When you describe a person or write an essay, sometimes you want to make your speaking or writing more colorful and more interesting.

Instead of using boring words with general meaning such as “pretty”, “smart”, “big”, “happy”, you can find some alternative words that ELSA suggested below.

1. PRETTY 

beautiful (adj) /ˈbjuː.t̬ə.fəl/
Ex: She was wearing a beautiful dress.

lovely (adj) /ˈlʌv.li/
Ex: It was lovely to see your mum and dad at the school concert last night.

glamorous (adj) /ˈɡlæm.ə.əs/
Ex: She was looking very glamorous.

attractive (adj) /əˈtræk.tɪv/
Ex: I find him very attractive

elegant (adj) /ˈel.ə.ɡənt/
Ex: He assumed an elegant pose beside the fireplace.

stunning (adj)
Ex: He’s taken some stunning photos of her.

gorgeous (adj)
Ex: From our hotel, there were gorgeous views of the city.

cute (adj)
Ex: His baby brother is really cute.

2. SMART

bright (adj) /braɪt/
They were bright children, always asking questions.

ingenious (adj) /ɪnˈdʒiː.ni.əs/
Johnny is so ingenious – he can make the most remarkable sculpturesfrom the most ordinary materials.

brilliant (adj) /ˈbrɪl.jənt/
Her mother was a brilliant scientist.

gifted (adj) /ˈɡɪf.tɪd/
Schools often fail to meet the needs of gifted children.

wise (adj) /waɪz/
Was it Thomas More who said that the wise man learns from the experience of others?

clever (adj) /ˈklev.ɚ/
Charlie has a clever idea/plan for getting us out of our present difficulties.

intelligent (adj) /ɪnˈtel.ə.dʒənt/
Helen had a few intelligent things to say on the subject.

3. BIG

huge (adj) /hjuːdʒ/
His last three movies have all been huge successes.

massive (adj) /ˈmæs.ɪv/
If the drought continues, deaths will occur on a massive scale.

great (adj) /ɡreɪt/
The improvement in water standards over the last 50 years has been very great.

mammoth (adj) /ˈmæm.əθ/
It’s a mammoth undertaking – are you sure you have the resources to cope?

gigantic (adj) /ˌdʒaɪˈɡæn.t̬ɪk/
The cost has been gigantic.

enormous (adj) /əˈnɔːr.məs/
He earns an enormous salary.

giant (adj) /ˈdʒaɪ.ənt/
Dad terrified us with stories of a big, bad giant who ate little children.

tremendous (adj) /trɪˈmen.dəs/
They were making a tremendous amount of noise last night.

4. LITTLE

tiny (adj) /ˈtaɪ.ni/
During surgery, doctors sometimes use a laser beam to vaporize tiny blood vessels.

small (adj) /smɑːl/
Only a small number of applicants are successful.

wee (adj) /wiː/
You were just a wee lad the last time I saw you.

minute (adj) /ˈmɪn.ɪt/
The documentary showed an eye operation in minute detail

slight (adj) /slaɪt/
He’s got a headache and a slight fever.

miniature (adj) /ˈmɪn.i.ə.tʃɚ/
I bought some miniature furniture for my niece’s doll’s house.

petite (adj) /pəˈtiːt/
She was dark and petite, as all his wives had been.

5. FUNNY

jocular (adj) /ˈdʒɑːkjələr/
Michael was in a very jocular mood at the party.

amusing (adj) /əˈmjuːzɪŋ/
He told one or two amusing anecdotes about his years as a policeman.

humorous (adj) /ˈhjuːmərəs/
Her latest book is a humorous look at teenage life.

witty (adj) /ˈwɪti/
She gave a witty, entertaining and articulate speech.

hilarious (adj) /hɪˈler.i.əs/
He didn’t like the film at all – I thought it was hilarious.

comical (adj) /ˈkɑː.mɪ.kəl/
He looked so comical in that hat.

6. SAD

depressed (adj) /dɪˈprest/
He seemed a bit depressed about his work situation.

woeful (adj) /ˈwoʊfl/
They displayed woeful ignorance of the safety rules.

gloomy (adj) /ˈɡluːmi/
The cemetery is a gloomy place.

miserable (adj) /ˈmɪzrəbl/
She’s miserable living on her own.

sorrowful (adj) /ˈsɑːroʊfl/
With a sorrowful sigh she folded the letter and put it away.

unhappy (adj) /ʌnˈhæpi/
That’s enough to make anyone unhappy.

mournful (adj)  /ˈmɔːrnfl/
He gazed mournfully out the window.

7. HAPPY

glad (adj) /ɡlæd/
She was glad when the meeting was over.

jubilant (adj) /ˈdʒuːbɪlənt/
The fans were in jubilant mood after the victory.

joyful (adj) /ˈdʒɔɪfl/
It was a joyful reunion of all the family.

thrilled (adj) /θrɪld/
He was thrilled at the prospect of seeing them again.

cheerful (adj) /ˈtʃɪrfl/
He felt bright and cheerful and full of energy.

jolly (adj) /ˈdʒɑːli/
He had a round, jolly face.

delighted (adj) /dɪˈlaɪtɪd/
I was delighted that you could stay.

8. NICE

kind (adj) /kaɪnd/
If an animal is badly injured, often the kindest thing to do is to destroy it painlessly.

benevolent (adj) /bəˈnevələnt/
belief in the existence of a benevolent god

thoughtful (adj) /ˈθɔːtfl/
It was very thoughtful of you to send the flowers.

gracious (adj) /ˈɡreɪʃəs/
He has not yet learned how to be gracious in defeat.

decent (adj) /ˈdiːsnt/
Everyone said he was a decent sort of guy.

warm (adj) /wɔːrm/
Her comments were greeted with warm applause.

courteous (adj) /ˈkɜːrtiəs/
The hotel staff are friendly and courteous.

9. LIKE

admire (v) /ədˈmaɪər/
I really admire your enthusiasm.

appreciate (v) /əˈpriːʃieɪt/
You can’t really appreciate foreign literature in translation.

fancy (v) /ˈfænsi/
Do you fancy going out this evening?

adore (v) /əˈdɔːr/
 I simply adore his music!

cherish (v) /ˈtʃerɪʃ/
Cherish the memory of those days in Paris.

prefer (v) /prɪˈfɜːr/
The donor prefers to remain anonymous.

10. BAD

evil (adj) /ˈiːvɪl/
the evil effects of racism

obscene (adj) /əbˈsiːn/
It’s obscene to spend so much on food when millions are starving.

terrible (adj) /ˈterəbl/
It was a terrible thing to happen to someone so young.

dreadful (adj) /ˈdredfl/
It’s dreadful the way they treat their staff.

brutal (adj) /ˈbruːtl/
With brutal honesty she told him she did not love him.

nasty (adj) /ˈnæsti/
He had a nasty moment when he thought he’d lost his passport.

wicked (adj) /ˈwɪkɪd/
Jane has a wicked sense of humour.

sinister (adj) /ˈsɪnɪstər/
There was something cold and sinister about him.