nondescript
adjective
George Bernard Shaw
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How Nondescript Was Formed
It is relatively easy to describe the origins of nondescript (and there's a hint in the first part of this sentence). Nondescript was formed by combining the prefix non- (meaning "not") with descriptus,the past participle of the Latin verb describere, meaning "to describe." It is no surprise, then, that when the word was adopted in the late 17th century by English speakers, it was typically applied to something (such as a genus or species) that had not yet been described. Other descriptive descendants of describere in English include describe, description, and descriptive itself, as well as the rare philosophical term descriptum ("something that is described").
Examples of nondescript in a Sentence
India Espy-Jones, Essence, 26 Feb. 2025
This time, his neon green shirt and leather jacket called back to a quite nondescript look Dylan rocked at a 2018 appearance in Singapore.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 24 Feb. 2025
Perhaps that’s because Garden Society’s Grosse Pointe isn’t really specific enough to separate it from any other nondescript upscale suburb on television.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Feb. 2025
Tucked away in nondescript buildings, data centers store and transmit the contents of the internet.
—Calmatters, The Mercury News, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nondescript
Cite this Entry
“Nondescript.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nondescript. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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nondescript
adjective
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