nondescript
adjective
George Bernard Shaw
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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
Examples of nondescript in a Sentence
Justin Ling, WIRED, 2 May 2024
On Monday night paparazzi were camped out in front of the nondescript glass-door building at Madison Avenue and 58th Street where Mr. Lauren has his storied headquarters, there to record the arrivals of Jessica Chastain, Kerry Washington and Glenn Close, among others.
—Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for nondescript 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nondescript.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Nondescript.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nondescript. Accessed 6 May. 2024.
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nondescript
adjective
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