Adjectives That Start With H

The letter 'H' hosts a huge variety of adjectives that can make your writing more honest and heartfelt. From happy and harmonious to harsh and hostile, this guide covers the full range of 'H' adjectives.

Common Adjectives Starting With H

Personality & Character

• Happy - feeling or showing pleasure
• Helpful - giving or ready to give help
• Honest - free of deceit; truthful
• Hopeful - feeling or inspiring optimism
• Horrible - causing horror; very unpleasant
• Hostile - unfriendly; antagonistic
• Humble - having a modest opinion of oneself
• Humorous - causing amusement

Appearance & Physical Qualities

• Hairy - covered with hair
• Handsome - attractive in appearance
• Hard - solid and firm; difficult
• Heavy - of great weight
• Huge - extremely large
• Hot - having high temperature

Size & Measurement

• High - extending far upward
• Hollow - having empty space inside

Quality & Condition

• Handy - convenient; skillful with hands
• Harsh - unpleasantly rough or jarring
• Healthy - in good health
• Holy - dedicated to religious purpose
• Hungry - feeling need for food

Emotions & Feelings

• Hurt - suffering pain or distress
• Hateful - arousing or deserving hatred

Colors

• Hazel - a greenish-brown color

Advanced Adjectives Starting With H

Sophisticated Vocabulary

• Habitable - suitable to live in
• Habitual - done constantly; regular
• Hackneyed - lacking originality; overused
• Haggard - looking exhausted and unwell
• Hale - strong and healthy
• Half-baked - not fully thought through
• Half-hearted - without enthusiasm
• Hallowed - made holy; greatly revered
• Halting - slow and hesitant
• Ham-fisted - lacking dexterity; clumsy
• Hamstrung - severely restricted
• Haphazard - lacking organization or planning
• Hapless - unfortunate; unlucky
• Hardy - robust; capable of endurance
• Hare-brained - rash; ill-judged
• Harmful - causing harm
• Harmless - not able to cause harm
• Harmonious - tuneful; forming a pleasing whole
• Harrowing - acutely distressing
• Harried - feeling harassed and pressured
• Hasty - done with excessive speed
• Haughty - arrogantly superior
• Haunted - frequented by a ghost; troubled
• Haunting - poignant; evoking sadness
• Hazardous - risky; dangerous
• Hazy - covered by haze; vague
• Headstrong - self-willed and obstinate
• Heady - having a strong effect; exhilarating
• Healing - tending to heal; restorative
• Healthful - conducive to good health
• Heart-breaking - causing overwhelming distress
• Heart-rending - very distressing
• Heart-warming - emotionally rewarding
• Heartfelt - sincere; deeply felt
• Heartless - unfeeling; cruel
• Heart-stopping - thrilling; alarming
• Hearty - loudly vigorous; wholehearted
• Heated - made warm; angry
• Heathen - relating to people who don't belong to major religions
• Heavenly - of heaven; divine; very pleasing
• Heavy-handed - clumsy; oppressive
• Heavy-hearted - sad; melancholy
• Hectic - full of activity; frantic
• Hedonic - relating to pleasure
• Heedless - showing reckless lack of care
• Hefty - large and heavy; substantial
• Heinous - utterly wicked
• Helical - having the form of a helix
• Hellish - of or like hell; extremely difficult
• Helpful - giving help; useful
• Helpless - unable to defend oneself
• Hep - aware of and knowledgeable about trends
• Heralded - announced; acclaimed
• Heraldic - relating to heraldry
• Herculean - requiring great strength or effort
• Hereditary - passed from parent to child
• Heretical - contrary to orthodox belief
• Hermetic - airtight; mysterious
• Heroic - having characteristics of a hero; brave
• Hesitant - tentative; unsure
• Heterogeneous - diverse in character
• Hidden - concealed; kept out of sight
• Hideous - ugly or disgusting to look at
• Hierarchical - arranged in hierarchy
• High-class - of high quality or social status
• High-end - expensive and of high quality
• High-level - involving important people
• High-minded - having strong moral principles
• High-pitched - shrill; at high frequency
• High-powered - dynamic and energetic
• High-profile - attracting much attention
• High-spirited - lively and cheerful
• High-strung - nervous and easily upset
• Highbrow - scholarly or cultured
• Hilarious - extremely amusing
• Hilly - having many hills
• Hindered - obstructed; held back
• Hip - fashionable; aware
• Historic - famous in history; significant
• Historical - concerning history
• Histrionic - overly theatrical or dramatic
• Hoarse - sounding rough and harsh
• Hoary - grayish-white; old
• Hodgepodge - mixed and jumbled
• Hoi-polloi - relating to ordinary people
• Holistic - characterized by treating the whole
• Hollow - having empty space; insincere
• Homely - unattractive; simple and comfortable
• Homemade - made at home
• Homeopathic - relating to homeopathy
• Homesick - longing for home
• Homespun - simple and unsophisticated
• Homey - comfortable and cozy
• Homicidal - relating to or tending toward murder
• Homogeneous - of the same kind; uniform
• Homophobic - having dislike of homosexual people
• Homosexual - sexually attracted to same sex
• Honest - free of deceit; genuine
• Honorable - bringing honor; having integrity
• Honorary - conferred as an honor
• Honored - regarded with great respect
• Hoodwinked - deceived or tricked
• Hopeful - feeling or inspiring optimism
• Hopeless - feeling or causing despair
• Horizontal - parallel to the ground; flat
• Hormonal - relating to hormones
• Horned - having horns
• Horrendous - extremely unpleasant
• Horrible - causing horror
• Horrid - very unpleasant
• Horrific - causing horror
• Horrified - filled with horror
• Horrifying - causing horror
• Hospitable - friendly and welcoming
• Hostile - unfriendly; opposed
• Hot-blooded - passionate; easily angered
• Hot-headed - impetuous; quick to anger
• Hot-tempered - easily angered
• Hourly - done or occurring every hour
• Household - relating to running a home
• Hovering - remaining in one place in air
• Howling - producing howls; extreme
• Huddled - crowded together
• Huffy - annoyed or offended
• Huge - extremely large
• Hulking - large and clumsy
• Human - relating to people; showing compassion
• Humane - having compassion
• Humanitarian - concerned with human welfare
• Humble - having modest view of importance
• Humdrum - lacking excitement; dull
• Humid - marked by high humidity
• Humiliated - made to feel ashamed
• Humiliating - causing humiliation
• Humming - making continuous low sound
• Humorless - lacking humor
• Humorous - causing laughter
• Hunchbacked - having abnormally curved spine
• Hundred - equivalent to product of ten and ten
• Hung - suspended; unable to reach verdict
• Hungry - feeling hunger; eager
• Hunted - pursued for capture
• Hurried - done in a hurry; rushed
• Hurtful - causing distress to feelings
• Husky - big and strong; hoarse
• Hydraulic - operated by liquid moving in confined space
• Hydrated - having absorbed water
• Hygienic - conducive to maintaining health
• Hymnal - relating to hymns
• Hyper - overexcited; hyperactive
• Hyperactive - abnormally active
• Hyperbolic - exaggerated; relating to hyperbola
• Hypercritical - excessively critical
• Hypersensitive - abnormally sensitive
• Hypertensive - relating to high blood pressure
• Hypnotic - relating to hypnosis; fascinating
• Hypocritical - behaving in way contrary to stated beliefs
• Hypothetical - based on hypothesis; supposed

