Descriptive Words in Spanish
Some of these are commonplace and idiomatic, but I wanted to make a list (or multiple small lists) of words that can help boost your vocab, especially if you’re interested in literature or you have essays you need to write
This might end up becoming its own little series since it’s easier to make smaller vocab lists
destacable = remarkable, notable
el adefesio = something very ugly, an eyesore, something hideous
ningunear = to ignore, to give someone the cold shoulder
la flor y nata = “best of the best”, “creme de la creme”, “best and brightest” [lit. “the flower and cream”]
conmovedor(a) = moving, poignant, emotional
abrumador(a) = overwhelming
oculto/a = hidden, secret / occult, arcane
la carnicería = slaughter, carnage, massacre [otherwise la carnicería is a “butcher’s shop” where you buy la carne “meat”]
inquietante = unsettling, worrying
palpar = to feel, to touch
de la cabeza a los pies = “through and through”, “thoroughly”, “completely” [lit. “from head to toe”]
el apogeo = zenith, “the height of”, the highest point, apogee
entrelazado/a = interwoven, intertwined
la escoria = scum, trash
impactante = impressive, shocking, impactful
zafar = to release, to loosen zafar(se) = to get out of, to avoid
(cerrado/a) a cal y canto = locked up tight, sealed tight/shut
gélido/a = icy, frozen, cold, frigid
la época = time period, era, epoch
grosero/a = rude, vulgar, crude
pésimo/a = the worst, horrible
vistoso/a = attractive, eye-catching
esquivar = to evade, to dodge, to avoid
el olvido = oblivion, nothingness, obscurity
el crisol = “melting pot” / crucible
tenue = faint (noise/light), soft (noise/light), dim (light) / weak or thin, tenuous
atroz = heinous, awful, atrocious, cruel, grisly
galán = dashing, handsome, gallant el galán = the leading man, the main male role in a story, the hero / “prince charming”, “knight in shining armor”, a heroic or gallant man / a ladies’ man, a womanizer
bruto/a = raw, uncut, crude (oil) / brutish, a thug / stupid, a moron, thick-headed en bruto = raw, “in the rough” (diamond) / unpolished (talent), “room for improvement”
la alcahueta = gossip, blabbermouth / an enabler, a bad influence la alcahueta / la celestina = a go-between, matchmaker, liaison / pimp, procurer [the male form is alcahuete but it’s usually seen in the feminine; this second expression for alcahueta is especially common in literature and is synonymous with la celestina; the word celestina comes from the book Celestina by Fernando de Rojas where a woman named Celestina sets up clandestine meetings between men/young men and women/young women who live in convents as the “procuress” since women in convents would not be allowed to meet men themselves usually… the term alcahueta also applies to women who act on a younger woman’s behalf to set up meetings since women couldn’t meet men without a chaperone for fear of being seen as indecent… think a character like the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. Today, alcahueta typically means a “gossip” but it can mean someone who enables someone or a “matchmaker” or “pimp” who goes back and forth between interested parties; an actual matchmaker tends to be el casamentero/la casamentera and that’s seen as more respectable]
