(Discover even more words in The Writer’s Body Lexicon.)

When rephrasing a line from James Weldon Johnson’s poem “The Prodigal Son,” Johnny Cash said, “My arms are too short to box with God.”

Although your first thought when landing here might have been to find words for the physical description of arms, consider also the deeper meaning they can add with musings like those of Johnny Cash.

Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations

Arms can show emotion:

arm around someone’s shoulder: love, sympathy

arm muscles flexing: anger, resentment

arms akimbo (hands on hips): confidence, frustration, impatience

arms crossing: agitation, aggression, alarm, anger, anguish, contempt, defensiveness, denial, determination, disapproval, dislike, doubt, embarrassment, envy, frustration, hate, hostility, impatience, irritation, jealousy, oppression, paranoia, pessimism, reluctance, resentment, resolve, satisfaction, scorn, smugness, stubbornness, suspicion

arms crossing and uncrossing (may be repetitive): impatience, nervousness, unease

arms drooping at one’s sides: defeat, despondence, humiliation, indifference, remorse, resignation, shame, unhappiness

arms in fetal position: depression, stress

arms open: attentiveness, friendliness, patience

arms pumping: elation, enthusiasm

arms raised: contentment, elation, exhilaration, exuberance, happiness, optimism, satisfaction

arms swinging while one is walking: confidence, happiness

arms tucked close to one’s sides: distress, embarrassment, solemnity, suspicion

exaggerated arm and hand gestures: aggression, anger, belligerence, combativeness, excitement

hugging someone: love

hugging everyone in sight: excitement

hugging oneself: anxiety, defeat, desperation, disappointment, fear, humiliation, nervousness, shame, terror, uncertainty

rubbing or massaging one’s arms: agitation, anguish, anxiety, apprehension, concern, distraction, distrust, dread, fear, insecurity, nervousness, suspicion, tension

stroking one’s arms: desire, disbelief, loneliness

You may have noticed the multitude of emotions that can be represented by:

• arms crossing
• arms drooping at one’s sides
• hugging oneself
• rubbing or massaging one’s arms

Unless context is clear, these actions are best avoided.

Incidentally, there is no need to say characters cross or fold their arms across the chest.

If you need additional beats, consult a body language dictionary. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Adjectives

Arms, which can’t literally display caution, brutality, love, etc., are anthropomorphized by descriptors like cautious, brutal, and loving. Approach these words with careful attention to point of view. An onlooker can’t know that a character of focus has guilty arms, therefore guilty will function as the opinion of the onlooker.

Adjectives for arms could also modify characters or nouns such as embrace.

A
able, abnormal, adept, adroit, affectionate, agile, aloof, amorous, amputated, angular, anxious, ardent, arthritic, artificial, awkward

B
baggy, bald, bare, beefy, blood-spattered, bloodstained, bloody, blubbery, bold, bony, bowed, boyish, brawny, bristly, broad, brutal, brutish, bulging, bulky, bungling, burly, burning, bushy

C
callous, calm, capable, careless, cautious, chilly, chunky, clammy, clumsy, cold, combative, compassionless, competent, compliant, confident, cool, cooperative, corpulent, cozy, cruel

D
dead, deadly, defensive, deformed, deft, delicate, demonstrative, dependable, determined, dexterous, diligent, diminutive, disfigured, distorted, dogged, dominant, doughy, dumpy

E
eager, elastic, elfin, emaciated, empty, encouraging, enervated, enthusiastic, exhausted, expansive, experienced, expert, exposed

F
familiar, fat, fatherly, fatigued, feeble, feminine, fervent, feverish, firm, flaccid, fleshy, flexible, flinty, floppy, fragile, frail, friendly, frigid, frosty, furry, fuzzy

G
gangly, gaunt, gawky, gentle, girlish, girly-girl, gnarled, graceful, grotesque, guilty

H
hairy, ham-fisted, ham-handed, hefty, helpless, he-man, Herculean, hirsute, hopeful, hostile, hot, hulking, husky

I
icy, impassioned, impatient, impotent, incompetent, indefatigable, indifferent, industrious, inefficient, inept, inexorable, inflamed, inhospitable, injured, insincere, insistent

K and L
kind, klutzy, languid, lean, left, lethargic, lifeless, limber, limp, lissome, listless, lithe, little-girl, long, loving, loyal, lumpy

M
macho, mangled, manly, mannish, masculine, massive, maternal, mechanical, menacing, merciless, mighty, misshapen, monstrous, motherly, motionless, murderous, muscular

N and O
naked, nervous, nimble, numb, nurturing, obdurate, obstinate, odd, optimistic, outstretched, overlong, overpowering

P
passionate, paternal, peculiar, peewee, persistent, petite, pliant, plump, podgy, portly, possessive, powerful, powerless, practiced, prickly, prodigious, proficient, protective, pudgy, puny

R
raw, reckless, reedy, reluctant, remorseless, resilient, resolute, responsive, restless, right, rigid, robotic, robust, rough, rubbery, ruthless

S
saggy, scarred, scratched, scrawny, sensitive, shapeless, shapely, short, shy, silken, silky, sinewy, skeletal, skilled, skinny, sleek, slender, slim, sluggish, small, smooth, soft, sore, spindly, stalwart, standoffish, steadfast, steely, stiff, stony, straight, strapping, streaked, strong, stubbly, stubborn, stubby, stumpy, stunted, supple, sweaty, swift, sympathetic

