Is there an adjective for someone who looks like a vampire? [closed]
I'm describing what an opiate addict looks like before recovery. Instead of saying "he looked like a vampire," I'd like to say something like "he looked [vampiric]."
I actually just found out vampiric was a word, but I want something that sounds better (more colloquial/natural, I suppose) and covers a variety of traits (pale, emaciated, sickly, etc).
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Why I don’t just use "vampiric":
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As @chepner commented:
I think the idea is to find a word that isn't so "circular", and doesn't refer explicitly to vampires or require knowledge of vampires in context. If someone were to ask "What does a vampire look like?", then "It looks vampiric/vampirish" wouldn't be terribly helpful.
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I don’t want to explicitly refer to drug addicts as vampires. I just want to capture those traits in the best way.
I'd suggest cadaverous. It incorporates many facets of what I believe you're trying to convey: a corpse-like appearance, including pallid and underweight.
From Merriam-Webster.com:
1a : of or relating to a corpse b : suggestive of corpses or tombs
2a : PALLID, LIVID b : GAUNT, EMACIATED grossly underweight
For something often used to describe people and not an analogy like ghoulish or vampiric or cadaverous:
pallid - very pale, in a way that looks unhealthy and not attractive
"Vampiric" is the actual adjective to describe something (or someone) like a vampire.
According to the Collins English Dictionary, as quoted in the Dictionary.com entry for vampiric:
Derived Forms
vampiric ( væmˈpɪrɪk ) or vampirish , adjective
gaunt - extremely thin and bony; haggard and drawn, as from great hunger, weariness, or torture; emaciated.
Dictionary.com
This more emphasises the skinny and haggard nature of their appearance - rather than the pale or sickliness - so you could combine two adjectives, like:
He looked pale and gaunt.
His gaunt and sickly appearance.