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

Beards Represent More Than Mere Facial Hair

William Shakespeare’s opinion about beards: “He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man.”

Rebecca West’s take: “In England and America a beard usually means that its owner would rather be considered venerable than virile; on the continent of Europe it often means that its owner makes a special claim to virility.”

In a culture where clean-shaven faces are the rule, a bearded man might be considered a renegade. In other cultures, a well-maintained beard implies wisdom and academia.

Untamed facial hair might be the hallmark of a wild spirit — a Bohemian artist, perhaps, or a brilliant scientist who doesn’t care about societal norms. Or it might be the product of abject laziness.

A beard can hide wrinkles and facial flaws, or make a young person appear more mature. It won’t defeat facial-recognition software, but a misinformed fugitive might not know that. Story prompt?

And watch out for the bearditude on that hunk sporting his meard. His testeronish attitude might be less than mandorable.

Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations

Any emotion involving chin movement will affect a person’s beard. Scrutinize the following list. Each emotion includes a chin or beard movement and an example of complementary body language.

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

Acceptance, calmness
stroking one’s beard
cocked head

Aggression
jutting chin
hands on hips

Anger, fury, rage
chin thrust forward
narrowed eyes

Arrogance, disdain, superiority
raised chin while looking down one’s nose
swagger

Boredom
chin supported on knuckles of one hand
glazed eyes

Caution, wariness
raised chin
darting eyes

Confusion, dismay, puzzlement
one hand rubbing beard
wrinkled nose

Contemplation, deliberation, indecision
stroking one’s beard
fingers supporting chin or side of jaw

Courtship, submission
chin tuck
lack of eye contact

Deception
touching one’s beard
covering one’s mouth with a hand

Defeat, discouragement
chin lowered to the chest
trembling chin

Defensiveness
shoulders drawn in
chin held against one’s chest (instinctively protecting chin and throat)

Defiance, rebellion
jutting chin
lips pressed into a thin line

Desire
parted lips
lifted chin, exposed Adam’s apple (instinctive exhibition of trust)

Desperation
chin pressed to chest
hunched shoulders

Determination
chin held high
fixed stare

Disappointment
lowered chin
shaking one’s head

Disbelief, skepticism
raised chin
squinting

Embarrassment, humiliation
lowered chin
blushing

Empathy, supportiveness
stroking one’s beard
constant eye contact

Envy, resentment
jutting chin
glowering

Fear, terror
trembling chin
minimal eye contact

Frustration
chin held high
grinding one’s teeth

Grief, sadness
chin trembling while character rubs his beard
wet eyes

Guilt, shame
chin lowered to chest
no eye contact

Impatience
jutting chin
pursed lips

Nonchalance, relaxation
level chin
natural eye contact

Patience
stroking one’s beard
cocked head

Pride, satisfaction, self-assurance, smugness
jutting chin
sneer

Remorse
trembling chin
staring at one’s toes

Resignation
trembling chin
stooped shoulders

Skepticism
jutting chin
smirking

Submissiveness
lowering of the chin
staring at one’s toes

Surprise, shock
raised chin
raised eyebrows

Uncertainty
playing with one’s beard
tight-lipped smile

Unease
faking confidence by raising one’s chin
clearing one’s throat

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

Adjectives to Describe Beards

Careful, writers. Descriptors often express characters’ opinions. Used incorrectly, they break point of view.

Many hair adjectives also excel for describing beards.

A and B
abundant, adolescent, almost-a-beard, ample, artsy-fartsy, asymmetrical, badly trimmed, beardazzling, beardiful, beardtastic, beautiful, bellybutton-length, bifurcated, bizarre, blood-soaked, bookish, bountiful, boyish, braided, brambly, bristly, bushy

C and D
classic, classy, clean, close-trimmed, coarse, combed, comical, conservative, copious, corkscrew, crazy, crooked, crumb-filled, crusty, curly, day-old, debonair, dense, dingy, disheveled, distinctive, downy, drab, dudeish

E to G
eccentric, elegant, false, fashionable, fast-growing, fatherly, feeble, feral, fierce, filthy, flaky, frizzy, full, fuzzy, genuine, glorious, goatish, grandfatherly, greasy, groomed, grubby

H to L
half-grown, handsome, healthy, heavy, hipster, hunky, immaculate, immense, impressive, inadequate, incipient, itchy, jaunty, kinked, knotted, large, leprechaun, lice-infested, limp, long, lopsided, lousy, lumbersexual, lush, lustrous, luxuriant

