If you’re a foodie, then you know that adjectives are important when it comes to describing food. After all, how else are you going to accurately describe the flavor, texture, and appearance of the food you’re eating?
In this article, we’ll be discussing some of the most common and useful adjectives for food. Whether you’re a professional chef or just someone who likes to cook at home, you’ll be sure to find some new words to add to your foodie vocabulary.
Adjectives For Food
When it comes to food, there are so many delicious adjectives to choose from! Here are just a few of our favourites:
Scrumptious – This adjective is perfect for describing food that simply melts in your mouth.Decadent – A great word for describing rich, indulgent foods that are definitely a treat.Zesty – Ideal for describing dishes with a kick of flavour, like a zesty curry or pasta dish.
Juicy – Perfect for describing succulent meats and fresh fruits.Moreish – A great adjective for describing food that you can’t help but keep going back for more of!Creamy – Ideal for describing rich, creamy dishes like pasta carbonara or crème brûlée.
Aromatic – A great word for describing dishes with strong, tantalising aromas.Flavorsome – An excellent adjective for describing food that is packed full of flavour.Hearty – A great adjective for describing filling, satisfying dishes.
Delicious – Last but not least, this is the perfect all-round adjective for describing any and all types of wonderful food!
A
Abhorrent Abominable Aboriginal Abundant Accessible Accompanying Accustomed Acid Acidic Actual Adaptable Addictive Additive Adequate Admirable Advertised Affordable Affording
Afghan African Agreeable Agri Agro Air Fried Airy Alien Alike Allergenic Allotted Allowable Amazing Ambrosial Ample Animal Annual Appalachian
Appealing Appetizing Aquarium Aquatic Argentine Aromatic Artificial Artisan Artisanal Asian Assorted Astringent Attractive Authentic
B
Bad Baked Balsamic Bare Basic Bavarian Beachwine Beautiful Beneficial Benthic Bite-Size Bitter Bittersweet Blackened Blanched Bland Blazed Blended
Bloody Blue Blunt Bodily Boiled Bold Braised Breaded Briny British Broiled Broken Brown Browning Bulk Burnt Buttered Buttery
C
Caked Calorie Canadian Candied Canned Caramelized Carbonaceous Carnal Carnivorous Castaway Caustic Celebratory Celestial Celtic Center Cut Certain Certified Charred
Cheapest Cheesy Chemical Chewed Chewy Chief Chilean Chilled Chilling Chinese Chocolate Choicest Cholesterol Free Chunked Chunky Citrusy Classic Classy
Clean Coarsest Cold Colored Colorful Colourant Colourful Comforting Commensurate Commercial Communal Compact Complementary Complete Composite Comprehensive Concentrated Considerable
Constant Consumed Contaminated Continual Contraband Convenient Conversational Cooked Cool Cooling Correct Corruptible Costly Covered Coveted Cozy Crafted Crappy
Creamed Creamy Creative Creature Crisp Crispy Crispy: Critical Crumbly Crummy Crunchy Crusty Cultural Cultured Cured Cutting
D
Daily Dainty Dairy Dangerous Day Dazzling Dear Decadent Decayed Decent Decorative Deep Fried Deep-Fried Deficient Dehydrated Delectable Deleterious Delicate
Delicatessen Delicious Delight Delightful Dense Desirable Dietetic Dietician Digest Digested Digestible Digestive Diner Dirty Disagreeable Diseased Distasteful Distinctive
Divine Dominican Doughy Dreadful Dressed Dried Out Dripping Drizzle Drunk Dry Dubious Dull Dungeness
E
Earthly Earthy Easy Eatable Economical Edible Effective Eggy Elastic Elementary Enchanted Endless English Eritrean Essential Esteemed Ethereal Ethical
Ethnic European Everyday Excellent Exceptional Excess Exciting Exclusive Exhausted Existent Exotic Expensive Exquisite Extensive External Extra Extraordinary Extravagant
F
Fabulous Facerefusing Factorsthese Fair Familiar Famous Famy Fancy Fantastic Farinaceous Fashioned Fast Fat Fatty Favorite Favoured Favourite Fearsome
Fermented Festive Fetid Fibreless Fibrous Fiery Filet Filipino Filthy Fine Firm Fishy Fit Fitting Fizzy Flaky Flat Flavored
Flavorful Flavourful Flemish Flesh Fleshy Fluffy Forbidden Foreign Formal Formulated Foul Fragile Fragrant Free French Frequent Fresh Fried
Frivolous Frozen Fruity Full-Bodied Fully Loaded Fun Functional Furry Future
G
Garlic Garnished Gaseous Generous German Ghanaian Gingery Glazed Global Gluten Glycemic Golden Golden Brown Gooey Gorgeous Gourmet Grateful Greasy Greek Green Grilled Gritty Gross Guid Gummy
H
Habitual Handmade Hard Harsh Hazardous Heady Healthful Healthier Healthy Hearty Heavenly Heavy Herbal Homely Homemade Honest Honey Honeyed Horrid Hot Hourly Human Humble Hypoallergenic
I
Icelandic Iconic Icy Ideal Ignominious Ill Implored Improper Inadequate Inappropriate Inclusive Incorrect Incredible Indian Indigenous Indigestible Individual Industrial
