110 Adjectives That Start With “C”

The letter “C” has a lot to offer. It’s got two catchy sounds (as in casual and cerebral) to help you describe your calamitous day or your civilized conversations. A comprehensive list of adjectives that start with “C” is a creative place to start any poem, story, or vocabulary list.

When you want to describe someone’s personality traits in a charitable way, you can’t just stick with cool or cute. There are many more charming and celebrated adjectives to use.

Adjective	Definition	Synonyms
cacophonous	a harsh or annoying sound	discordant, ear-splitting, raucous
cagey	not forthcoming or honest	shifty, secretive, elusive
calamitous	a total disaster	devastating, ruinous, tragic
calculating	scheming or ruthless way of acting	wily, slick, devious
callous	unfeeling or uncaring	insensitive, heartless, unsympathetic
calming	freeing from stress	soothing, pacifying, alleviating
candescent	glowing with intense heat and light	luminous, dazzling, white-hot
canny	careful with money	shrewd, wary, thrifty
canonical	well-established patterns and laws	approved, orthodox, typical
cantankerous	always quarreling and unpleasant	bad-tempered, crotchety, irascible
capacious	able to contain a lot	spacious, roomy, abundant
capricious	having wild, unpredictable mood changes	volatile, impulsive, erratic
captivating	attracting and holding one’s interest	enthralling, dazzling, fascinating
carefree	without troubles or worries	nonchalant, easygoing, breezy
careless	not being careful, having errors	negligent, remiss, inattentive
casual	not planned or formal	nonchalant, laid-back, relaxed
catastrophic	unfortunate or damaging	tragic, lamentable, dreadful
caustic	a mean and hurtful comment or person	acerbic, derisive, vitriolic
catchy	catching your attention and easily remembered	snappy, appealing, unforgettable
cathartic	releasing emotional tension	relieving, freeing, purifying
cautionary	warning	admonitory, preventive, advisory
cautious	avoiding danger	wary, circumspect, vigilant
cavalier	casually dismissive	indifferent, disdainful, haughty
cavernous	resembling a cavern; vast	reverberant, chasmal, yawning
ceaseless	without end	continual, incessant, nonstop
celebrated	known for one’s accomplishments	famous, renowned, eminent
celestial	having to do with the skies or the heavens	planetary, heavenly, ethereal
cerebral	appealing to the intellect	analytical, erudite, highbrow
certain	knowing something without a doubt	indisputable, irrefutable, unequivocal
cerulean	a shade of deep blue	sapphire, lazuline, azure
challenging	requiring all of one’s abilities	stimulating, taxing, demanding
chalky	drained of color	sickly, pallid, pasty
chance	not planned	spontaneous, unpredicted, unforeseeable
charismatic	skilled at attracting attention	alluring, magnetic, mesmerizing
charitable	generous toward others	philanthropic, benevolent, altruistic
charming	enjoyable to spend time with	pleasant, amiable, attractive
cheeky	cutely mischievous	presumptuous, forward, impertinent
cheerful	filled with good spirits	joyous, ebullient, merry
cherished	deeply loved	adored, appreciated, doted upon
cherubic	resembling an angel	seraphic, angelic, adorable
chic	elegant or fashionable	stylish, swanky, trendy
childish	acting more like a child than an adult	immature, naive, juvenile
childlike	innocent and unaffected	guileless, trusting, ingenuous
chirping	a high-pitched noise that a bird would make	warbling, peeping, chattering
chivalrous	considerate of others’ needs	gallant, courteous, gracious
chronic	occurring over a long period of time	persistent, long-term, continual
chuffed	very proud and pleased	giddy, mirthful, overjoyed
chummy	comfortably friendly	affectionate, intimate, familiar
churlish	rude to others	unmannerly, oafish, uncivilized
citrusy	smelling of oranges or lemons	zesty, piquant, tangy
civilized	cultured and refined	enlightened, well-mannered, polished

No list of adjectives that start with “C” would be complete without a comprehensive collection of “cl” and “co” words.

