nondescript
Americanadjective
-
of no recognized, definite, or particular type or kind.
a nondescript novel; a nondescript color.
- Synonyms:
- unexceptional, ordinary, usual
-
undistinguished or uninteresting; dull or insipid.
The private detective deliberately wore nondescript clothes.
noun
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of nondescript
1675–85; non- + Latin dēscrīptus (past participle of dēscrībere to describe, define, represent; see describe)
Explanation
Nondescript is a word used to describe something that isn't special or unusual in any way. You might have trouble finding a nondescript apartment building because it looks exactly like every other apartment building around it. You could use the word nondescript to describe your blind date if she was completely uninteresting and dull, both in looks and personality. Some houses are so nondescript that you have to drive by several times just to make sure it's the right one.
Vocabulary lists containing nondescript
The Giver
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The Handmaid's Tale
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A Separate Peace
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Behind nondescript exteriors in Virginia’s “Data Center Alley,” some employees log up to 30,000 steps a day while others ride scooters down echoey hallways and sniff for overheating equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
The smaller plane then flew to the U.K., where Trump stopped en route to Washington, under a nondescript call sign.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
When Vietnam's police raided a pair of nondescript warehouses in outer Ho Chi Minh City earlier this year, they discovered more than 23,000 pairs of slippers bearing the logos of Nike, Adidas, Crocs and Gucci.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
But standing near the border, sipping coffee from a global chain while looking at the North's nondescript low-rise buildings, was "on a different scale completely", he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
The elevator arrived; several police-like nondescript men and women disemelevatored, clacked off across the lobby on their several errands.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
