300 Helpful Adjectives Describing Energy in Performance

Below is an updated table of 300 practical words describing performance energy. This list of adjectives will help theatre students effectively describe the type of energy demonstrated by performers in either their own drama shows or those performed by others. This updated list adds another 100 helpful words.

It is typical in drama courses across the world for students to self reflect on their own performances. Common to all performances is the actor’s use of energy. This can be described as anything from lacklustre to frenetic energy and everything in between. The problem is students often find energy difficult to describe in written responses.

Similarly, students of drama usually visit the professional theatre. Here, the degree of energy applied by the performers often needs to be described by the drama students post-performance in a critique, analysis or evaluation of the play or musical seen.

This list of 300 adjectives describing energy in a theatre performance should prove useful for students everywhere.

If you are not sure of the meaning of a particular word, use the dictionary link at the bottom of the table.

Adjectives for Energy

absorbing	gay	red-blooded
abundant	gleeful	refreshed
active	groggy	rejuvenated
aggressive	guarded	rekindled
ailing	gutsy	relaxed
airy	half-hearted	reserved
alarming	hard-hitting	restless
alive	healthy	restrained
ambitious	heavy	revitalised
animated	hectic	riotous
apathetic	Herculean	rising
arduous	high	robust
arresting	high-octane	rowdy
assertive	high-powered	rugged
athletic	hot-blooded	rumbustious
benign	hyper	sapped
boisterous	hyperactive	savage
bold	idle	sedate
bouncy	impassioned	sedentary
breezy	impotent	sheepish
brisk	impressive	sheer
bubbly	inactive	sickly
bustling	inanimate	silent
busy	indefatigable	indefatigable
calm	indifferent	slack
casual	indolent	sleepy
ceaseless	inert	slothful
chaotic	insatiable	slothful
charged	insipid	slow
cheerful	inspiring	sluggish
chilled	intense	snappy
collective	intensive	soft
colourful	invigorated	somnolent
coltish	irrepressible	sparkling
compelling	jolly	sparky
composed	joyous	spasmodic
confident	kinetic	spectacular
contagious	lackadaisical	spirited
convincing	lacking	spiritless
customary	lacklustre	sprightly
dashing	laid-back	springy
dead	languid	startling
debilitated	lazy	static
delicate	leaden	stirring
demanding	lethargic	strenuous
determined	lifeless	striking
diluted	light	strong
dispirited	limp	subdued
dormant	lingering	submissive
drained	listless	superior
dramatic	lively	suppressed
dreamy	low-key	sustained
driven	lusty	swift
driving	magnificent	tame
drowsy	majestic	taxing
dull	maniacal	tempered
dynamic	meagre	timid
eager	meek	tired
earnest	mellow	tireless
easy-going	mercurial	tiresome
effective	mighty	torpid
effervescent	mild	turbocharged
emotional	momentary	turbulent
emphatic	monumental	unabated
enduring	negative	uncompelling
energised	nervous	uncompromising
energising	nimble	unconvincing
enervated	noticeable	understated
enlivened	overpowering	uneasy
enthusiastic	overstated	unflagging
excitable	overwhelming	unhealthy
exhausted	paralysed	unlimited
exhausting	passionate	unparallelled
exhilarating	passive	unrivalled
exuberant	peaceful	unspectacular
faint	pedestrian	unspent
fanatical	pent-up	untiring
fast	peppy	uplifting
fatigued	perky	uptempo
feeble	persistent	valiant
feisty	physical	vapid
ferocious	placid	varied
festive	playful	vibrant
fierce	poised	vigourous
fiery	positive	violent
flat	potent	vital
foggy	powerful	vitalised
forceful	powerless	vivacious
forcible	pressing	volatile
formidable	primitive	wasted
fragile	prosaic	weak
frail	punchy	wearied
frantic	purposeful	weary
frenetic	pushing	wild
frenzied	pushy	wishy-washy
fresh	quiescent	worn-out
frisky	quiet	youthful
frolicsome	rambunctious	zealous
fruitless	rash	zestful
furious	reckless	zippy

Not sure of a word definition? Click here.