Sensory words help your writing work better and engage the reader by capturing all of their senses. This sensory words list will help you choose some good ones.
Sensory words are words that add sensory details to your writing. These words bring in your senses and help the reader better picture the scene, even feeling as if they are a player in the world unfolding on the page.
Using these types of descriptive words in your writing makes it richer and more engaging. They add personality and flavor to your content, and also help the details you want to stand out. This sensory words list will help you find the right one that will make your work stand out in a sea of voices.
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Sensory Words List For All Writers
Whether you are writing a post as a business blogger or a novel for fiction readers, adding sensory language can make it more appealing. Much like powerful words, it’s helpful to have a list to refer to beforehand.
Sound Words
Sound words relate to things people can hear or experience in an auditory way. Some common hearing words include:
1. Bellow: When using this word, you make the reader think of loud, strong sounds.
2. Blare: This word has the connotation of loud, brash noise.
3. Cackle: This laugh brings to mind an older adult or an evil witch.
4. Clamor: Clamor is a loud, harsh and illogical sound.
5. Clang: The sound of cymbals or metal crashing against metal is what this word conveys.
6. Clink: This is a gentler sound, like the sound of a small bell or glasses striking each other in a toast.
7. Crackle: This word evokes the sound of paper bending and moving.
8. Crunching: The thought of potatoes chips and fall leaves comes to mind when you think of something that has a crunch.
9. Guffaw: This loud, robust laugh is something most people can recognize.
10. Gurgle: Water moving through a brook is a pleasing sound that this word reminds the reader of.
Smell Words
Smell words awaken the sense of smell. While they may not actually make you smell something, they can remind you of the smell you once experienced. Here are some examples:
11. Flowery: When you read this word, you likely have thoughts of perfume from a favorite rose.
12. Fragrant: Because this word does not have a specific smell, it applies in many situations.
13. Piney: This helps you think of Christmas and a pine forest.
14. Pungent: Use this word to refer to a strong and unpleasant situation.
15. Reeking: This unpleasant smell word might bring to mind smelly socks or armpits.
Touch Words
Touch words help you remember the way something feels. They are descriptive words that help people think of textures. Here are some examples of this type of sensory language in action:
16. Balmy: This hot and humid word makes you think of being in a tropical setting.
17. Bumpy: You hear the word bumpy, and instantly you can picture the feeling of a lumpy surface.
18. Gooey: This brings to mind the feeling of having goop in or on your hands.
19. Fluff: Whether a kitten or a blanket, everyone knows what something fluffy feels like.
20. Spongy: The soft, squishy feel of a sponge is something most people can recall.
Sight Words
In this list of sensory words, sight words are not words you learn to read without phonics, but rather words that bring to mind images you saw at an earlier time. Sight word examples include:
21. Bulky: Large and cumbersome is the meaning of this word, which most people can recognize.
22. Drab: Few words evoke the thought of gray and boring quite as quickly as this one.
23. Glittering: Make your work sparkle by adding this word where appropriate.
24. Gloomy: This word has almost a depressing feel to it, and the reader will instantly think about a cold and rainy day.
25. Hazy: When visibility is low, hazy is the appropriate word.
26. Murky: When you can’t see well through something, this is a good word to use.
27. Spotless: This word evokes the thought of something that is completely and fully clean.
Taste Words
The sense of taste also works its way into writing. Taste words to use include:
28. Acrid: Acrid is an irritatingly strong taste, usually bitter or sour.
29. Briny: This salty flavor from the sea is something many people know well.
30. Buttery: Everyone remembers the experience of biting into a buttery pastry, and this word makes your taste buds water almost instantly.
31. Delectable: This pleasing word is given to the tastiest things we can eat.
32. Juicy: Though this is technically a feeling, the word juicy makes people think of tasting something.
33. Rancid: This word is commonly used to refer to rotten or old food, and it is a taste most people are familiar with.
34. Spicy: This makes the reader think of something that is hot or flavorful.
35. Sweet: Sweet has many meanings, but it does evoke feelings of taste.
A Final Word on the Sensory Words List
Sensory words are powerful words because they draw the reader into what you are writing. If you are struggling to make your writing interesting, consider using the Thesaurus to add more of these sensory words to your writing efforts. Soon you will find that your work comes alive when the reader is reading about gurgling and glittering details.
Of course, balance is key here. You can overdo your use of these words and make your piece wordy and difficult to read. But a sprinkling of words from this sensory words list can be a good addition.
FAQs about Sensory Words List
What are some sensory words?
Sensory words are words that involve the senses, such as pungent, spicy, juicy, bumpy, or cackling.
What are some examples of sensory language?
Here are some sentences that use sensory language:
1. The sparkling, spotlessly clean home practically glittered with the light.
2. It was a drab, gloomy day outside, but inside delectable smells were coming from the kitchen.
2. He squashed the competition with his bellowing vocals.