M to O
magnificent, mandorable, manly, mantastic, massive, mature, meager, memorable, messy, meticulous, mossy, moth-eaten, narrow, neat, never-cut, oiled, one-inch, outlandish, outstanding

P to R
patchy, pathetic, patriarchal, peculiar, pedantic, pencil-thin, perfumed, plaited, pointed, pointy, preposterous, presentable, prickly, prodigious, profuse, prolific, promising, ragged, rakish, ratty, razor-cut, razor-trimmed, real, rebellious, rich, rugged, rumpled

S
scanty, scented, scholarly, scraggly, scratchy, sculpted, seedy, sensuous, serviceable, sexy, shabby, shaggy, shaped, sharp, shiny, short, silken, silly, six-month, skimpy, slimy, soft, sophisticated, sparse, splendid, spotty, stiff, straggly, straight, stringy, stubbly, stubby, studly, stumpy, styled, stylish, suitable, superb

T and U
tangled, tapered, testeronish, thick, thin, thinning, tidy, tousled, traditional, trendy, trimmed, uncombed, unconventional, uncut, undisciplined, uneven, unforgettable, unhealthy, uniform, unkempt, unruly, unsymmetrical, untamed, untidy, untrimmed

V to Z
venerable, virgin, voluminous, waist-length, wavy, weather-beaten, well-kept, whacky, wide, wild, wind-blown, wiry, wispy, wooly, youthful, zany

Beard Similes and Metaphors

Good writing or poetry engages readers with imaginative similes and metaphors. Avoid excessive repetition of like, opting instead for indirect comparisons. Here are a few starters:

• a mossy forest
• a promise of a thorough tummy tickling
• an amorous invitation
• a camel’s beard
• a freshly mowed lawn
• a patchwork quilt
• a plush carpet of dreams
• more pedantic than one’s writing
• thorny as a rosebush

Color Adjectives for Beards

In addition to the colors in the following list, see the Color section of 400+ Words to Describe Hair.

A to H
almond, auburn, black, black-and-grey, bleached, blond [blonde would refer to a female’s beard], brown, butternut, calico, cinnamon-and-pepper, coal-black, cool-blond, discolored, dyed [insert color], fair, fiery, flaxen, golden, grey, grizzled, gruff-grey, hazel, honey-and-nutmeg

P to Y
paprika-and-pepper, pepper-grey, prematurely grey, red, ruddy, russet, rusty, salt-and-pepper [cliché], sandy, silver, silvery, soot-black, sooty, speckled-grey, spotty black, stained, steel-grey, straw-colored, streaked, tan, tawny, virulent-red, warm-blond, white, yellowed-grey

Beard Scents

Anything that touches the lips or chin transfers its scent to beards.

A beard might smell like, reek of, or be redolent with the scent of:

A to C
aftershave, another lover’s [aftershave, body wash, perfume, soap], baby barf, bacon, bananas, beer,  a  brothel, camphor, candy canes, carrion, cedar, chocolate, cigarettes, cigars, cleaning solution, coconut, coffee, a corpse, cotton candy

D to O
dead fish, decomp, diesel fuel, dirty feet, earth, embalming liquid, excrement, garlic, gasoline, a graveyard, lavender, licorice, manure, marijuana, mint, moss, mothballs, mouthwash, nachos, onions, the outdoors

P to W
paint, peanut butter, pine needles, pipe tobacco, pizza, plastic, rancid meat, rhinoceros sweat, rotten cabbage, rotten dishrag, sardines, a sewer, a sweaty armpit, toothpaste, urine, vanilla, Vicks VapoRub, vomit, weed, wet dog, wet garbage, wet wool, wood chips, woodsmoke

Beard Shapes and Styles

An upscale barber would likely refer to beards by their official shapes and style names. Someone less informed might devise descriptors such as shovel-shaped or pointy.

