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.
On the shore of a nondescript, decaying seaside town, a boat that went missing 30 years ago suddenly reappears.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026
Phillips, a nondescript and mostly unknown Minnesota congressman, was the most serious protest vote option.
From Slate • May 26, 2026
With its palm trees standing alongside the minaret and its nondescript suburban homes lining the street, this suburb presents the image of a peaceful, multicultural America.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
Our protagonist comes from a nondescript family, attends a minor boarding school, falls in love with Oxford, enlists in the British army and is transformed forever by a trip to North Africa.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
It was a nondescript shade of dirty cloth now.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
