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

Fingers: Priceless Appendages

Fingers perform complex tasks, soothe fevered brows, and wipe away tears. Spock’s Vulcan finger salute conveyed a greeting or leave-taking.

If you need ways to describe these priceless appendages, you’ve come to the right place. In fact, I found so many finger words that I split the information into a two-part post. Here’s the first installment.

Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations

Do you need to show a character’s emotion? Try one of these beats.

Aggression, belligerence
– pointing an index finger at someone
– jabbing someone’s chest with an index finger
– placing one’s hands on hips, fingers oriented toward buttocks, torso tilted forward

Anger, annoyance
– flexing one’s fingers
– fingering one’s necklace or collar
– jabbing an index finger in someone’s face
– wagging or pointing an index finger at someone

Anxiety, apprehension, doubt
– interlocking one’s fingers
– tapping one’s fingers together
– playing with one’s fingers
– fingering one’s necklace or collar

Boredom, disinterest
– drumming one’s fingers on the chin

Concentration
– propping one’s head on hand and supporting temple with index finger
– pressing an index finger to one’s cheek and propping chin on rest of clenched fingers

Confidence
– smiling while drumming one’s fingers on desk or thigh
– forming an ok sign with first two fingers
– forming a V-for-victory or peace sign with first two fingers

Conflict
– tapping one’s lips with an index finger

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

Contentment, gratification, satisfaction
– propping one’s elbows on desk and steepling fingers in front of smiling face

Defensiveness, denial
– wagging an index finger, and refuting accusations

Determination
– tapping or drumming one’s fingers
– slamming one’s fingers on a solid surface to emphasize a point

Disapproval
– wagging a finger

Discomfort
– drumming one’s fingers

Fear, terror
– cold fingers
– fingers that shake
– raking one’s fingers down cheeks
– interweaving and clenching one’s fingers

Frustration, impatience
– tapping one’s fingers on a solid surface
– drumming one’s fingers against shoulder or thigh
– fingers fidgeting with anything in reach (such as a ring)

Gratitude
– smiling and then pressing one’s fingers against lips

Hatred
– crushing one’s fingers into palms

Hope, optimism
– crossing one’s fingers

Indecision
– holding an index finger against one’s lips
– resting one’s chin on thumb, with index finger against one cheek

Justification
– holding one’s hands out toward others, palms up, fingers splayed

Insecurity, uncertainty
– raking one’s fingers through hair
– offering a short handshake that includes just the fingers

Machismo
– standing in “cowboy” pose, with one’s thumbs hooked in belt, fingers oriented toward crotch

Nervousness
– repetitively curling and uncurling one’s fingers

Pleasure
– humming, and tapping one’s fingers in time to the tune
– giving a fellow attendee the Vulcan salute at a sci-fi convention

Sadness
– fingering one’s ring
– fingering one’s forehead and keeping palm over tear-filled eyes to hide them

Satisfaction
– steepling one’s fingers in front of chest or face

Serenity
– loosely intertwining fingers in one’s lap
– leaning back, and lacing one’s fingers behind head

Shyness
– using one’s fingers to play with upper lip

Skepticism
– tapping one’s fingers on a solid surface
– fingers fidgeting with anything in reach (such as a ring)
– hooking one’s thumb under jaw and moving index finger from chin to cheek

Surprise
– pressing one’s fingers against gaping mouth
– pressing one’s hand against chest, with fingers splayed wide

Suspicion
– interlocking one’s fingers
– pointing a finger at suspect

Tiredness
– propping one’s hands on hips, fingers facing down and cradling buttocks

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

Adjectives

Many of the following descriptors are also suitable for hands. As you scan the list, consider opinion adjectives and how they might muddle point of view.

A
abbreviated, abnormal, accusatory, active, adept, adjacent, adroit, affectionate, age-spotted, agile, alien, ample (for/to a task), angry, arched, aristocratic, armored, artful, arthritic, artificial, artistic, audacious, authoritative, awful, awkward

B
babyish, bare, beautiful, beefy, bejeweled, beringed, big, big-knuckled, bite-sized, blasphemous, blimpy, bloated, bloodless, bloody, blotchy, blubbery, bold, bony, brazen, brittle, broad, broken, bruised, brutal, burnt, busted [informal], busy

C
callous, callused, capable, captive, carefree, careful, careless, cautionary, cautious, chalky, chapped, charred, child-like, chilly, chubby, chunky, clammy, clawlike, clay-caked, clean, clenched, clever, closed, clumsy, coarse, cold, competent, confident, contorted, cool, corpselike, corpulent, corrugated, crabbed, crafty, cramped, crippled, crooked, cruel, cunning, curious, curved

D
dainty, dangerous, daring, dead, deadly, decaying, deformed, deft, delicate, desiccated, desperate, determined, dewy, dexterous, dimpled, dirt-covered, dirt-smudged, dirty, disapproving, diseased, dislocated, disobedient, distended, distorted, double-jointed, doubtful, drooping, dry, dubious, dusty

E
eager, eerie, effeminate, efficient, elegant, elongated, eloquent, emaciated, emphatic, energetic, enormous, erratic, ethereal, evil, exposed, expressive, exquisite, extra

F
fake, false, faltering, familiar, fast, fastidious, fat, feathery, feeble, feminine, feverish, fickle, fiendish, fierce, fiery, filthy, fine, fine-boned, firm, flaccid, flaky, fleshless, fleshy, flexible, floppy, flour-dusted, floury, flowing, fluttery, foamy, foolish, foul, fractured, fragile, frail, frantic, free, freezing, frenzied, freshly scrubbed, friendly, frigid, frostbitten, frosty, frozen, fumbling, functional, funky, furious, furrowed, furry, furtive