A to M
anchor, Balbo, Bandholz, chin curtain, chin strap, circle, Dadhi, ducktail, Dutch, ecclesiastical, extended goatee, forked, French fork, full, Garibaldi, goatee, grandfather, heart-shaped, hipster, imperial, Lincoln, lumberjack, Moses, mutton chops

N to W
Napoleonic, oval, pointed, pointy, professorial, rabbinical, shovel-shaped, soul patch, spade-shaped, spiked, square, stiletto, tapered, terminal, triangular, U-shaped, Van Dyke, Verdi, Viking, V-shaped, wedge-shaped, Wolverine

Verbs and Phrasal Verbs

More than hairy objects sitting on a man’s chin, beards move, cause sensations in their owners, and evoke emotions in others. They might:

A to C
adorn, aggravate, amaze, annoy, astonish, attract, bother, bounce, bristle, bug, burgeon, catch [crumbs, grated cheese], catch in, chafe, charm, cloak, coil, cover, curl

D to G
dangle, decorate, delight, develop, disappoint, discourage, disgruntle, dishearten, dissatisfy, drape, drift, drip with [perspiration, rain, saliva], droop, dwindle, exasperate, fascinate, flap, flourish, flow, flutter, frustrate, get trapped in, gnarl, grow

H to R
hang, impress, intertwine, intrigue, irritate, itch, kink, knot, mat, narrow, offend, peeve, pique, prickle, rebound, reek, riffle, ripple

S
scratch, shed, shroud, smell, snag, snarl, soften, spill, spiral, sprawl, spread, spring, sprout, stiffen, stink, straggle, stray, swathe, sway, swing

T to W
tangle, taper, thicken, thin, tickle, tingle, titillate, torment, trail, trap [coal dust, odors, soot], twist, upset, vex, wave, wrap

Beard Nouns

Writers sometimes replace beard with words from the Shapes and Styles section. For example: goatee, mutton chops, Van Dyke.

Some of the words here would be suitable for urban fiction or dialogue.

A to F
afternoon shadow, beardilocks, beardlet, beardo, beardsicle, beardstrum, break-up beard, bristles, Canadian scarf, cheard (beard that reaches from face to chest), chin curtain, chin dust, chin limpet, chin pelt, chin whiskers, crumb catcher, duck rug, face bush, face fungus, face fur, face fuzz, face lace, face pants, face prickle, face salad, face sweater, facefro, facewig, facial hair, Friday o’clock shadow, fungus face

G to Z
graubart (greybeard), I.T. beard, jakebeard, juror’s beard, lady tickler, layoff beard, mansulation, meard (manly beard), neckard, Novembeard, permastubble, playoff beard, rugbeard, scrubble, side-whiskers, stubbeard, stubble, tweard (two-year beard), unibeard, Unix beard, wannabe-beard, whiskers, wizard whiskers, yeard (one-year beard), zeard (beard filled with zits)

Props

Does your character have a condition that makes his beard itchy? Does he spend an hour in front of the mirror every morning grooming it? Maybe he works in a factory where it gets trapped in machinery. Or maybe a woman wears a false beard and tries to pass herself off as a male.

A to L
alopecia, bald patch(es), beard balm, beard butter, beard net, beard oil, beardruff (beard dandruff), bee, bowtie, cigar, cigarette, collar, comb, curling iron, dandruff, dye, eczema, exfoliation, ginger dust (dandruff), impetigo, joint, long earring,

M to W
machinery (cogs and gears), MedicAlert ID, microphone, Movember, neck chain, necktie, pipe, pollution mask, razor, ribbon(s), scar, scarf, scissors, shaving cream, sleep mask, spaghetti, styling gel, surgical mask, transplant, turtleneck, wasp, wax

Clichés and Idioms

Avoid the following and similar expressions whenever possible, or invent new phrases.

• biker’s beard
• black as a crow
• black as coal
• black as night
• black as pitch
• five o’clock shadow
• like straw
• peach fuzz
• rough as sandpaper
• Santa Claus beard
• soft as down
• soft as silk
• soft as velvet

You could replace biker’s beard with a descriptor that incorporates a specific make of bike. The make could lend humor, intrigue, or fear. There’s a huge difference between a scooter and a Harley.

Five o’clock shadow? Passé. Consider George Orwell’s 1984 opener: “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” Maybe a protagonist could sport a twenty-five o’clock shadow.

Soft as velvet. Humdrum. What else is soft? Marshmallows — and maybe the protagonist has a personality to match. Perhaps try dandelion fluff, a kitten, or a baby’s bath towel.

Create a comparison that suits the context.

Have you ever encountered an imaginative passage that persisted in your memory long after you finished reading a book? That should be the legacy you want to leave your readers.

“A scrubby beard covered his face to the cheekbones, giving him an air of ruffianism that went oddly with his large weak frame and nervous movements.” ~ George Orwell, 1984

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