102 Adjectives That Start With “H” (2024)

102 Adjectives That Start With “H” (1)
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    Adjectives That Start with H

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The humble “H” is an often forgotten but always important letter. Sometimes it’s quiet and honest. Sometimes it’s loud and heavy. Adjectives help to describe all the people, places, and things around you, adding extra character and color to your world. However you handle it, it’s always handy to have the perfect adjective that starts with “H” to describe your happy friends, the hot weather, or a horrible case of the Mondays.

Positive Adjectives Starting With “H”

The letter “H” offers up a whole host of positive adjectives for those halcyon days, healthy appetites, and happy people you love.

AdjectiveDefinitionSynonyms
halcyonpeaceful or restful, especially of weathercalm, idyllic, soothing
halefree of disease or injury; strong and healthyrobust, flourishing, vigorous
hallowedconsidered holy or sacredblessed, consecrated, sacrosanct
handsomeattractive and imposing in appearancegood-looking, beautiful, stylish
handycapable or skilled at a given taskable, dexterous, skillful
happyin high spirits; satisfiedcheerful, delighted, glad
happy-go-luckyhappily unworried and unconcernedcarefree, easygoing, untroubled
hardyable to withstand difficult conditionsrobust, tough, stout
harmlessnot possessing the desire or ability to do harminnocuous, innocent, inoffensive
harmoniousfree from disagreement, dissent, or discordagreeable, amicable, congenial
healthyhaving good health; possessing wellnesshale, hearty, sound
hearteningencouraging or causing cheerreassuring, promising, supportive
heavenlyhaving to do with paradise; something pleasant or joyfulcelestial, divine, lovely
helpfulsomething beneficial, characterized by improving a situationadvantageous, constructive, supportive
high-qualityhaving good characteristics, desirableexcellent, impressive, valuable
hilariouscharacterized by being funny, causing laughtercomical, humorous, jocular
holysomething considered sacred by one or more religionsblessed, hallowed, revered
homeyinviting and comfortable; having a feeling like homecomfy, homelike, hospitable
honestspeaking truthfully, being sincerecandid, forthright, frank
honest-to-goodnessgenuine or realactual, authentic, legitimate
honorablecharacterized by honesty and integrityreputable, honest, respectable
hospitablebeing warm or generous to strangers or guestsfriendly, neighborly, congenial
humanitarianconcerned with promoting human welfarealtruistic, philanthropic, humane
humblenot arrogant or overconfident, meeklowly, respectful, self-effacing
hygienicconducive to good healthsanitary, clean, healthful

Negative Adjectives That Start With “H”

There are plenty of times when you’re just feeling horrible, hapless, or haggard. The negative vibes can get to anyone, but sometimes you need the right “H” adjective to describe heartbreaking moments, heinous memories, or hateful actions.

AdjectiveDefinitionSynonyms
hackneyedsomething overused or tritecliche, overdone, stale
haggardlooking exhausted, gaunt, or worn out in appearanceweakened, emaciated, fatigued
haphazardlacking any sense of organizationdisorganized, unplanned, unsystematic
haplessunfortunateunlucky, cursed, ill-fated
hardsomething firm in texture; demanding, difficult, or unforgivingarduous, laborious, onerous
hard-handedstern or crueloppressive, tyrannical, ruthless
hard-headednot easily moved; stubbornheadstrong, obstinate, inflexible
harebrainedIll-judged, absurd, rashasinine, unthinking, careless
harmfulsomething that does damage or injuryadverse, hazardous, hurtful
harriedfeeling stressed or strained by persistent demandsharassed, pressured, agitated
harshcaustic or unpleasant to experienceacrimonious, coarse, severe
hatefulunpleasant or distasteful; malevolentabhorrent, despicable, bitter
haughtyscornfully arrogant or proudsnobby, snooty, egotistical
hazardouscreating a dangerous or undesirable circ*mstancedicey, perilous, unsafe
heartbreakingcharacterized by intense sadness or anguishagonizing, distressing, tragic
hebetudinousthe state of being dulldozy, dreamy, lethargic
hegemonicwielding power, in chargecontrolling, despotic, ruling
heinoussomething frightening or disturbingcruel, dreadful, terrifying
hideousshocking, revolting, or horrible to the sensesappalling, grotesque, dreadful
ho-humdull or routineboring, lifeless, banal
horribleevoking horror or disgustabhorrent, harrowing, loathsome
horriddreadful or unpleasant; causing horroratrocious, ghastly, grisly
horrificcausing horror, disturbingdreadful, frightening, terrifying
hostilesomething violently opposed to something elseantagonistic, averse, inimical
humiliatinglowering someone’s pride, self-respect, or dignitymortifying, embarrassing, demeaning
hyperbolicoverstated, presented in an excessively dramatic mannerexcessive, hammy, overdramatic

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Neutral Adjectives That Start With “H”

Sometimes you need a solid “H” adjective that isn’t positive or negative. Just a perfect medium word to describe herbal medicines for hoarse voices or homemade food for your hungry family.

