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

What Do the Following Celebrities Have in Common?

Patrick Stewart, Fergie, Timothy Dalton, Dr. Phil, John Travolta, Sandra Bullock, and Sam Heughan.

Hint #1: Check the title of this post.

Hint #2: Daniel Kahneman said, “Nobody would say, ‘I’m voting for this guy because he’s got the stronger chin’, but that, in fact, is partly what happens.”

Maybe we do respect people with strong chins?

A distinctive chin adds dimension to a character, and the words in this post can help create that dimension.

Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations

Chins and other facial features help show emotions:

Aggression
a jutting chin
squinting

Anger, fury, rage
thrusting one’s chin forward
frowning

Arrogance, disdain, superiority
raising one’s chin and looking down the nose
smirking

Boredom
supporting one’s chin on knuckles of one hand
drumming one’s fingers on the chin

Cautiousness, wariness
lifting one’s chin
lowering one’s brows

Conceit, egotism, narcissism, vanity
thrusting out one’s chin
wrinkling one’s nose

Concentration
tilting one’s head to the side [redundant]
pressing an index finger to one’s cheek and propping the chin on the rest of clenched fingers

Confusion
rubbing one’s chin
pursing one’s lips

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

Courtship, submission
tucking one’s chin to chest
avoiding eye contact

Deception
touching one’s chin or lips
avoiding eye contact

Defeat, discouragement
lowering one’s chin to chest
a trembling chin

Defensiveness
licking one’s lips
holding one’s chin against the chest

Defiance, rebellion
a jutting chin
pinching one’s lips into a thin line

Desire
parting one’s lips
lifting one’s chin and exposing the neck

Desperation
pressing one’s chin to one’s chest
tightening the muscles in one’s face

Determination
holding one’s chin high
pinching one’s lips together

Disappointment
lowering one’s chin
a trembling chin

Disbelief, skepticism
raising one’s chin
shaking one’s head

Embarrassment, humiliation
holding one’s chin close to the body
a trembling chin

Envy, jealousy, resentment
a jutting chin
flaring nostrils

Excitement
a trembling chin
grinning

Fear, terror
a trembling chin
a blanching complexion

Frustration
holding one’s chin high
squinching one’s eyes

Guilt, shame
lowering one’s chin to the chest
biting one’s lips

Impatience
a jutting chin
pursing one’s lips

Nonchalance, relaxation
keeping one’s chin level
maintaining eye contact

Pride [in oneself], self-assurance, smugness
elevating one’s chin
a jutting chin

Remorse, regret
a trembling chin
holding one’s head in one’s hands

Resentment
twisting one’s mouth
orange-peel texture appearing on skin of one’s tightened chin

Resignation
a trembling chin
slumped shoulders

Sadness, unhappiness
a trembling chin
drawing down corners of one’s mouth

Skepticism
a jutting chin
smirking

Submissiveness
lowering one’s chin
staring at one’s toes

Surprise, shock
raising one’s chin
raising one’s eyebrows

Uncertainty
rubbing one’s chin
toying with the dimple/cleft in one’s chin

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

In a long-ago speech, Mark Twain described Oliver Wendell Holmes as having “double chins all the way down to his stomach.” Yes, an exaggeration, but it imparts an indelible mental image.

Try one or more of these descriptors, letting them lead you in new directions, while you exercise caution with opinion adjectives.

A
aching, adorable, aggressive, aloof, Amazonian, ample, angular, antagonistic, aristocratic, arrogant, assertive, asymmetric, attractive, average, awry

B
babyish, bare, bearded, beardless, beautiful, beefy, belligerent, bewhiskered, blanketed, bloody, blubbery, bold, bonny, bony, boyish, brash, brave, brazen, bristled, bristly, brutal, bumpy, bushy

C
camouflaged, carved, characterless, childish, chiseled, chubby, classic, clean-cut, clean-shaven, cleft, cloaked, cloven, coarse-pored, cocksure, cocky, cold, comical, commanding, compact, concrete, condescending, confident, conspicuous, contemptuous, covered, craggy, creased, crinkly, crooked, cruel, cunning, cute

D
dainty, decisive, defiant, deformed, delicate, demure, determined, devilish, diminutive, dimpled, disdainful, disfigured, disproportionate, distinct, distorted, dogmatic, dour, downy, drooping, dusty

E and F
effeminate, elfin, engraved, evil, expansive, exposed, eye-catching, familiar, fat, feeble, feminine, fiendish, fine, firm, flabby, flaccid, flawless, fleshy, flocculent, foamy, foppish, forceful, forgettable, formidable, fragile, frostbitten, frosty, frozen, full, fuzzy

G and H
generous, girlish, glassy, glossy, gore-covered, graceful, greasy, grimy, grotesque, grubby, grungy, haggish, hairless, hairy, handsome, hard, haughty, hawkish, heavy, hewn, hoity-toity, hostile, Humpty Dumpty

