149 Adjectives That Start With M

M is the letter of judgement. It holds an unusual number of words that pass a verdict while pretending to describe — mediocre, mawkish, meddlesome, measly, mercenary — and almost as many that praise without gushing: measured, methodical, magnanimous. This page lists 149 adjectives that start with M, each with its meaning and a short example, then cuts the list into the shapes most often needed.

The table is the reference. Everything after it is a selection from those same 149 words.

All 149 adjectives, with meanings and examples

The full reference. Everything below this table is a cut of it, chosen for a particular job.

The twenty most useful

If you take twenty words from this page, take these — the ones that do work no other word on the list quite does.

1. magnanimous — generosity aimed at someone who did not earn it
2. measured — the most useful praise word for a difficult conversation
3. mercurial — mood change as a settled trait, not an episode
4. meticulous — care at the level of detail, not of effort
5. mundane — dullness without cruelty
6. moribund — for institutions rather than people
7. mawkish — sentimentality that has gone off
8. manifest — obvious, in a register above obvious
9. malleable — flattering or damning depending on the noun
10. methodical — order as a habit rather than a result
11. meagre — scarcity with a note of grievance
12. magisterial — authority that does not raise its voice
13. murky — physical and moral in one word
14. momentous — weight without volume
15. mordant — wit with acid in it
16. mellow — the rare M-word with no edge at all
17. misguided — criticism that grants good intentions
18. motionless — stronger than still, because it implies effort
19. mercenary — motive named without naming a person
20. melancholy — sadness that has been thought about

The positive ones

Praise-side words. Some writers reserve masterful for command over people and masterly for skill, but dictionaries record both senses for masterful and the older one is the command sense. Worth knowing as a preference, not a rule.

magnanimous, magnetic, magnificent, majestic, marvellous, masterly, matchless, mature, measured, meaningful, memorable, meritorious, merciful, mesmerising, methodical, meticulous, mighty, mindful, mirthful, modest, moving, mutual

The negative ones

Criticism-side words. Mediocre is the cruellest word here precisely because it makes no accusation.

maladroit, malevolent, malicious, manipulative, mawkish, meagre, mean, measly, meddlesome, mediocre, mercenary, merciless, messy, miserly, misguided, monotonous, morbid, mundane, murky

Describing appearance

M is thin on appearance words and strong on texture — mottled and misshapen do more work than any colour the letter offers. Its best descriptive words are smells rather than sights: musty and musky are listed above but belong to the nose, not the eye.

magenta, matt, milky, miniature, misshapen, misty, mottled, muddy, muscular

Common mistakes

Related guides

• Adjectives for the moon — where milky, mottled and mysterious do their closest work.
• Adjectives for movement — expands mobile, measured and motionless.
• Adjectives for men — pairs with masculine, muscular and masterful.
• Adjectives for male subjects — a closer look at the same vocabulary.
• Adjectives for a film — for melodramatic, mesmerising and memorable.
• Adjectives for describing yourself — the self-description set, where methodical and motivated earn their place.

Checked against Merriam-Webster, the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook. Spotted an error? Tell us — see our editorial policy.