English language has a variety of words for describing people, their physical appearance and way of walking. These words can be categorized into words that describe a person’s general appearance, eyes, ears, face, nose, arms, hair, height and build, etc. In this ESL lesson you will learn how to describe people and their physical characteristics.
The following is an exhaustive vocabulary list, useful for describing a person’s physical appearance. You can search by word or category to find the most suitable word for describing a person’s physical appearance.
| Physical Feature | Vocabulary for Description |
|---|---|
| Arm | long, short, lank, lanky, bony, rounded, well-shaped |
| Bearing | posture, bear oneself well, hold one's body upright, stooping |
| Build | large, small, powerful, slight, heavy, slim, solid, delicate, strong, spare, stocky, neat, sturdy, graceful |
| Cheekbones | long, high, prominent, perfect, sculptured, broken, cracked, fractured |
| Cheeks | wide, chubby, plump, hollow, sunken, with dimples, with creases, blushing, pink, rosy, scarlet, ashen, pale, pallid, pasty, cool, smooth, soft, flushed, hot, ruddy, tear-stained, wet, hamster, hamster-like, rouged, stubby, unshaven |
| Chin | clean-shaven, double, protruding, massive, pointed, round, decided |
| Constitution | strong, feeble, vigorous, frail, rugged, delicate, iron, weak (poor) |
| Ears | curving, earlobe, lop-eared, pointed, pointy, floppy |
| Eye-lashes | winged, straight, thin, artificial, false, thick, short, long, curling |
| Eyebrows | amber, arched, bushy, dark, jet-black, heavy, thick, enquiring, querying, questioning, quizzical, cynical, sardonic, sceptical, surprised, amused, derisive, mocking, lifted, raised, pencilled, raise (knit) one's brows, shaggy, unkempt, plucked, shaped, straight, thin, well-marked |
| Eyelids | big, large, heavy, hooded, drooping, swollen with tears, lower, upper, closed, half-closed, lowered |
| Eyes | firm, blue, brown, bulging, close-set, cross-eyed, dark, deep, deep-set, full and blood shot, gray, hazel, hazel-eyed, pale, sunken, wide-set, left / right, green, greedy, hungry, downcast, sad, solemn, soulful, cold, expressionless, glassy, glazed, lifeless, steely, vacant, penetrating, piercing, intelligent, keen, sharp, shrewd, curious, prying, anxious,, angry, cruel, fierce, mad, staring, wild, dazed, unfocused, unblinking, half-closed, narrowed, short-sighted, sightless, unseeing, dry, cloudy, misty, moist, rheumy, tear-filled, tearful, watery, soft, velvety, warm, clear, limpid, liquid, bright, brilliant, luminous, lustrous, sparkling, starry, sleepy, tired, weary, dark-ringed, exhausted, red-rimmed, bleary, bloodshot,, baggy, puffy, swollen, beady, piggy, protuberant, sunken, hooded, hollow, heavy-lidded, wide-apart, wide-set, close-set, narrow, wide, enormous, large, huge, big, golden |
| Face (complexion) | dark, fair, florid, olive, pasty, sallow, pale, sunburnt, swarthy |
| Face (in general) | clear-cut, clean-cut, craggy, delicate, fine, prominent, striklng, indistinct, vague, coarse, ugly, plain, ordinary, soft, small, regular, sharp, large, irregular, f ull face, profile, |
| Face (shape) | angular, oval, square, long, round, thin, wrinkled, freckled, with a beauty spot or a mole, with a dimple in the chin, with a pointed beard and moustache |
| Figure | well-made, shapeless, graceful, ill-made, lithe, clumsy, superb, ordinary, perfect, flawed, lean, tat, slight, stout, neat, well-fed, bony, paunchy, slm, plump, slender, stocky |
| Fingers | thumb, forefinger, bony, lean, skeletal, skinny,, delicate, elegant, slender, slim, chubby, fat, plump, podgy, blunt, spatulate, square-tipped, gnarled, arthritic, gentle, capable, deft, nimble, skilful, skilled, nerveless, nervous, clumsy, dirty, filthy, grubby, sticky, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger, finger nail |
| Forehead | broad, narrow, domed, retreating, furrowed, wrinkled, smooth, sloping, high, domed, low, large, wide, small |
| Gait | Steady, unsteady, heavy, light, swaggering, rolling, strolling, shuffling, stumbling, waddling, walk with a stoop, a limp, halting, walk with a halt (with a limp), awkward, swaying |
| General appearance | apearance, looks, look, look like, resemble, take after somebody, family likeness, (not) look oneself, look wretched, look one's best, look one's age, attractive, unattractive, impressive, unimpressive, good-looking, ill favoured, pleasant-looking, unpleasant looking, pretty, repulsive, charming, ugly, lovely, common, beautiful, plain, nice, usual, handsome, unsightly, eyesore |