I to K
ice-covered, immovable, imperial, imperious, imposing, impudent, inadequate, incredulous, indecisive, indeterminate, indignant, indomitable, ineffective, inflexible, injured, insignificant, insistent, intrepid, iron, irregular, irresolute, irritated, itchy, jaunty, jolly, kingly

L and M
ladylike, large, lavish, lean, little, loose, lopsided, lordly, lumpy, lustrous, macho, malformed, manly, masculine, massive, masterful, matte, meaty, meditative, misshapen, monstrous, mucky, muffled, mulish, mundane, mutilated

N and O
namby-pamby, nasty, neat, negligible, noble, nondescript, nonexistent, noticeable, numb, obdurate, obsequious, obstinate, odd, off-center, oily, opulent, ordinary, outstretched, overbearing

P
painful, painted, paralyzed, patrician, peculiar, perfect, pert, petite, petulant, photogenic, pitted, plump, pockmarked, poetically perfect, porky, powdered, powerful, pretty, prickly, priggish, prim, princely, prissy, prominent, pronounced, protected, proud, prudish, pruney, pudgy, puffy, pugnacious, purposeful, pushy

Q and R
queenly, raspy, raw, rawboned, recessed, recognizable, refined, regal, repulsive, resolute, rigid, robust, rock-hard, rocklike, rotund, rough-hewn, rough-skinned, royal, rugged, runaway, rutted

S
saggy, sarcastic, saucy, scornful, scratchy, scrawny, screened, scrubby, sculpted, self-confident, sensitive, severe, shaggy, shallow, shapely, sharp, shaven, shielded, shiny, shriveled, shrouded, silken, sissy, skewed, slack, slender, slippery, sloppy, smarmy, smooth, snobby, snooty, soapy, soft, solid, sooty, sore, sparsely whiskered, spikey, split, steadfast, steady, steely, stern, stiff, stony, striking, strong, strong-willed, stubble-free, stubbly, stubborn, stubby, substantial, sudsy, sullen, sunken, supercilious, superior, swathed, swollen

T to V
tender, thorny, threatening, tremulous, twisted, ugly, unbalanced, uncompromising, uncovered, uneven, unmemorable, unmistakable, unprotected, unremarkable, unshaven, untoned, unyielding, uplifted, upthrust, upturned, veiled, veined, velvety, vulnerable

W to Y
warm, warped, weak, weather-beaten, weathered, well-cut, well-defined, well-developed, well-molded, well-set, well-upholstered, whiskered, whiskery, wimpy, wishy-washy, witch-like, wobbly, wooly, wrinkled, wrinkly, wussy, youthful

Similes and Metaphors

“It’s better to have a friend with two chins than a friend with two faces.” ~ Anonymous

Maybe double chins aren’t so bad?

Similes and metaphors offer opportunities to exercise your creativity:

Miss Wilhelmina Termagant possessed a receding rodent’s chin — the perfect accessory to her shrewish temper.

Richard Coleman, a ninety-year-old millionaire with opulent chins and twin Ferraris, was prime gold-digger bait.

A chin could look like:
a bullfrog’s maw
a giant scab
a rotten peach
an infant’s elbow
an old man’s butt
the back end of a ham

It might protrude like:
a second bulbous nose
a unicorn’s horn
the figurehead of a ship

Or it might be textured like:
a coconut
a doughy thigh
a football
a golf ball
a plucked turkey
half-cooked bacon
sandpaper

Watch characters in movies, patrons in restaurants, and shoppers in malls. Note how their chins move and respond as they interact with their environment.

Colors

Chin color typically matches that on a character’s face. Rope burn, makeup, sunscreen, vitiligo, etc., could cause differences.

If food has dribbled out of a person’s mouth, the color will transfer to lips, chin, and beard.

B to W
black-and-blue, bleached, blue, bluish, brown, bruised, crimson, freckled, grizzled, hoary, olive, orange, pale, pink, ruddy, sallow, speckled, spotted, swarthy, tanned, wan, white

If you need more choices, see the Color/Tone section of 300+ Words to Describe Skin.

Scents

Fumes or substances that contact chins transfer their scent. Some of the words in this list could lead to entertaining storylines.

A character’s chin might smell like, reek of, or be redolent with the scent of:

A to C
air-dried linen, allspice, almonds, baby hair, baby oil, baked bread, barbecue sauce, bay rum, the beach, bergamot, burnt hair, burnt tar, buttermilk, butterscotch, car deodorizer, cedar, churros, cigarettes, cigars, cinnamon, citronella, cloves, coconut, coffee, cologne, cottage cheese, cotton candy, cumin, curry

D to O
decomp, deodorant, dirty socks, a dumpster, Earl Grey tea, egg nog, embalming liquid, fabric softener, formaldehyde, fungus, ginger, grapefruit, grass clippings, gun oil, hash oil, a haystack, hazelnut sweetener, honey, honeydew melon, ketchup, leather, lemon cleaner, lemon drops, mace, malt, maple syrup, mold, a new car, oranges, the outdoors

P to W
pancakes, peaches, pears, pee, pepperoni pizza, perm solution, piña colada, pistachio nuts, popcorn, rancid butter, room deodorizer, rum, saffron, sandalwood, sassafras, skin toner, smoke, spearmint, spruce, sulfur, tutti-frutti, underwear, verbena, vinegar, a wet horse, witch hazel

See also the Scents section of 600+ Ways to Describe Beards.

