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 a 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. (thoughtco)

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

predictable

pretentious

rambling

raw

redundant

self-absorbed

senseless

sentimentalized

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

adjective
able to express your thoughts, arguments, and ideas clearly and effectively

articulate

adjective
articulate writing or speech is clear and easy to understand

be couched in something

to be expressed a particular way

chatty

adjective
a chatty writing style is friendly and informal

circuitous

adjective
taking a long time to say what you really mean when you are talking or writingabout something

clean

adjective
clean language or humour does not offend people, especially because it doesnot involve sex

compendious

adjective
formal short but containing all that is necessary

conversational

adjective
a conversational style of writing or speaking is informal, like a privateconversation

crisp

adjective
crisp speech or writing is clear and effective

declamatory

adjective
formal expressing feelings or opinions with great force

diffuse

adjective
formal using too many words and not easy to understand

discursive

adjective
including information that is not relevant to the main subject

economical

adjective
an economical way of speaking or writing does not use more words than are necessary

elliptical

adjective
suggesting what you mean rather than saying or writing it clearly

eloquent

adjective
expressing what you mean using clear and effective language

emphatic

adjective
making your meaning very clear because you have very strong feelings about a situation or subject

emphatically

adverb
very firmly and clearly

epigrammatic

adjective
expressing something such as a feeling or idea in a short and clever or funnyway

epistolary

adjective
literary relating to the writing of letters

euphemistic

adjective
euphemistic expressions are used for talking about unpleasant or embarrassing subjects without mentioning the things themselves

flowery

adjective
flowery language or writing uses many complicated words that are intended to make it more attractive

fluent

adjective
expressing yourself in a clear and confident way, without seeming to make an effort

formal

adjective
correct or conservative in style, and suitable for official or serious situations or occasions

formally

adverb
in a correct or conservative style or manner that is suitable for official or serious situations or occasions

gossipy

adjective
a gossipy letter is lively and full of news about the writer of the letter and about other people

grandiloquent

adjective
formal expressed in 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 fairly/very/not at all keen to talk, especially about yourself and your reasons for doing something

idiomatic

adjective
expressing things in a way that sounds natural

in

adjective
using a particular type or style of writing

inarticulate

adjective
not able to express clearly what you want to say

inarticulate

adjective
not spoken or pronounced clearly

incoherent

adjective
unable to express yourself clearly

informal

adjective
used about language or behaviour that is suitable for using with friends but not in formal situations

journalistic

adjective
similar in style to journalism

learned

adjective
a learned piece of writing shows great knowledge about a subject, especiallyan academic subject

literary

adjective
involving books or the activity of writing, reading, or studying books

literary

adjective
relating to the kind of words that are used only in stories or poems, and not in normal writing or speech

lyric

adjective
using words to express feelings in the way that a song would

lyrical

adjective
having the qualities of music

ornate

adjective
using unusual words and complicated sentences

orotund

adjective
very formal containing extremely formal and complicated language intendedto impress people

parenthetical

adjective
not directly connected with what you are saying or writing

pejorative

adjective
formal a pejorative word, phrase etc expresses criticism or a bad opinion of someone or something

picturesque

adjective
picturesque language is unusual and interesting

pithy

adjective
a pithy statement or piece of writing is short and very effective

poetic

adjective
expressing ideas in a very sensitive way and with great beauty or imagination

polemical

adjective
formal using or supported by strong arguments

ponderous

adjective
mainly literary ponderous writing or speech is serious and boring

portentous

adjective
formal trying to seem very serious and important, in order to impress people

prolix

adjective
very formal using too many words and therefore boring

punchy

adjective
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

adjective
a rambling speech or piece of writing is long and confusing

readable

adjective
writing that is readable is clear and able to be read

rhetorical

adjective
relating to a style of speaking or writing that is effective or intended to influence people

rhetorical

adjective
written or spoken in a way that is impressive but is not honest

rhetorically

adverb
in a way that expects or wants no answer

rhetorically

adverb
using or relating to rhetoric

rough

adjective
a rough drawing or piece of writing is not completely finished

roundly

adverb
in a strong and clear way

sententious

adjectiv
eformal expressing opinions about right and wrong behaviour in a way that is intended to impress people

sesquipedalian

adjective
very formal using a lot of long words that most people do not understand

Shakespearean

adjective
using words in the way that is typical of Shakespeare’s writing

slangy

adjective
informal containing or using a lot of slang

stylistic

adjective
relating to ways of creating effects, especially in language and literature

succinct

adjective
expressed in a very short but clear way

turgid

adjective
using language in a way that is complicated and difficult to understand

unprintable

adjective
used for describing writing or words that you think are offensive

vague

adjective
someone who is vague does not clearly or fully explain something

vaguely

adverb
in a way that is not clear

verbose

adjective
formal using more words than necessary, and therefore long and boring

well-turned

adjective
a well-turned phrase is one that is expressed well

with (your) tongue in (your) cheek

if you write or say something with tongue in cheek, you intend it to be humorous and do not mean it seriously

worded

adjective
expressed in a particular way

wordy

adjective
using more words than are necessary, especially long or formal words