450+ Ways to Describe Moods: A Word List for Writers

mood: a short-term state of mind or feeling

When you’re writing an action scene or when word count is limited, one of the following
adjectives might be just what you need.

Before you continue to the list, however, consider this: Describing a person’s mood with an
adjective breaks the show-don’t-tell rule. If you have the room to do so, consider substituting
descriptive phrasing with emotion beats and physical manifestations. A good body language
dictionary will provide the tools. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Many of the adjectives in this post could also refer to a character’s personality.

Adjectives with Positive Connotations

A to C
accepting, affable, affectionate, agreeable, altruistic, amenable, amiable, amused, animated,
appreciative, approachable, attentive, benevolent, blissful, blithe, bouncy, brave, breezy, bright,
bubbly, buoyant, calm, cheerful, chipper, chummy, companionable, compassionate, compliant,
composed, conciliatory, confident, congenial, considerate, content, convivial, cordial, courteous

D to G
dauntless, delightful, determined, dignified, diplomatic, eager, easygoing, ebullient, ecstatic,
effervescent, elated, electrified, elevated, empathetic, empowered, energetic, energized,
enthusiastic, euphoric, excited, exhilarated, exuberant, fearless, festive, forgiving, forthright,
friendly, frisky, fulfilled, generous, genial, giddy, glad, good-natured, grateful, gregarious, gutsy

H to L
happy, holiday, honest, hopeful, hospitable, humble, humorous, idyllic, imaginative,
imperturbable, impressed, indomitable, inspired, interested, intrepid, jaunty, jocund, jolly, jovial,
joyful, jubilant, justified, kind, laidback, levelheaded, liberated, lighthearted, lively, longsuffering,
loving

M to R
magnanimous, mellow, merry, neighborly, optimistic, overjoyed, passive, patient, peaceable,
peaceful, peppy, perky, placid, playful, pleasant, pleased, plucky, polite, positive, receptive,
refreshed, relaxed, relieved, resolute, respectful, responsive, rested, reverent, reverential,
revitalized, romantic

S to W
sanguine, satisfied, sedate, self-effacing, selfless, sensible, sharing, sociable, solicitous, sparky,
spirited, splendid, sprightly, spunky, steadfast, sunny, supportive, sympathetic, tender, thankful,
thoughtful, thrilled, tolerant, touched, tranquil, unassuming, understanding, unflappable,
unruffled, unselfish, unshakeable, unshaken, upbeat, uplifted, vibrant, vivacious, warm

Adjectives with Ambiguous Connotations

A to N
amazed, amorous, analytical, astonished, awed, blunt, candid, changeable, chatty,
contemplative, curious, dispassionate, dreamy, expectant, fierce, flirtatious, impassive, impulsive,
indifferent, inquisitive, lovesick, mischievous, mysterious, naughty, neutral, nostalgic
P to Z
passionate, pensive, philosophical, powerful, prayerful, proud, purposeful, rambunctious, rational,
reflective, remorseful, sensitive, sentimental, serene, serious, shy, sorry, subdued, submissive,
surprised, talkative, whimsical, wistful, zealous

Adjectives with Negative Connotations

A and B
abandoned, abashed, afraid, aggressive, alienated, aloof, angry, annoyed, anxious, apathetic,
apprehensive, argumentative, arrogant, ashamed, baffled, belligerent, bewildered, bitter, bizarre,
black, blue, boisterous, bored, bossy, brooding, brutish, bullish
C
callous, cantankerous, capricious, close-mouthed, cold, combative, complacent, concessionary,
confined, confrontational, confused, contentious, contradictory, contrary, cranky, critical, crushed,
crusty, cynical

D
dangerous, dark, defiant, dejected, depressed, desolate, desperate, despondent, detached,
devastated, disappointed, disbelieving, disconcerted, discontented, disdainful, disillusioned,
dismayed, distant, distressed, disturbed, domineering, drained, dreary