| Hair | flaxen, auburn, golden, red, reddish, fair, blond(-e), ash-blond, chestnut, silvery, grey(-ing), black, jet-black, brown, brunette, dark, mop of hair, abundant, thin, luxuriant, short, spiky, thick, straight, long, bald-headed, wavy, dishevelled, crisp, cumpled, curly, mangled, silky |
| Hair (men's hairstyle & haircut) | closely·cropped head of hair, crew cut, head of curly hair, partly bald head, bald patch, bald head |
| Hair (women's hairstyle) | ponytail, swept-back hair, swept-up hair, pinned·up hair, bun, chignon, plaits, bunches, chaplet hairstyle, gretchen style, chaplet, coiled plaits, curled hair, falling downwards curls, shingle, shingled hair, bobbed hair, pageboy style, earphones, earphone, hair rollers, hair pin, hair spray (fixing spray) |
| Hairdo | hair-cut, hairdo, hairstyle, hairset, halrwaving, hair-dressing, grow one's hair, wash one's hair, brush one's hair, comb one's hair, wear one's hair short, shoulder-long, shoulder-length, braided, wear one's hair parted In the middle, on one side, wear one's hair In a knot, fringe (AmE: bang), knot of hair, strand of hair, wisp of hair, tuft of hair, lock, hair care, trimmed, bow, ribbon, afro look, parting, centre parting, side parting, hair drier, cap, gown |
| Hands | beautiful, delicate, pretty, soft, firm, soft, limp, knotted, claw-like, hairy, clammy, nervous, shaking, trembling, unsteady, steady, careless, clumsy, capable, expert, practised, skilful, skilled, open, outspread, clean, glowed, ringed, ringless,, dirty, filthy, greasy, grubby, sticky, sweaty, unwashed, frail, arthritic, gnarled, delicate, well-manicured,, coarse, rough, work-roughened, work-reddened, work-worn, plump, fat, thick, Short |
| Head & Neck | big, small, round, square, hold one's head high, slender, thin, thick |
| Jaws | artificial, false, pointed, square, bottom, lower, broken, dislocated, fractured, top, upper, jutting, lantern, thrusting, slack, clenched, set, firm, strong |
| Legs | Leg, long, short, stumpy, slender, crooked, beautiful, good, shapely (fine), muscled, muscular, powerful, strong, bow-shaped, skinny, findly, thin, bandy, hairy, lank, stout, large, small, narrow, limb |
| Lips | weak-willed, full, sensual, sensuous, well-shaped, parted, well-cut, thin, top, upper, bottom, lower, fleshy, thick, moist, chapped, cracked, dry, painted, compressed, firm |
| Marks | mole, scar, dimple |
| Moustache, beard and whiskers | side·whiskers, sideboards, sideburns, clean shaven, smooth cheeks, stubby, unshaven, stubble beard, full beard, moustache, military moustache, English-style moustache, shadow, thick, thin, bushy, clipped, curly, drooping, droopy, neat, military, pencil, handlebar, toothbrush, tufty, walrus, waxed, nicotine-stained, false |
| Mouth | firm, hard, strong, big, cavernous, enormous, generous, huge, large, wide, full, sensual, sensuous, well-shaped, lopsided, wet, dry, tight, gaping, half-open, cruel, hungry, swollen, toothless, full-lipped, lipless, thin, loose, slack, soft, hot, warm, stern, small, beautiful, chiselled, handsome, lovely, pretty,, strong-willed |
| Nose | aquiline, big, bulbous, enormous, huge, large, nostrils, aristocratic, elegant, pink, red, shiny, bridge of the nose, flat, flattened, tip of the nose, curved, Roman, flat, beaky, hooked, crooked, snub, tip-tilted, narrow, thin, straight, pointed, sharp, little, small, stubby, tiny, fleshy, long, prominent, strong, turned up, upturned |
| Shoulders | big, broad, great, huge, manly, massive, muscled, muscular, powerful, strong, wide, tense, tight, tired, bare, square, round, bony, bowed, delicate, shapely, slim, sloping, high, narrow, thin, hollow chest, throw one's chest with pride, waist, be slim at the waist |
| Stature, height & shape, | imposing, diminutive, short, middle-sized, be 6 feet high, be of medium / average height, tall |
| Step | firm, careful, gingerly, heavy, delicate, light, brisk, quick, rapid, smart, slow, measured footstep, stride with a firm step |
| Teeth | twisted, close-set, big, enormous, huge, sparse, even, straight, gappy, crooked, jagged, misshapen, broken, missing, needle-sharp, razor-sharp, sharp, baby, milk, wisdom, canine, savage, back, front, bottom, top, capped, false, gold, loose, wobbly, yellow, decayed, rotten, perfect, splendid, strong, white, pearl-like, pearl-white, good, healthy, uneven, prominent, sticking out, large, small, perfect, imperfect |