Writing Wednesdays: 33 Ways to Describe Your Character’s Voice

Hello, everyone!

It’s been a while since I’ve done a word list so I thought it was high time for a new one. Today, I’ll give you thirty-three words to use when describing a character’s voice so you could quickly reference them when you are stuck.

Also, check out the bottom of the post where I’ve link my other word lists.

Let’s get started!

1. adenoidal – when some of the sound seems to come through the nose of the character
2. appealing – attractive; your character might go for this tone when they want something from another character
3. breathy – could show that your character is out of breath due to physical exertion or because of strong feelings
4. brittle – as if your character is about to start crying
5. croaky – as if your character has a sore throat
6. dead – emotionless
7. flat – an even tone without ups and downs
8. fruity – deep, rich, and pleasant
9. grating – annoying, unpleasant
10. gravelly – low, serious
11. gruff – low, rough
12. guttural – deep, coming from the back of the throat
13. hoarse – low and rough, often because of a sore throat
14. honeyed – when a character speaks with a honeyed voice, they sound nice, but at the same time fake and as if they can’t be trusted
15. husky – deep and hoarse, but often in an attractive way
16. lilting – with pleasant ups and downs
17. modulated – controlled
18. monotonous – boring, unchanging (no ups and downs)
19. nasal – as if the character is speaking through their nose
20. orotund – loud, imposing
21. plummy – having an accent thought typical of the English upper classes; usually used as a negative (the character who uses the word doesn’t like the character who speaks in this way)
22. raucous – loud and harsh
23. rich – strong and pleasant
24. ringing – loud and clear
25. shrill – high-pitched and unpleasant
26. singsong – your character’s voice rises and falls as in following a tune
27. small – quiet
28. soft-spoken – quiet, gentle
29. thickly – low
30. thin – high-pitched
31. throaty – low, comes from deep within the throat
32. tremulous – unsteady
33. wobbly – with ups and downs, especially due to fear or because the character is about to cry

And now, as promised, here are the other word lists:

• 12 Handy Positive Words to Describe Facial Expressions
• 17 Handy Negative Words to Describe Facial Expressions
• 40 Words to Describe Your Character’s Eyes
• 47 Ways for Your Characters to Walk
• 31 Words to Use Instead of Very
• 20 Words to Use Instead of Nice
• Is Harry Potter’s Fear a Phobia? A List of Phobias to Include in Your Book

I hope these lists help you! If you’d like me to compile another one for you, drop me a comment!

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