E to H
edgy, embarrassed, empty, enervated, enraged, envious, erratic, exasperated, exhausted,
expansive, fearful, fickle, flippant, forlorn, foul, frightened, frustrated, furious, gloomy, grim,
grouchy, grumpy, guilty, haughty, haunted, heartbroken, heavy, helpless, hesitant, hopeless,
hostile, humiliated, hurt, hypercritical

I to N
ignored, imperious, implacable, important, inadequate, incendiary, indifferent, indolent, inferior,
inflammatory, infuriated, insecure, insignificant, insubordinate, intimidated, irascible, irreverent,
irritable, irritated, isolated, jealous, judgmental, lethargic, lonely, mad, malicious, melancholy,
mercurial, morose, nauseated, nervous, nightmarish

O to R
offensive, ominous, ornery, overbearing, overpowered, overwhelmed, pained, perplexed,
pessimistic, powerless, presumptuous, provocative, puzzled, quixotic, rebellious, rejected,
reluctant, resentful, restless, rigid, riotous, rowdy

S and T
sad, sarcastic, scared, self-important, selfish, shocked, skeptical, smug, solemn, somber, sour,
stressed, stubborn, surly, suspicious, taciturn, tense, tepid, terrified, terror-stricken, threatened,
troubled, turbulent
U to W
ugly, uncaring, uncertain, uncomfortable, uneasy, ungrateful, unpleasant, unpredictable, unruly,
unsettled, unyielding, uppity, vengeful, vile, violent, volatile, vulnerable, wary, weary, wild,
withdrawn, worried, wretched

Find an abundance of writing tips and word lists in

The Writer’s Lexicon series.
Available in both digital and print editions.
–
A Storyline Often Alters the Connotation
Positive: The prisoners’ compliant  mood during the lockdown impressed the warden so much that he
granted them special privileges.
Better version: The prisoners’ compliance  during the lockdown impressed the warden so much that he
granted them  [name the special privileges].
Negative: Her boyfriend’s  compliant mood whenever he was around his ex-wife irritated Tina so much
that she ended their relationship.
Better version: Her boyfriend’s compliance  whenever he was around his ex-wife infuriated Tina so much
that she [mention something specific].
Positive: The billionaire’s frequent  magnanimous moods were well-known and appreciated by the
thousands of people he helped.
Better version: The billionaire’s frequent  magnanimity  was well-known and appreciated by the
thousands of people he  [provide examples].
Negative: The billionaire’s frequent magnanimous  moods were disliked by his family. At the rate he was
donating money to charitable organizations, he would leave his greedy relatives penniless.
Better version: The billionaire’s incessant  magnanimity  was detested by his family. At the rate he was
leaching money to charitable organizations, his altruism would leave his greedy relatives destitute.
Positive: The CEO’s taciturn mood during bargaining sessions allowed her to maintain her poker face
even when she disagreed with union demands.
Better version: The CEO’s taciturnity during bargaining sessions allowed her to maintain her poker face
even when she disagreed with union demands.
Negative: The CEO’s  taciturn  mood during bargaining sessions irritated the union. How could they
negotiate when she refused to show her hand?
Better version: The CEO’s taciturnity during bargaining sessions exasperated the union. How could they
negotiate when she refused to show her hand?
Note the Edits that Remove Mood
In each instance, a noun takes over the heavy lifting and reduces word count, which is invaluable
in action scenes.

Rather than seeing mood in passages that refer to a character’s frame of mind, you’ll usually find
phrasing like the following.
The prisoners were compliant.
The billionaire was magnanimous.
The CEO was tolerant.
Provide Context
Ambiguity, unless deliberately introduced to further a plot, should be eliminated from your writing.

If a character’s romantic actions are meant to be negative, show us:

A dozen roses every day, multiple texts per hour, lovey-dovey notes he slipped into her briefcase …
Romantic? Bollocks! This was stalking, and she intended to end it.
If a character’s zeal is a liability, confirm it with details:

Working overtime shifts, fetching the manager’s coffee, washing his car. Yeah, she was zealous, all right,
but it didn’t earn any kudos from her coworkers.