nondescript

adjective

non·​de·​script ˌnän-di-ˈskript 

1

: belonging or appearing to belong to no particular class or kind : not easily described

… a nondescript mixture of styles in the worst possible taste.

—George Bernard Shaw

2

: lacking distinctive or interesting qualities : dull, drab

Their performance was disappointingly nondescript.

nondescript noun

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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").

Synonyms

• beige
• characterless
• faceless
• featureless
• indistinctive
• neutral
• noncommittal
• vanilla

Examples of nondescript in a Sentence

I work in one of the nondescript office buildings downtown.

Their performance was disappointingly nondescript.

Recent Examples on the Web

Others appeared simply as a gray square with nondescript alt text, as if the image didn’t load. —Mia Sato, The Verge, 24 Jan. 2025

Taqueria Express Grill is in a nondescript building off of Lawyer’s Road (look for the big red sign that says Taqueria). —Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Jan. 2025

The gold coin necklace with a bulky silver chain could easily be a top-tier flea market score, while the black sunglasses are fashionably nondescript. —Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 23 Jan. 2025

Bar Ste-Angèle is a rustic jazz club behind a nondescript blue door on the hilly Rue Ste.-Angele. —Vjosa Isai, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

non- + Latin descriptus, past participle of describere to describe

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

nondescript

adjective

non·​de·​script ˌnän-di-ˈskript 

: belonging or appearing to belong to no particular class or kind : not easily described

nondescript noun