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

At the movie premiere at Sundance this past January, the writer-director mentioned that the small, nondescript house that is the end destination of the cousins’ journey once belonged to his late Aunt Doris. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 5 Nov. 2024

Senior government officials from countries such as Algeria, Iraq, and Georgia are gathering at a nondescript facility in Cyprus to receive specialized training from U.S. experts. —David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024

In the spring of 2023, chef Yusuke Yamamoto set up a namesake eight-seat omakase in a nondescript second floor space above Two Rodeo. —Brad Japhe, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

Here are the top headlines: At a nondescript industrial facility near Louisville’s airport, advanced sorting machines, 40 conveyor belts and a team of workers sift through thousands of tons of recycling every month, our Connor Giffin reports. —Ray Padilla, The Courier-Journal, 16 Oct. 2024

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