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").
Examples of nondescript in a Sentence
Mark Lakin, Travel + Leisure, 9 July 2025
Instead, they are driven around the company campus in a shuttle bus while a guide describes what’s going on in the various, mostly nondescript buildings.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2025
Inside one of those nondescript rooms last week, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an independent panel that makes vaccine recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offered a glimpse of what’s to come.
—Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 5 July 2025
Mephisto speaks in a nondescript accent when trying to make the bargain, but Cohen uses his own British accent when Mephisto's at his most villainous.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for nondescript
Cite this Entry
“Nondescript.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nondescript. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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nondescript
adjective
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