List of Descriptive Words and Phrases For Book Reviews
Negative Vocabulary Word List for Book Reviews
(This List will be updated with definition soon)
a bore
uninteresting or tedious talk or dull.
arrogant
having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities.
average
having qualities that are seen as typical of a particular person or thing.
banal
so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring.
blasé
unimpressed or indifferent to something because one has experienced or seen it so often before.
blather
talk long-windedly without making very much sense.
boring
not interesting; tedious.
catastrophe
the denouement of a drama, especially a classical tragedy.
childish
silly and immature.
cliché
a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.
common
occurring, found, or done often; prevalent. not rare.
commonplace
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.
conceited
excessively proud of oneself; abilities, appearance, etc.; vain and egotistical.
confusing
bewildering or perplexing. make (something) more complex or less easy to understand.
contrived
created or arranged in a way that seems artificial and unrealistic.
copied
make a similar or identical version of; reproduce.
crude
simple and not skillfully done or made. (of figures) not adjusted or corrected.
dated
old-fashioned.
depressing
causing or resulting in a feeling of miserable dejection.
disappointing
failing to fulfill someone’s hopes or expectations.
disjointed
lacking a coherent sequence or connection.
dissatisfying
fail to satisfy (someone).
distracting
preventing concentration or diverting attention; disturbing.
drab
lacking brightness or interest; drearily dull.
dreadful
causing or involving great suffering, fear, or unhappiness; extremely bad or serious.
drivel
silly nonsense.
dry
bare or lacking adornment. / forget one’s lines.
dull
lacking interest or excitement.
empty
lacking meaning or sincerity. / having no value or purpose.
ennui-inspiring
ennui: a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction: boredom.
esoteric
intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with specialized knowledge or interest. obscure, cryptic, mysterious
needs editing
A copy editor has the expertise needed to find and correct errors in spelling, grammar, continuity, flow, and punctuation.
obnoxious
extremely unpleasant
obvious
easily perceived or understood; clear, self-evident, or apparent
offensive
actively aggressive; attacking
one-dimensional characters
-The term one-dimensional character in a book review or story refers to a character who lacks depth and who never seems to learn or grow. When a character is one-dimensional, he or she does not demonstrate a sense of learning in the course of a story
-A one-dimensional character is one who does not have an arc throughout the story. They are the same at the end as they are at the beginning. Many characters in a typical novel or screenplay are one-dimensional. They fill small roles and are minor components that reflect the changes the main characters go through
overly-complicated
overly difficult to understand or explain
overrated
have a higher opinion of (someone or something) than is deserved
paper-thin plot
insubstantial / lacking strength and solidity
pedestrian
lacking inspiration or excitement; dull
poorly-conceived
not carefully planned or considered, ill-conceived
poorly-executed
not done correctly from a technical point of view
poorly-written
-refers more to failings of technique than of concept
synonym: carelessly, defectively, erroneously, faultily, imperfectly, inadequately, incorrectly, ineptly, poorly, shoddily, wrong, wrongly
predictable
behaving or occurring in a way that is expected.
pretentious
-attempting to impress by affecting greater importance
-making usually unjustified or excessive claims
rambling
-(of writing or speech) lengthy and confused or inconsequential
-(of a person) traveling from place to place; wandering
raw
-(of information) not analyzed, evaluated, or processed for use
-frank and realistic in the depiction of unpleasant facts or situations
redundant
-(of words or data) able to be omitted without loss of meaning or function
-not or no longer needed or useful; superfluous
self-absorbed
-preoccupied with one’s own feelings, interests, or situation
-egocentric, egoistic. (also egoistical)
senseless
lacking common sense; wildly foolish.
sentimentalized
-treated, regarded, or portrayed in a sentimental way
-(of a work of literature, music, or art) dealing with feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia, typically in an exaggerated and self-indulgent way
silly
skeletal development
slanted
slow
slow-going
so-so
sophomoric
stereotype
stereotyped
sterile
stiff
failure
forced
formulaic
frantic
frustrating
gimmicky
grating
holes in the plot
hollow
horrible
implausible
in poor taste
inconsistent
inexperienced
innocuous
insincere
intimidating
irrelevant
irritating
juvenile
lacking
lacking literary merit
lacking talent
lackluster
lifeless
little character development
meaningless
mechanical
mediocre
misinformed
misunderstood
stock plot
superficial
tasteless
taxing
tedious
tiresome
too long
tragic
transparent
trash
trivial
unaffecting
unapproachable
unconvincing
underwhelming
uneven
unimaginative
unimportant
uninspired
unintelligent
uninteresting
unoriginal
unpracticed
unreadable
unrefined
unresolved
unsatisfactory
unsatisfying
untalented
vacuous
void

Words used to describe writing or speech style provided by Macmillan Dictionary.