Shapes

In addition to the shapes you find here, try searches such as funny chins or unusual chins at images.google.com.

A to P
abbreviated, barbed, bifurcated, blocky, blunt, bottom-heavy, box-shaped, boxy, broad, bulbous, butt-shaped, conical, double, egg-shaped, elongated, flat, forked, globular, hooked, long, narrow, oblong, oval, overlong, pear-shaped, persimmon-shaped, pointed, pointy, protruding

Q to W
quadruple, receding, rectangular, round, sawed-off, shallow, short, slanted, sloped, sloping, square, straight, stretched, stubby, stumpy, tapered, thick, thin, treble, triangular, triple, truncated, V-shaped, wedge-shaped, well-rounded, wide

Verbs and Phrasal Verbs (1): Transitive

Although chins don’t have minds of their own, they act at the behest of their owners to affect the world. They might:

A to L
alight on, bang against, break (through), brush (against), bump (against, into), burrow into, bury in, cozy up to, cradle, dig (at, into), draw [someone’s] attention, drip with, drop (into, onto), face, graze, hang over, hit, hook on, immerse (in, into), jab (at), land (in, on), lean (against, on), lie (against, in, on), lodge (against, in)

M to R
move (toward), nestle (against, in), nudge, nuzzle (against, into), perch (in, on), point (at, toward), poke (at, out of), press (against, into, on), prod, prop (on, up), push (against), ram (into), reach (for, toward), resist, rest on, rub (against)

S to W
sag (against, on), scrape (against, on), settle (into, onto), shove, sink (into, onto, toward), skim, slap (against), smack, squash (against), squeeze into, strain toward, strike, stroke, submerge (in, into), support, thrust (at), thump (against), touch, tuck into, wallop, whack

Verbs and Phrasal Verbs (2): Intransitive

Chins also perform actions that don’t require direct objects.

A to D
angle (up), appear, bag, blacken, blanch, bob, bruise, burn, chafe, crack, crinkle, darken, dent, dimple, dint, dip, disappear, discolor, drift, droop, drop

E to L
ease (forward, backward, up, down, sideways), edge (forward, backward, up, down, sideways), elevate, extend, fall, firm, freeze, glide (forward, backward, up, down, sideways), glisten, hang, harden, hurt, inch (forward, backward, up, down, sideways), itch, jerk (forward, backward, up, down, sideways), jut, lift, lighten, lower

M to R
move (forward, backward, up, down, sideways), obtrude, ooze, perspire, point (down, up), prickle, project, protrude, pull in, pulsate, pulse, push out, quiver, raise, recede, remain

S
sag, scorch, shake, sink, slide (forward, backward, up, down, sideways), smart, split, stick out, stiffen, sting, strain (toward), sweat, swell

T to W
tan, tense, throb, thrust (forward, out, up), tighten, tilt (up, down, sideways), tingle, tip (up), toughen, tremble, tuck (in), twitch, vibrate, whiten, wobble

Nouns

The following nouns and noun phrases sometimes function as suitable replacements for chin.

B to S
beard hanger, beard hook, buccula (double chin), chops, jowl, lower jaw, lower mandible, mental protuberance, mentum, mouth holster, prominence of the lower jaw, submental

Props

A brief chin description may be all you need. Or you might want to create a memorable chin by incorporating props.

B and C
Band-Aid, beard, birthmark, blackheads, blemish concealer, boil, Botox, boxing match, bronzer, bruise, cellulite, cheese dribble, chimple, chin augmentation surgery, chin implant, chinstrap, cold sore, crumbs, cyst

D to L
deoxycholic acid, dermal filler, electrolysis, enlarged pores, face exercises, faceguard, facial scrub, fake beard, fat graft, fever blister, fistfight, furrows, herpes simplex, high collar, impetigo, ingrown hair, Korean facelift, laceration, laser hair removal, lint, liposuction

M to R
massage, melanoma, microphone, mole, motorcycle helmet, mouth guard, MRSA, mud mask, overbite, piercing, pillow feather, pimple, pimple cream, poison ivy, prosthetic, rash, razor, razor nick, ringworm, rug burn

S to W
scab, scar, scarf, skin tag, street fight, tattoo, telephone headset, underbite, unidentified curly hair, wart

Clichés and Idioms

If you google a phrase and find hundreds or thousands of results, try to replace it:

chin music: babble, blather, chitchat, prattle

filled to the chin: bursting, gorged, replete, sated, stuffed

more chins than a Chinese phonebook: corpulent, obese, overweight

to chin-wag: chat, conversate [slang], converse, gossip, talk

to lead with one’s chin: dare, gamble, risk

to make chin music: chatter, talk

to take it on the chin: endure, persevere, persist

up to one’s chin in something: overcome, overwhelmed, swamped