G
gangrenous, gaunt, gentle, ghastly, ghostly, gigantic, glittering, gloved, gloveless, gnarled, gnawed-off, gooey, gory, gouty, graceful, grass-stained, greasy, greedy, grimy, gross, grotesque, grubby, gummy

H
hairy, half-buried, half-closed, half-frozen, half-numb, hard, hardened, harsh, hasty, heavy, helpful, helpless, hesitant, hidden, hideous, hirsute, hostile, hot, huge, hungry, hurt, hypnotic

I
ice-cold, icing-covered, icy, idle, immaculate, immense, impatient, imperious, impersonal, impertinent, implacable, impotent, impudent, incautious, incompetent, inconsiderate, individual, industrious, inexorable, inexperienced, infallible, infected, inflamed, inflexible, ingenious, injured, ink-stained, inquisitive, insensitive, insistent, intrusive, invisible, itchy

J to L
jagged, jeweled, jittery, joined, judgmental, juicy, knifelike, knobby, knotted, lacerated, lame, lax, lazy, leaden, leaf-stained, lean, leathery, lifeless, limber, limp, linked, listless, lithe, little, lively, liver-spotted, loathsome, lone, long, loose, lopped-off, lovely, loving, lumpy

M
magical, maimed, malicious, mangled, manicured, masculine, massive, matchstick-thin, maternal, mean, meaty, mechanical, meditative, menacing, merciless, metallic, mighty, milky, mischievous, misshapen, missing, mittened, moist, moldy, monolithic, monstrous, monumental, motherly, motionless, mud-caked, mud-covered, muddied, muddy, mud-splattered, murderous, muscular, mushy, mutilated, myriad

N to O
narrow, nasty, naughty, neat, negligent, neighboring, nervous, nicotine-stained, nimble, nonfunctional, normal, numb, obscene, odd, oiled, oily, old, oozing, open, outstretched, overlapping, oversized

P
padded, painful, painted, paralyzed, passionate, passive, peculiar, perfect, perfumed, persistent, perspiring, persuasive, petite, phantom, pious, pitiless, playful, pliant, plump, possessive, powdery, powerful, powerless, practiced, precise, pretty, priceless, profane, professional, protruding, prudent, pruney, pudgy, puffed-up, puffy, punctured, puny

Q and R
quick, rapid, raw, ready, rebellious, refined, relaxed, relentless, reluctant, remaining, remorseless, resolute, restless, reverent, rheumatic, ridged, rigid, ringed, ring-free, ringless, robotic, rock-hard, roguish, rotted, rotten, rough, rubbery, rude, rugged, rusty, ruthless

Sa to Sl
saliva-coated, salty, sandy, savage, scalded, scaly, scorched, scrawny, scrubbed, sculpted, sensitive, serpentine, severed, shadowy, shaggy, shaky, shapely, sharp, shimmering, shiny, short, shriveled, shrunken, silken, silky, sinewy, sinister, sinuous, skeletal, skilled, skillful, skinned, skinny, slack, slender, slick, slim, slimy, slippery, slow

Sm to Sw
small, smelly, smoking, smooth, sneaky, soapy, sodden, soft, soiled, solemn, solitary, sore, spectral, spidery, spindly, split, squat, stained, steady, stern, sticklike, sticky, stiff, still, stinging, stinky, stolid, stout, straggly, straight, strange, stringy, strong, stubborn, stubby, stumpy, sturdy, succulent, suggestive, superfluous, supple, sure, sweaty, sweet, sweet-smelling, sweet-tasting, swift, swollen

T
talented, taped, taut, teasing, tenacious, tender, tense, tentative, tenuous, tepid, terrible, thick, thieving, thin, thoughtful, threatening, tight, timid, tiny, tired, tobacco-stained, tough, transparent, triumphant, twiggy, twisted

U
ugly, unaccustomed, unadorned, unaided, uncertain, unerring, unfamiliar, ungloved, unharmed, unmistakable, unpracticed, unqualified, unresponsive, unseen, unskilled, unsteady, untrained, unwary, unwashed, unwilling, unyielding, useless

V to Y
veined, vestigial, vicious, viselike, visible, vulgar, warm, wary, waxy, weak, weary, weathered, wee, wet, wicked, wide, widespread, wild, willing, willowy, wily, wiry, wispy, withered, wizened, womanish, worn, wounded, wrapped, wrinkled, wrinkly, young

Similes and Metaphors

Innovative figures of speech can evoke vivid mental images, often in fewer words than traditional descriptions.

For instance, rather than describe two glovers as soulmates who could never live without one another, you might say they belong together like a finger and thumb.

Leverage the following phrases to develop your own finger similes and metaphors.

• belonging together like a finger and thumb
• beringed, and sparkling like neon lights on Broadway
• bloated like pork sausages just about to burst in the frying pan
• brown and plump as wet cigars
• chummy as fingers in a pair of mittens
• clumsy as someone’s blundering witticisms
• easy as licking one’s fingers
• fast as a flick of the finger
• faster than a finger poke
• gnarled like the tree roots above daddy’s grave
• hideous like the monster’s claws in a horror film
• ideas as useful as a crippled finger
• inseparable as a finger and thumb
• like swords raking one’s chest
• meshing like the teeth of well-oiled gears
• slender, with talon-nails capable of ripping someone apart
• stiff as blocks of wood
• strong as a welding clamp
• thinner and stiffer than chopsticks
• two hands with ten grapple hooks for fingers
• with nails that clack like knitting needles

See also 1300+ Ways to Describe Fingers Part 2.