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

Geno Auriemma’s Huskies, after losing to a ranked team, usually has to wait weeks while wading through a series of nondescript Big East opponents to get another chance. —Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 15 Feb. 2025

Long Draw Pizza Sited in a nondescript sheet metal building, Long Draw Pizza is a local favorite. —Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 15 Feb. 2025

Most of the houses along the main street in the bottom of the canyon had collapsed long ago and slithered into nondescript piles of weathered boards in the floor of the wash. —Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 13 Feb. 2025

What’s more, the semifinals were placed on a nondescript Thursday and Friday; there were two rounds of NFL playoffs between the CFP semifinals and title game; and the championship was played on a Monday that doubled as a national holiday (MLK Day) and tripled as Inauguration Day. —Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 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