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.
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 super PACs have nondescript names — such as Jobs and Democracy PAC and American Mission — and the text is so generic that it almost seems to have been created by artificial intelligence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
Phillips, a nondescript and mostly unknown Minnesota congressman, was the most serious protest vote option.
From Slate ● May 26, 2026
The Peter Westbrook Foundation was housed on the second floor of a nondescript building not too far from the Fashion Institute of Technology.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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.