Adjective	Definition	Synonyms
clairvoyant	having great perception and insight into the future	psychic, soothsayer, telepath
clandestine	kept secret or hidden	illicit, surreptitious, furtive
clanging	a loud, repetitive banging sound	blaring, clanking, clashing
classless	the opposite of classy or composed	boorish, uncouth, gauche
clever	intelligent and quick-witted	adept, witty, adroit
clinical	cooly analytical	impassive, detached, objective
cloudless	a clear, sunny sky	clear, fair, placid
clueless	doesn't understand, completely lost	oblivious, unaware, perplexed
clumsy	awkward, moves without elegance	inelegant, lumbering, gawky
coarse	scratchy and rough	bristly, prickly, wiry
coastal	relating to the beach or shore	seaside, tidal, riverine
cold-blooded	unfeeling towards others	pitiless, callous, inhuman
combative	always looking for a fight	belligerent, antagonistic, truculent
comely	attractive in appearance	lovely, fetching, stunning
commonplace	happening all the time	mainstream, ordinary, mundane
compassionate	feeling kindly toward others	sympathetic, tenderhearted, understanding
compendious	stating the essentials in a concise way	succinct, condensed, compact
complaisant	willing to please others	assenting, amenable, pliant
complementary	going well together	harmonious, compatible, supporting
complete	finished or unbroken	absolute, exhaustive, veritable
complex	having many parts	intricate, byzantine, elaborate
comprehensive	complete, including all elements	full-scale, broad, extensive
composed	showing composure and poise	self-possessed, serene, coolheaded
conceited	having an excessively favorable opinion of oneself	vain, egotistical, self-centered
conciliatory	eager to keep the peace	mollifying, appeasing, disarming
conniving	always scheming; untrustworthy	deceitful, treacherous, conspiring
contemptible	worthy of hatred	despicable, deplorable, loathsome
conscientious	doing what is right and proper	attentive, dedicated, assiduous
conservative	having traditional views and opposing sudden change	fundamentalist, unchanging, old-fashioned
consummate	a complete master or professional	exemplary, ultimate, expert
contrary	constantly disagreeing	obstructive, incompatible, unaccommodating
conventional	not unusual or extreme	ordinary, standard, commonplace
cordial	formally pleasant	affable, good-natured, welcoming
corny	sweet and sentimental to the point of annoyance	trite, insipid, hackneyed
corrupt	willing to act dishonestly for personal gain	disreputable, amoral, unprincipled
cosmic	relating to the universe	grandiose, otherworldly, galactic
courageous	brave; undeterred by danger or pain	plucky, valorous, audacious
cozy	a warm, comfortable feeling	snug, homey, restful
courteous	having polite manners toward others	genteel, gracious, well-mannered
covetous	obsessed with what others have	rapacious, desirous, yearning

Relax in front of a crackling fire with a creamy cup of hot chocolate. These adjectives that start with “C” may be a bit crooked, but they’re also creative.

Adjective	Definition	Synonyms
crackling	a snapping sound	crinkling, crepitating, rustling
craggy	a rocky edge or surface	jagged, precipitous, rugged
craterous	broken, full of holes	battle-scarred, pitted, tattered
craven	utterly cowardly	spineless, timorous, faint-hearted
creamy	having the thick texture of cream	buttery, velvety, smooth
creative	involving the imagination	innovative, ingenious, prolific
crisp	sharp and dry	brittle, clear, brisk
crooked	not honest or straightforward	nefarious, dishonorable, unprincipled
crumbling	falling apart into ruins	disintegrating, fragmenting, deteriorating
crusty	dry and crumbly	friable, encrusted, brittle
cryptic	confusingly mysterious	obscure, perplexing, enigmatic
crystalline	sparkling and clear	transparent, translucent, pellucid
cuddly	pleasant to hug	loveable, snuggly, huggable
curdled	becoming spoiled or gone bad	coagulated, solidified, fetid
curmudgeonly	acting ill-tempered and stubborn	ornery, miserly, grouchy
curt	rudely brief or abrupt	terse, brusque, snappish
curvaceous	having a curvy figure	voluptuous, full-figured, shapely
customary	commonly practiced	habitual, everyday, routine
cyan	a shade of greenish-blue	seafoam, aquamarine, teal
cynical	believing the worst of people	pessimistic, world-weary, misanthropic

Time to “C” these adjectives in action! These compendious sentences illustrate just how to use adjectives that start with “C.”

This is a charming house you have.
The cautious cat looked at the people curiously.
The childish woman pouted in the corner.
No cage could stop the clever puppy from escaping.
It was hard to explain the problem to the clueless boy.
The cuddly kitty curled right into my chest.
It was hard to decipher the cryptic message my brother left.
His curt response was rude and hurtful.
Let my bad experience serve as a cautionary tale.
We met in a chance encounter on vacation.
Her eyes were a deep cerulean color, reminding me of the ocean.
Don’t trust that conniving salesperson.
Our concert music is canonical, so we play it every year.
My sister seems clairvoyant at times because she can predict what’s about to happen.
The churlish party guest insulted the host and yelled at the servers.
This Valentine’s Day card is a little corny, but I like it anyway.
Please welcome the celebrated author, Dorian Applebee.
All this sand is coarse on my skin.
We climbed up the craggy mountain face toward the summit.
Why are you acting so cavalier about this bad news?

Having a list of adjectives that start with "C" in your arsenal is bound to make your next piece of writing glow with crisp, clear ingenuity. For more opportunities to use this charming consonant, discover other types of words that start with “C.”

110 Adjectives That Start With “C”

Adjectives That Start With Ca-Ch

List of Adjectives That Start With Cl-Co

Adjectives That Start With Cr-Cy

Example Sentences Using Words That Start With “C”

“C” Yourself Through More Parts of Speech