T
taut, tenacious, tender, tense, territorial, thick, thin, thready, timorous, tiny, tired, tireless, toned, tremulous, trusting, trusty

U
uncomfortable, uncoordinated, uncovered, underdeveloped, undersized, uneasy, ungainly, uninviting, unnatural, unprotected, unreceptive, unrelenting, unresponsive, unsteady, unsympathetic, unyielding, uplifted, upraised, useless

V and W
veined, violent, virile, wanton, warm, warty, wary, weak, weary, weedy, welcoming, well-rounded, wide, willful, willing, willowy, wilting, wiry, withered, womanly, wounded, wrinkled, wrinkly

Y and Z
yearning, yielding, youthful, zealous

Similes and Metaphors

Readers envision animal attributes without requiring extensive descriptions — a bonus for the writer.

Animals or animal parts that can function in similes and metaphors include:

B to V
bat wings, boa constrictors, calamari tentacles, crab legs, crayfish claws, ham hocks, kangaroo arms, koala arms, lobster pincers, octopus tentacles, penguin flippers, praying mantis forelegs, rhino legs, seal flippers, tarantula legs, turkey wattle, vampire squids

Arms like an ape could be expressed as ape-like arms.

Arms as stubborn as a mule could be shortened to mulish arms.

A few descriptors based on the animal kingdom:

A to V
ape-like, bearish, bestial, mulish, serpentine, simian, spidery, squirrel-like, vulpine

Other (non-animal) comparisons could incorporate the following:

A to W
armor, ax handles, baseball bats, billy clubs, bludgeons, boomerangs, broom handles, bulwarks, cannons, crowbars, hangman’s noose, lead pipes, lightsabers, limp ropes, love sonnets, matchsticks, mighty oaks, overcooked noodles, overstuffed sausages, pier supports, redwoods, rocks, safety blankets, shields, strings, umbrellas of safety, wooden dowels

Colors

Arms change color with exposure to the elements, changes in health, environmental influences, etc. They might be:

A to W
anemic, black-and-blue, bronzed, brown, crimson, dusky, fair, freckled, golden, marbled, milky, pallid, purple, ruddy, sallow, snow-white, speckled, sunburnt, swarthy, taffy, tanned, waxen, white

See also 1000+ Ways to Describe Colors and 300+ Words to Describe Skin.

Shapes

Arms might be shaped like:

B to W
barrels, flails, horns, kegs, legs, logs, oar blades, party balloons, sticks, windmill blades, wings

Verbs and Phrasal Verbs

Arms are among the most active parts of the body. Although many of the following verbs might be more suitable for characters or hands, some writers imbue arms with personality. Trust your literary voice, and choose what works for you.

A and B
ache, appear, bar, beat (on, against), bend, bloat, block, bounce, break, bruise, brush, buckle

C
capture, carry, catch, clamp, clench, close (around), clutch, coax, comfort, cover, cross, crush

D
dangle, disappear, disengage, dislocate, drag, draw into, drive, droop, drop

E to G
elevate, embrace, encircle, extend, fall, fall asleep, fling, flop, flourish, fold, fumble, gather, gesture, grasp, grip

H to O
hang, hoist, hold, hug, itch, jerk, jounce, lift, lock, lower, lug, obstruct, open

P to R
perform, pound, prevent, protect, pull, pump, push, quake, quiver (with), raise, reach, respond

S
seize, shake, shelter, sink, slide, slip around, spasm, spread, stiffen, sting, straighten, stretch, strike, stroke, surround, swell, swing, swish

T
tense, thrash, throw, throw around, thwart, thump, touch, tremble, tuck, twist, twitch

U to W
uncross, uncurl, unlock, vibrate, wag, waggle, warp, wave, wind around, withdraw, wrap around, wrestle

Nouns

Rather than arms, substitute nouns like the following when warranted, or fire up your ingenuity and create your own.

A to W
appendages, flappers, flippers, hooks, huggers, mashers, pounders, protectors, punchers, stumps, wings

Perhaps your narrative would function better with reference to specific parts of the arm such as:

A to W
armpit, bicep, deltoid, elbow, forearm, hand, humerus, lower arm, triceps, upper arm, wrist

Props

Augment descriptions with some of the following props.

A to W
armbands, bandages, birthmarks, bracelets, casts, cellulite, compression sleeves, decorative sleeves, elbow braces, fitness trackers, flesh-eating disease, leeches, magnetic bracelets, moles, motion-sickness bracelets, MP3 players, nicotine patches, port-wine stains, prostheses, scars, scratches, slings, splints, sutures, tattoos, watches, wounds, wrist braces

Clichés and Idioms

Although arm idioms and clichés suit dialogue and some narrators, they’re usually best avoided. Search for better alternatives such as the following.

a shot in the arm: boost, encouragement, support

arm candy: attractive escort or companion

as long as one’s arm: extensive, interminable, lengthy

babe in arms: baby, infant, newborn, nursling

to do something with one’s arm (tied) behind one’s back: ace, excel, shine

to get one’s arms around something: comprehend, manage, understand

to give one’s right arm: covet, crave, desire, yearn for

to keep at arm’s length: avoid contact, refuse intimacy

to twist someone’s arm: coerce, hassle, insist, pressure

to welcome with open arms: agree, approve, endorse, favor

worth an arm and a leg: costly, expensive, pricey, steep