The Difficulty of Describing Texture

Describing texture is a problem for both established and new writers, who often forget to write with senses other than sight. In reality, writers should use every sense.

Here are 400 words to help you find the right word for the texture you're trying to describe.

Texture and Soul

Not the texture of wood

Nor the texture of steel,

But the texture of you

Is what makes your soul real

— Anonymous

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Why It's Important to Use Texture Descriptors

Words to describe texture are very important. Though television and the web might have raised the prominence of visual media, the value of touch remains very significant.

A setting can permeate our senses if we just let it. Thank goodness for vision, thank goodness for sound, yet why is it so hard to think of words to describe texture?

• Texture: The quality we know as texture, a sensory perception, is a reflex action to receptor stimulation. Though it is almost intuitive, your work feels flat without it. Get the right word, however, and you will almost magically convey the sensation to your reader.

• Touch: Touch, also known as mechanoreception, is an awareness caused by the stimulation of receptors found on the surface of the skin, tongue, and throat. Assortments of receptors react to differences in pressure (steady, sweeping, continuous, etc.) and are spontaneous (unlike finding the right word to describe something).

A Warning About Adjectives

I hope this list of words to describe texture has been of use, but please remember to use descriptive words with care.

A few words to describe texture and touch can make your work more vivid and give it energy. Overdoing it, however, will make your work seem like a pulpy romance. See what I mean?

Comments

Asendra kumar on August 27, 2020:

Very good and useful thanks a lot

phiral on July 18, 2020:

Thank you so very much , this has totally helped me in my descriptive writing

Yeet on July 06, 2020:

How is this even suppose to really help when the website says 400 hundred words but theres only like 5

Boi on May 26, 2020:

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bob on May 24, 2020:

it totaly help

Gorge on March 02, 2020:

But cheek

Hey yeh on February 22, 2020:

What about rocky

Loze mcsad on November 12, 2019:

Thank you

Laila on November 12, 2019:

What’s does this mean

kjn on September 20, 2019:

WHAT ABOUT BLUbY

hi on September 12, 2019:

thx

so much

I on August 17, 2019:

Thanks so much, used this for an art project and it saved my grades!

A.... on June 12, 2019:

Help me for homework thx I’m grade 5

material on March 06, 2019:

what words describe differant materials

DADDY LEFT ME on March 04, 2019:

i love a bit of wooden wood. p.s. soft and fluffy. ;)

Daddy on March 01, 2019:

Thnx i need for home work

Ema on February 27, 2019:

Love this so very much it helped so much im in 7th alot

Love,

Ema

random on January 10, 2019:

where is soft and fluffy on this thing?!?!?

Unicorns on October 23, 2018:

Thanks helped me with me homework

star on October 22, 2018:

thank you

jj on October 22, 2018:

thak you

6u7y on October 18, 2018:

awesome

Denzell Foday on October 03, 2018:

Cool.

Brittany Wither on September 13, 2018:

Thank you so much to whoever wrote this.

I'ts the best site I've been on to help me with my art homework.

I would one hundred percent recommend this website.

Brittany

Alexandra on September 12, 2018:

Vey helpful for my art homework.

Thank you

Gr8 on May 22, 2018:

Its amazing and I got a good grade cause of this article. Thanks!

sunpark on May 10, 2018:

Thanks again you are the best I cannot believe this was here until a friend showed me to this site. YOU ARE THE BEST, keep doing what you are doing. :) :3

Arsen Lutaaya on March 26, 2018:

..With this list, its a bonanza to my art class, thanks a lot.

Lizzy on February 22, 2018:

It really helped me

hubby on February 14, 2018:

thanks yal

anon on January 25, 2018:

hey guys im clinically depressed ! :D

nice list of describing words, made my life as a college student easier.

unknown user on December 05, 2017:

this helps like a lot!!!

Eric on December 02, 2017:

Thank you so much

unknown on November 26, 2017:

thx much

Unknown User on November 13, 2017:

This is very helpful, thank you.

sorenza on October 09, 2017:

i love thisss

n on September 30, 2017:

cool

yoyo on July 20, 2017:

I did not know how to describe texture, but after reading this article, I could remember more than 10 words to describe texture. It also helped me in my school project.

THANKS! LETTERPRESS!

Keven on April 17, 2017:

Really helped my extraordinary transportation project thanks whoever made this

Anonymous Person on April 16, 2017:

Thanks! Really helped

ddf on January 24, 2017:

thanks

ghghhf on January 04, 2017:

cool

Jeanette Stone Bishop on December 01, 2016:

Great list of descriptive words. Thank you.

Copeland Whitfield on November 10, 2016:

This is wonderful, I often struggle to capture a texture perfectly, as some has such unique textures.

Holly Green on October 30, 2016:

This must be very useful for some people, but I am writing I story about a blind girl, so I can't use most of these.

Megan on October 08, 2016:

Super helpful!

archie kendall on October 01, 2016:

thanks so much for this article its really helped me with my school project

DERTOAJ MILAN on July 19, 2016:

nice

anonymous on June 04, 2016:

This is helping me a lot with my descriptive essay. Thank you so much for writing this

Ms_G on April 29, 2016:

I am using your wonderful list for my painting students :) Thank you!

willian grey-north on March 08, 2016:

oh why thank you this works wonders for my year 11 coursework.

Kelbelle on February 28, 2016:

Does anyone know good texture words for cantaloupe outside besides bumpy and rough

Kristen Howe from Northeast Ohio on January 28, 2016:

Great list of words to describe texture in your writing. Some I never heard or thought of. Thanks for sharing.

bla on September 22, 2015:

just what I needed- I was doing a list on detail words.

ajbarnett (author) from Costa Blanca, Spain on April 11, 2014:

Thank you, Terry. Glad it was okay

Terry on April 11, 2014:

This is a very helpful article, thank you!

jack on November 06, 2013:

thanks

ajbarnett (author) from Costa Blanca, Spain on December 29, 2012:

Thank you, Julie. I'm glad you found this useful

Blurter of Indiscretions from Clinton CT on December 29, 2012:

Great words and a bookmarkable list! Thanks :)

Peter Tangkhul on September 26, 2012:

Fantastic! Thanks a ton.

Home_Gurl on April 05, 2012:

Thanks this helped A lot! 8D