Inexpensive Inferior Infused Inhale Injurious Innocent Innovative Innutritious Insect Insecure Insipid Insufficient Intellectual Intense Introductory Invalid Irish Irregular Israeli Italian
J | K
Japanese Jelly Jewish Joythe Juicy Jumbo Just Right Kenyan Key Kingly Korean Kosher
L
Lacedaemonian Lamentable Large Lavish Lawful Lean Leathery Lebanese Left Legit Legitimate Lifewith Light Lighter Liquid Lite Literary Live
Lively Loathsome Lovely Low Low-Fat Luscious Luxurious
M
Magic Magical Major Marinated Marine Martial Marvelous Mashed Meager Mean Medical Medium Rare Medium Well Melancholy Mellow Melty Mental Mere
Mexican Microbial Mighty Mild Miniature Minimal Minty Miserable Mixed Mixture Of Mobile Moist Moldy Monetary Monotonous Mortal Mouldy Mouth Watering Mouth-Watering Musical Mysterious
N
Nastier Nationally Famous Native Natural Nauseous Nearer Nectarous Needful Nepali Nestling Nice Nitrogenous Non-Fat Nonperishable Normal Norse Notch Nourishing
Novel Nutmeg Nutrient Nutritional Nutritious Nutritive Nutty
O
Obnoxious Occasional Odoriferous Oily Okay Onsite Open Open Face Ordinary Organic Osechi Outdoor Outside Overcooked Overmuch Overpowering Overpriced
P
Palatable Palatable Indicates Palestinian Partisan Patient Penetrating Peppery Perfect Perfection Perinatal Perishable Peruvian Pet Petite Phenomenal Physical Pickled Piled High
Piping Hot Piquant Plain Plastic Pleasant Pleasurable Plenteous Plentiful Plenty Plump Poached Pony Poor Popular Potential Pounded Powerful Pre
Precarious Precious Preferred Premium Prep Prepackaged Preparatory Prepared Present Preservative Preserved Pressure Cooked Prickly Primary Primitive Princely Principal Probable
Probiotic Producing Proffered Promised Proper Protective Proteid Protein Provocative Pulpy Pungent Puppy Pure Pureed Putrid
Q | R
Queer Questionable Quick Quiet Rancid Random Rank Rare Rational Raw Real Reasonable Red Reduced Refresh Refreshing Regional Regular
Regulated Relationshipsfast Reliable Religious Reminiscent Repulsive Respective Restno Retail Rican Rich Rightful Ripe Roasted Robust Room Temperature Rotten Rough Round Royal Rubbery Rubbish Runny
S
Saccharine Sacred Sacrificial Safe Saline Salty Sapid Saporific Saporous Satin Satiny Sauteed Sautéed Savorless Savory Savoury Scant Scanty
Scarce Scenting Scorched Scrumptious Sea Salt Seared Seasoned Select Semi Senior Serbian Served In Served With Shaped Sharp Sharp-Tasting Shocking Short
Sick Sided Significant Silky Simmered Simplest Sinful Singular Sixth Sized Sizzling Skillfully Sloppy Small Smelly Smoked Smoky Smooth
Smothered Smuggle Soft Softened Softer Sole Solid Soothing Soporific Sorbile Sour Sous Vide Southern Southern Style Spanish Special Spiced Spicy
Spiked Spiral-Cut Spiritual Splendid Spoiled Spongy Sprinkled Stable Stale Standard Staple Starchy Steamed Steamy Stewed Sticky Stinging Stir-Fried
Stodgy Strange Strawberry Flavored Strong Stubborn Stuffed Subsidized Substantial Succulent Sugar Coated Sugar Free Sugar-Coated Sugar-Free Sugared Sugarless Sugary Suitable Sumptuous
Super Superb Superfluous Superior Supplemental Supplementary Surplus Suspect Sustainable Sweet Sweet-And-Sour Sweetened Symbolic Symbolical Syrupy
T
Tahitian Takeaway Tangy Tantalizing Tart Tasteful Tasteless Tasty Tchefau Tempting Tender Tenderer Tenderest Tepid Terrific Thai Thee Therapeutic
Thick Thin Toasted Toasty Tolerable Toothsome Topped Tossed Tough Toxic Traditional Transgenic Treacly Treat Turkish Turning Typical
U
Ukrainian Ultimate Ultra Ultraprocessed Unable Unaccustomed Unassimilated Unattended Unchanging Unclaimed Unclean Uncooked Undercooked Underripe Undigested Unexpected Unfamiliar Unfired
Unflavored Unhealthy Unique Universal Unmoistened Unpalatable Unproductive Unrefined Unregistered Unrelenting Unsafe Unsavory Unseasoned Unsold Unsound Unsuitable Untasted Untouched
Unusable Unusual Unwrapped Urban Usda Useful Usual Utmost
V
Valuable Vanilla Vanilla Flavored Varied Vegan Vegetable Vegetarian Velvety Versatile Vibrant Vinegary Virtual Visual Vital Voucher Vulcanian Vulgar
W | Y | Z
Warm Waxy Weak Weightier Well-Done Western Wet Wheaten Whipped Whole Wholesome Wild Wonderful Wonted Woody Wretched Yearly Yeasty Yucky Yummy Zesty Zingy
Final verdict
When it comes to food, there are endless possibilities for adjectives. Whether you’re describing the appearance, smell, taste, or texture of a dish, there’s an adjective out there to fit your needs. In general, adjectives can be divided into three categories: positive, negative, and neutral.
While some adjectives can be used to describe both the positive and negative aspects of a food (e.g. “crunchy “), others are more specific to one side or the other (e.g. “delicious ” vs. “disgusting “). No matter what your purpose is, there’s an adjective out there to help you get your point across.