HOW DO I DESCRIBE THE TONE???

Tone is extremely important in rhetorical analysis. Try these words to help you with
describing language and tone (the writer’s attitude toward a subject).

1. abhorrent: strongly opposed feeling; showing intense disagreement

2. acerbic: acid in temper, tone, or mood.
3. acquiescing: complying or submitting tacitly or passively
4. ambivalent: simultaneously having opposing feelings; uncertain
5. angst-ridden: consumed by anxiety and fear
6. apathetic: having or showing little or no feeling or emotion
7. ardent: characterized by warmth of feeling expressed in eager support or activity
8. audacious: fearlessly daring; recklessly bold; adventurous
9. austere: stern and cold in appearance or manner; morally strict
10. averse: having an active feeling of repugnance or distaste
11. benign: of a gentle disposition; showing kindness and gentleness
12. bombastic: overly rhetorical and pompous
13. buoyant: capable of quick recover; having positive indications
14. callous: feeling no emotion or sympathy for others; completely uncaring
15. callow: lacking adult sophistication; immature
16. capricious: impulsive and unpredictable
17. caustic: capable of destroying, marked by incisive sarcasm
18. circumspect: careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences
19. chauvinistic: an attitude of superiority toward those of the opposite sex
20. complacent: self-satisfied; unconcerned and unaware of deficiencies and dangers
21. conciliatory: to reconcile, appease
22. condescending: patronizing or superior attitude
23. consternation: amazement or dismay that hinders or throws into confusion
24. contemplative: considering with careful attention
25. cowering: shrinking away or crouching from something that menaces or domineers
26. cynical: distrustful of human motives/conduct
27. derisive: expressing or causing the use of ridicule or scorn; showing contempt
28. despondent: feeling or showing extreme discouragement; having lost all hope
29. didactic: designed to teach; intended to convey instruction and information
30. disdainful: full of or expressing dislike
31. disquieted: having lost peace or tranquility; disturbed or alarmed
32. dynamic: having force or energy; marked by productive activity
33. empathetic: showing emotion based on sensitivity towards others
34. enamored: inflamed with love or passion
35. exasperated: feeling irritation or annoyance; aggravated
36. exultant: filled with or expressing great joy or triumph; jubilant
37. fervent: exhibiting or marked by great intensity of feeling; zealous
38. futile: serving no useful purpose; completely ineffective; occupied with trifles
39. halcyon: calm, peaceful, golden
40. haughty: disdainfully proud; blatantly arrogant
41. impious: not pious, lacking respect
42. inane: empty and insubstantial; lacking point; silly
43. inept: unfit; lacking sense or reason; foolish; generally incompetent; bungling
44. insipid: lacking qualities that interest, stimulate, or challenge; dull, flat
45. insular: characterized by isolation; having a narrow provincial viewpoint
46. intrepid: characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance
47. ire: intense and usually openly displayed anger
48. irreverent: lacking proper respect or seriousness
49. jaded: dulled by experience or exposure
50. jargon: technical language specific to a particular study or group
51. lofty: elevated in status, superior
52. lyrical: like the words of a song
53. laconic: concise, straight to the point, on the verge of seeming rude or mysterious
54. lugubrious: exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful and melancholy
55. maudlin: weakly and effusively sentimental
56. melancholic: depressed, very sad
57. mendacious: characterized by deception or divergence from absolute truth
58. morose: having a sullen disposition; marked by gloom
59. nostalgic: the state of being homesick
60. patronizing: adopting an air of condescension; treating haughtily
61. pedantic: narrowly, stodgily, and often ostentatiously learned
62. petulant: insolent or rude in speech or behavior
63. pompous: excessively elevated or ornate; exhibiting self-importance; arrogant
64. Pollyannaish: characterized by irrepressible optimism
65. pragmatic: practical as opposed to idealistic
66. presumptuous: overstepping bounds of propriety or courtesy; taking liberties
67. rancorous: having a mark of bitter, deep-seated ill will
68. rueful: exciting pity or sympathy, pitiable, mournful, regretful
69. sanguine: cheerfully confident and optimistic
70. sarcastic: using sarcasm, meaning one thing but saying another
71. sardonic: disdainfully or ironically humorous; harsh, bitter, or caustic
72. scholarly: academic in nature; intelligent prose
73. stern: having a definite hardness or severity or nature or manner; austere
74. stoic: apparently or professedly indifferent to pleasure or pain
75. stolid: having or expressing little or no sensibility; unemotional
76. surreptitious: doing someth8ing clandestinely/ stealthily
77. upbraiding: criticizing severely, finding fault with; scolding vehemently
78. vehement: marked by forceful energy; powerful; intensely emotional
79. vindictive: disposed to seek revenge; vengeful
80. vulgar: offensive, lewd; lacking morally, in cultivation, or taste; profanely indecent
81. whimsical: subject to erratic behavior or unpredictable change
82. wrathful: filled with strong vengeful anger; irate
83. wry: cleverly and often ironically or grimly humorous
84. zealous: exhibiting great intensity of feeling