (sight)
- smooth — a smooth bourbon (taste)
- clean — a clean, dry white wine (taste)
How to use sensory words well
A list gives you options. The craft is in choosing one, and these habits do most of the work.
Name the source, especially for smell. English describes most smells by what produces them: smoky, lemony, piney, diesel. Not every language works that way. Jahai, spoken in the rainforests of northern Malaysia and southern Thailand, has smell words based on abstract qualities rather than sources, which the researchers Asifa Majid and Niclas Burenhult examined in a 2014 paper in Cognition. In English the noun is often the strongest smell word you have: “the hallway smelled of bleach and fried onions.” A few smells have names of their own. Petrichor, the smell of rain on dry ground, was named in a 1964 paper in Nature by the Australian scientists Isabel Joy Bear and Richard Thomas, from the Greek for stone and the fluid said to run in the veins of the gods.
Let verbs carry the sense. Most sound and movement words on this list are shown in their -ing form, and they are usually stronger as plain verbs. “The kettle shrieked” beats “a shrieking kettle,” and both beat “a loud kettle.” The strong verbs list has more for every kind of action.
Choose one exact word. A “gleaming, shining, glittering” floor is one image described three times. Pick the word that fits this floor: glossy (16) if it has been waxed, glassy (237) if it has iced over.
Mind the connotation. Aromatic, pungent and reeking can all describe the same garlic. The word you pick tells the reader how the character feels about it, which the guide to connotative words explores word by word.
Match the sense to the moment. Fear often comes through sound and the inner body: a floorboard, a racing heart. Smell and taste are good at calling up memory. A crowd is often more sound and touch than sight. Use crossover words sparingly: “a warm, velvet, dark voice” is three borrowings where one would do. The ferry passage at the top of this page puts these habits to work.
Mistakes to avoid with sensory words
- Words in the wrong voice. A twelve-year-old narrator doesn't think redolent. Check every sensory word against the person doing the noticing.
- Synonym stacking. “A loud, booming, thundering voice” repeats itself twice. Stacks like this are a quick route to purple prose. Keep the strongest word, or replace all three with what the voice did.
- Sight only. Many first drafts describe what things look like and stop. Give each scene at least one sound, smell or texture.
- Smell clichés. “Smelled like heaven” and “a symphony of aromas” tell the reader nothing. Name the smell.
- The same favorite word every chapter. Readers notice a distinctive word like acrid the second time, and by the third it can turn comic. To catch your repeats, ask the Strokes Assistant to list the sensory words that recur across a chapter, and keep any repeat you meant as a motif.
- All five senses in the first paragraph. A sensory inventory before anything happens reads like a checklist. Spread the senses through the scene, and show, don't tell with the ones that matter.
Frequently asked questions
Why are movement and the inner body on a five-senses list?
Because writers use them the same way. Many literature courses teach seven kinds of imagery: the five senses plus kinesthetic imagery (movement, balance, tension) and organic imagery (hunger, thirst, tiredness, a racing heart). A lurching deck or a hollow stomach puts the reader inside a body as surely as a smell does, so each gets its own group here, after the five senses.
What is the difference between smell, scent, odor and aroma?
Smell is the neutral word: Merriam-Webster says it names the sensation without suggesting quality. Scent is the characteristic smell something gives off, such as a plant or an animal. Odor can simply mean smell, or a stronger, more noticeable one, and phrases like body odor give it an unpleasant lean. Aroma suggests a penetrating, usually pleasant smell, like the aroma of coffee.
What is the difference between sensory words and descriptive words?
Sensory words are one kind of descriptive word: the ones tied to a specific sense. Descriptive words also include words for personality, mood, size and time, such as aloof, somber or fleeting. This list goes deeper on the senses and is organized by sense; the descriptive words list is organized by subject, such as people, places and weather.
