A.Word.A.Day --nondescript

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nondescript

PRONUNCIATION:

(non-di-SKRIPT)

MEANING:

adjective:
1. Without distinctive qualities.
2. Not belonging to a particular class.

ETYMOLOGY:

From non- (not) + Latin descriptus, past participle of describere (to describe), from de- (off) + scribere (to write). Ultimately from the Indo-European root skribh- (to cut, separate, or sift) that has resulted in other terms such as manuscript, subscribe, scripture, scribble, describe, circumflex, and circumspect. Earliest documented use: 1669.

USAGE:

“Since he took over as Peru’s president two years ago, Martín Vizcarra, an otherwise nondescript politician, has not flinched from taking bold decisions.”
Bello Wisdom and Witlessness; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 4, 2020.

See more usage examples of nondescript in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Monsters remain human beings. In fact, to reduce them to a subhuman level is to exonerate them of their acts of terrorism and mass murder -- just as animals are not deemed morally responsible for killing. Insisting on the humanity of terrorists is, in fact, critical to maintaining their profound responsibility for the evil they commit. And, if they are human, then they must necessarily not be treated in an inhuman fashion. You cannot lower the moral baseline of a terrorist to the subhuman without betraying a fundamental value. -Andrew Sullivan, writer (b. 10 Aug 1963)

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