Tips for Using H-Adjectives

1. Hone Precision - Select adjectives that exactly match your meaning
2. Honor Context - Choose words appropriate to your situation
3. Handle with Care - Some words like "hypocritical" are strongly negative
4. Heighten Impact - Use powerful words like "harrowing" strategically
5. Harness Variety - Mix common and sophisticated vocabulary

Practice Exercise

Enhance your vocabulary by replacing common adjectives:

• Instead of "sad" → try "heartbroken," "heavy-hearted," or "hopeless"
• Instead of "funny" → try "hilarious," "humorous," or "hysterical"
• Instead of "mean" → try "harsh," "heartless," or "hostile"
• Instead of "proud" → try "haughty," "high-minded," or "honorable"

Common Phrases with H-Adjectives

• Happy medium - satisfactory compromise
• Hard evidence - concrete proof
• Heated debate - passionate argument
• Heavy heart - feeling of sadness
• Hidden agenda - secret motive
• High hopes - great expectations
• Honest truth - complete truth
• Hopeful sign - encouraging indication

Conclusion

This helpful collection of adjectives starting with 'H' provides you with a huge toolkit to enhance your vocabulary. From "happy" to "horrifying," from "humble" to "hyperbolic," these words offer honesty and heart to your expression.

Whether you're writing a heartfelt letter, describing a harrowing experience, or crafting a humorous story, these 'H' adjectives will help you communicate with greater precision and impact. Practice incorporating these words into your daily vocabulary, and watch your descriptive abilities heighten!