articulate
-able to express your thoughts, arguments, and ideas clearly and effectively
-articulate writing or speech is clear and easy to understand
be couched in something
to be expressed a particular way
chatty
a chatty writing style is friendly and informal
circuitous
taking a long time to say what you really mean when you are talking or writing about something
clean
clean language or humor does not offend people, especially because it does not involve sex
compendious
formal short but containing all that is necessary
conversational
a conversational style of writing or speaking is informal, like a private conversation
crisp
crisp speech or writing is clear and effective
declamatory
formal expressing feelings or opinions with great force
diffuse
formal using too many words and not easy to understand
discursive
including information that is not relevant to the main subject
economical
an economical way of speaking or writing does not use more words than are necessary
elliptical
suggesting what you mean rather than saying or writing it clearly
eloquent
expressing what you mean using clear and effective language
emphatic
making your meaning very clear because you have very strong feelings about a situation or subject
emphatically
very firmly and clearly
epigrammatic
expressing something such as a feeling or idea in a short and clever or funny way
epistolary
literary relating to the writing of letters
euphemistic
euphemistic expressions are used for talking about unpleasant or embarrassing subjects without mentioning the things themselves
flowery
flowery language or writing uses many complicated words that are intended to make it more attractive
fluent
expressing yourself in a clear and confident way, without seeming to make an effort
formal
correct or conservative in style, and suitable for official or serious situations or occasions
formally
in a correct or conservative style or manner that is suitable for official or serious situations or occasions
gossipy
a gossipy letter is lively and full of news about the writer of the letter and about other people
grandiloquent
formal expressed in an extremely formal language in order to impress people, and often sounding silly because of this
have something/a lot/nothing etc to say for yourself
to be fair/very/not at all keen to talk, especially about yourself and your reasons for doing something
idiomatic
expressing things in a way that sounds natural
in
using a particular type or style of writing
inarticulate
not able to express clearly what you want to say
inarticulate
not spoken or pronounced clearly
incoherent
unable to express yourself clearly
informal
used about language or behavior that is suitable for using with friends but not in formal situations
journalistic
similar in style to journalism
learned
a learned piece of writing shows great knowledge about a subject, especially an academic subject
literary
involving books or the activity of writing, reading, or studying books
literary
relating to the kind of words that are used only in stories or poems, and not in normal writing or speech
lyric
using words to express feelings in the way that a song would
lyrical
having the qualities of music
ornate
using unusual words and complicated sentences
orotund
very formal containing extremely formal and complicated language intended to impress people
parenthetical
not directly connected with what you are saying or writing
pejorative
formal a pejorative word, phrase, etc expresses criticism or a bad opinion of someone or something
picturesque
picturesque language is unusual and interesting
pithy
a pithy statement or piece of writing is short and very effective
poetic
expressing ideas in a very sensitive way and with great beauty or imagination
polemical
formal using or supported by strong arguments
ponderous
mainly literary ponderous writing or speech is serious and boring
portentous
formal trying to seem very serious and important, in order to impress people
prolix
very formal using too many words and therefore boring
punchy
a punchy piece of writing such as a speech, report, or slogan is one that has a strong effect because it uses clear simple language and not many words
rambling
a rambling speech or piece of writing is long and confusing
readable
writing that is readable is clear and able to be read
rhetorical
-relating to a style of speaking or writing that is effective or intended to influence people
-written or spoken in a way that is impressive but is not honest
rhetorically
-in a way that expects or wants no answer
-using or relating to rhetoric
rough
a rough drawing or piece of writing is not completely finished
roundly
in a strong and clear way
sententious
-given to moralizing in a pompous or affected manner.
-formal expressing opinions about right and wrong behavior in a way that is intended to impress people
sesquipedalian
very formal using a lot of long words that most people do not understand
Shakespearean
using words in the way that is typical of Shakespeare’s writing
slangy
informal containing or using a lot of slang
stylistic
relating to ways of creating effects, especially in language and literature
succinct
expressed in a very short but clear way
turgid
using language in a way that is complicated and difficult to understand
unprintable
used for describing writing or words that you think are offensive
vague
does not clearly or fully explain something
vaguely
in a way that is not clear
verbose
formal using more words than necessary, and therefore long and boring
well-turned
a well-turned phrase is one that is expressed well
with tongue in cheek
-intend it to be humorous and do not mean it seriously
-in an ironic, flippant, or insincere way
worded
expressed in a particular way
wordy
using more words than are necessary, especially long or formal words
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December 17, 2020
Thank you – some reminders of what to do, and what not to do, whilst drafting a first novel.
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