AdjectiveDefinitionSynonyms
hands-ontaking an active role, being involved in a situationinvolved, proactive, tangible
hauntingnot easily forgottenunforgettable, persistent, memorable
heavyof great weight; difficult or depressedcumbersome, ponderous, weighty
hebdomadaloccurring every seven daysseptal, weekly
hedonisticcharacterized by pleasure-seeking, being self- indulgentepicurean, sybaritic, voluptuary
herbalhaving to do with herbs, leafy plants with various culinary and medicinal applicationsherbaceous, grassy, vegetal
heterocl*teoutside normal behaviorabnormal, eccentric, unusual
heuristicof answering questions, to use both empirical and non-empirical methodsinterrogative, intuitive, investigative
highraised verticallyelevated, lofty, soaring
hircineresembling a goatcaprine
hirsutehairyshaggy, hair-covered, furry
historicmomentous, having to do with an important moment in historymeaningful, relevant, significant
historicalsomething of significance that actually happenedancient, chronicled, past
histrionicsomething theatrical or overdramaticdramatic, melodramatic, pantomime
hoarsesounding rough or harshgruff, husky, croaky
holistichaving to do with the whole system, rather than any one partaggregate, comprehensive, entire
homemademade at home, not purchasedhandcrafted, handmade, homegrown
horizontalextending from side to side rather than up and downdecumbent, endwise, flat
hortativerelating to speech that encourages actiondeclamatory, encouraging, urging
hothigh in temperature, aroused in emotionfiery, heated, warm
hugeextremely largecolossal, enormous, giant
humanof or relating to a person or peopleanthropic, anthropomorphic, anthropomorphous
hungrydesiring foodcraving, famished, starving
hybridcomposite or mixture of two or more thingsblend, cross, mixture
hypnoticinducing sleep or lowering mental awarenessanodyne, lenitive, mesmeric

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Adjectives for Personality Traits That Start With “H”

Many of the words above can apply to people, but it doesn’t hurt to fill your personal lexicon with “H” adjectives for personality traits. Whether you’re writing about a humble character or just want better words to describe your hip and happening friends, you have a huge selection of adjectives that start with “H” to describe people.

AdjectiveDefinitionSynonyms
hangdoglooking dejected or guilty in appearancesheepish, shamefaced, ashamed
happeninglively and fashionabletrendy, contemporary, stylish
hardheartedunfeeling, mercilessbrutish, cold-blooded, insensitive
hardworkingindustrious; zealousdiligent, dedicated, persevering
hastyquick, rash, impatient, without thoughtspeedy, careless, hurried
heartywarm-hearted, affectionate, sincerejovial, genuine, exuberant
heroicdaring, brave, noblecourageous, valiant, bold
high-maintenancedemanding a lot of time or effortneedy, demanding
high-mindedpossessing strong moral principles and feelingshonest, virtuous, conscientious
high-strunghighly nervous or excitableedgy, restless, tense
hipfamiliar with styles and trends of the timecool, chic, sophisticated
hoity-toitysnobby, haughtyarrogant, condescending, pretentious
homelyplain; lacking in physical attractivenessunattractive, ordinary, unalluring
hopefulfeeling positive about a future eventoptimistic, buoyant, sanguine
hot-bloodedexcitable, passionatefiery, ardent, impassioned
hotheadedrash, impetuous, or easy to angertouchy, short-fused, volatile
huffyeasily offended; sulkyangry, grumpy, irritable
huggablewarm and inviting a close embracecuddly, lovable, embraceable
hulkingphysically large, heavy, or clumsyimposing, bulky, brawny
humanecharacterized by a love and care for people and animalscompassionate, kind, considerate
humoroushaving a sense of humor; causing laughter and amusem*ntfunny, comedic, amusing
hunkylarge, well-built, and attractivehandsome, attractive, strapping
huskylarge and strongburly, stocky, stout
hyperextremely energetic; overstimulatedactive, fidgety, frenetic
hypercriticalexcessively criticalfault-finding, carping, pedantic
hysterical(usually) extremely funny; uncontrollably emotionalagitated, distraught, excited

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Example Sentences Using Adjectives That Start With “H”

Now that your personal vocabulary is full of helpful, honest-to-goodness adjectives that start with “H,” it’s a good idea to look at some sentence examples to get the hang of using them.

  1. Debbie took on some harsh new workouts to improve her conditioning.
  2. On her run home, she stopped for some herbal tea and a scone.
  3. After dinner, she enjoyed some homemade brownies and wine.
  4. A healthy mindset gave her the energy to get through the week.
  5. Monday arrived with its usual troubles, including a frustrating conversation with a hostile customer.
  6. She went home happy, however, thanks to some hilarious jokes from a coworker.
  7. She limbered up with some horizontal stretches before going on her evening run.
  8. The rhythm of the air conditioner was almost hypnotic as she returned home.
  9. Settling into bed, Debbie drifted into a halcyon night's sleep.
  10. He preferred more hands-on carpentry lessons to get the hang of handling wood.
  11. He was jealous of his hip friends who always seemed to know about the new trends and fashions.
  12. She was getting hungry just from watching the cooking videos.
  13. Everyone on the team was a little high-strung after the boss’ stern speech about layoffs.
  14. His parents still tended to be a bit hypercritical about his career choices, despite him being a full-grown adult.
  15. The museum offered an in-depth look at historical photos.
  16. The puppy was extremely huggable.
  17. The hirsute lad was tired of having to trim his beard every single morning.
  18. His hangdog expression proved that the proposal didn’t go as planned.
  19. She is such a humane person who volunteers at the shelter and donates to animal rescue programs.
  20. His hunky boyfriend was extremely attractive.

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Start a Hoard of “H” Words

Hopefully you’re happy with all of these adjectives that start with “H,” but if you’re hungry for more, you can include other parts of speech that start with “H.” From nouns to verbs and beyond, building up your “H” vocabulary is good for your writing and conversations, and it can improve your score in word games.

  • Nouns That Start With “H”
  • Verbs That Start With “H”
  • “H” Words for Word Games
102 Adjectives That Start With “H” (2024)

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