(Taken from 209 Words to Describe Touch by Amanda Patterson, original article linked to in the External Link):
Under your fingertips
You have to use the five senses when you write. Readers want to experience what your characters see, smell, hear, taste and touch. I find that touch is the sense that is most ignored by writers. I think it is often the most difficult to describe. Don’t leave it out. The sense of touch is so important because touch confirms that our eyes aren’t deceiving us. Readers identify with characters who engage with their worlds.
Description composed of sensory detail penetrates layers of consciousness, engaging your reader emotionally as well as intellectually… ~Rebecca McClanahan
The ABCs of Touch
Abrasive, Ample, Angular
Bald, Barbed, Bendable, Blemished, Blistered, Bloated, Blunt, Bristly, Broken, Bubbly, Bulging, Bulky, Bumpy, Bushy
Caked, Carved, Chafing, Chapped, Chunky, Circular, Clammy, Clean, Coarse, Cold, Cool, Corrugated, Cratered, Crenelated, Crocheted, Cushioned
Damaged, Damp, Dehydrated, Dense, Dented, Dirty, Distended, Distorted, Doughy, Downy, Drenched, Dry, Dusty,
Embossed, Enamelled, Encrusted, Engorged, Engraved, Etched, Even
Fat, Feathery, Filmy, Firm, Flat, Fleecy, Flimsy, Fluffy, Fluted, Fragile, Freezing, Frigid, Frothy, Furry, Fuzzy,
Gelatinous, Glassy, Glazed, Glossy, Glutinous, Gnarled, Gooey, Gossamer, Grainy, Granular, Grating, Gravelly, Greasy, Grimy, Gritty, Grooved, Grubby
Hairy, Hard, Harsh, Hollow, Hot
Icy, Impenetrable, Imprinted, Indented, Inflated, Inlaid, Inscribed, Ironed, