---
title: "3 Adjectives Quotes By William Zinsser"
description: "3 Adjectives quotes by William Zinsser. Plus more from William Zinsser and more Adjectives sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occup_92429.png"
---

> [Avoid the ecstatic adjectives that occupy such disproportionate space in every critic's quiver - words like "enthralling" and "luminous."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occupy-such-disproportionate-space/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occup_92429.png)

> [Most writers sow adjectives almost unconsciously into the soil of their prose to make it more lush and pretty. The sentences become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/most-writers-sow-adjectives-almost-unconsciously-into-the-soil-of/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_most-writers-sow-adjectives-almost-uncon_1551113.png)

> [Not every oak has to be gnarled, every detective hard-bitten. The adjective that exists solely as a decoration is a self-indulgence for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/not-every-oak-has-to-be-gnarled-every-detective-hard-bitten-the/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d4/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_not-every-oak-has-to-be-gnarled-every-de_1863424.png)

## Other authors on Adjectives

## More by William Zinsser

> [“But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every words that serves no function, every long word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/but-the-secret-of-good-writing-is-to-strip-every-sentence-to-its/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [No one has something original or important to say will willing we run the risk of being misunderstood; people who write obscurely are either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/no-one-has-something-original-or-important-to-say-will-willing-we-run/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [Avoid the ecstatic adjectives that occupy such disproportionate space in every critic's quiver - words like "enthralling" and "luminous."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occupy-such-disproportionate-space/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [Scholarship hath no fury like that of a language purist faced with sludge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/scholarship-hath-no-fury-like-that-of-a-language-purist-faced-with/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [Clutter is the official language used by corporations to hide their mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clutter-is-the-official-language-used-by-corporations-to-hide-their/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [Keep your paragraphs short. Writing is visual - it catches the eye before it has a chance to catch the brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/keep-your-paragraphs-short-writing-is-visual-it-catches-the-eye/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [Never hesitate to imitate another writer - every person learning a craft or an art needs models. Eventually you'll find your own voice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/never-hesitate-to-imitate-another-writer-every-person-learning-a/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [Clutter is the disease of American writing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clutter-is-the-disease-of-american-writing/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill rode to glory on the back of the strong declarative sentence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/abraham-lincoln-and-winston-churchill-rode-to-glory-on-the-back-of/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [Writing organizes and clarifies our thoughts. Writing is how we think our way into a subject and make it our own. Writing enables us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/writing-organizes-and-clarifies-our-thoughts-writing-is-how-we-think/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [Rewriting is the essence of writing well - where the game is won or lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/rewriting-is-the-essence-of-writing-well-where-the-game-is-won-or-lost/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can't exist without the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clear-thinking-becomes-clear-writing-one-can-t-exist-without-the-other/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [I almost always urge people to write in the first person. ... Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/i-almost-always-urge-people-to-write-in-the-first-person-writing-is/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [Don't be kind of bold. Be bold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/don-t-be-kind-of-bold-be-bold/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [Journalism is writing that first appears in any periodic journal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/journalism-is-writing-that-first-appears-in-any-periodic-journal/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adjectives/william-zinsser/#itemlist",
            "name": "3 Adjectives Quotes By William Zinsser",
            "numberOfItems": 3,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Avoid the ecstatic adjectives that occupy such disproportionate space in every critic's quiver - words like \"enthralling\" and \"luminous.\"",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "William Zinsser"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occupy-such-disproportionate-space/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occup_92429.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occup_92429.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occup_92429.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Avoid the ecstatic adjectives that occupy such disproportionate space in every critic's quiver - words like…” — William Zinsser",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Most writers sow adjectives almost unconsciously into the soil of their prose to make it more lush and pretty. The sentences become longer and longer as they fill up with stately elms and graceful boughs and frisky kittens and sleepy lagoons.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "William Zinsser"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/most-writers-sow-adjectives-almost-unconsciously-into-the-soil-of/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_most-writers-sow-adjectives-almost-uncon_1551113.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_most-writers-sow-adjectives-almost-uncon_1551113.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_most-writers-sow-adjectives-almost-uncon_1551113.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Most writers sow adjectives almost unconsciously into the soil of their prose to make it more lush and…” — William Zinsser",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Not every oak has to be gnarled, every detective hard-bitten. The adjective that exists solely as a decoration is a self-indulgence for the writer and an obstacle for the reader.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "William Zinsser"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/not-every-oak-has-to-be-gnarled-every-detective-hard-bitten-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d4/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_not-every-oak-has-to-be-gnarled-every-de_1863424.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d4/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_not-every-oak-has-to-be-gnarled-every-de_1863424.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d4/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_not-every-oak-has-to-be-gnarled-every-de_1863424.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Not every oak has to be gnarled, every detective hard-bitten. The adjective that exists solely as a…” — William Zinsser",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adjectives/william-zinsser/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adjectives/william-zinsser/",
            "name": "Adjectives Quotes by William Zinsser",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adjectives/william-zinsser/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/william-zinsser-2796_adjectives_avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occup_92429.png"
            },
            "description": "3 Adjectives quotes by William Zinsser. Plus more from William Zinsser and more Adjectives sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adjectives/william-zinsser/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adjectives/william-zinsser/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Adjectives",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adjectives/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "William Zinsser",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adjectives/william-zinsser/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```