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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/33427
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/33427
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Most of the time you don't want to find _the one word that describes this_ - because if it's so hard for you to come up with this one word, chances are it's hard for your audience to understand the word.

Of course there are many times more words in our passive vocabulary than in our active vocabulary, at least for most people, and your readers might still recognize the word. But you should be careful about trying to always find _the one word_. Often it's better to use descriptions of the gestures that show exactly what _your character_ is doing. Even if there was a word for the position you mean, and there probably is a word for it, you want to make sure that your audience knows what is currently happening in your story.

There are some authors who created lists that might help you a bit. For example look at [MASTER LIST of Gestures and Body Language!](http://www.bryndonovan.com/2015/04/10/master-list-of-gestures-and-body-language-for-writers/) from Bry Donovan, who also made similar lists like [MASTER LIST of Facial Expressions for Writers!](http://www.bryndonovan.com/2015/04/05/master-list-of-facial-expressions/) on her blog. Here are some examples from the linked blog post:

> she folded her arms  
> he crossed his arms over his chest  
> she hugged herself  
> he wrapped his arms around himself  
> she rocked back and forth

These are five different descriptions for _similar_ movements and you want to make sure that your reader knows exactly whether your character _crosses his arms in fear of what might await him after the next corner_ or is currently _wrapping his arms around himself to warm himself_.

What you can find are medical terms for a lot of, mostly bad, postures if that is what you are interested in. Wikipedia is a good example to find out that an excessive curvature of the spine is called [Kyphosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyphosis). But that depends on your audience and your style. Many people would not know what you mean when you said that _he displayed Kyphosis_. But describing how _his back was hunched from the work of past decades_ is quite easy to understand.

Original score: 7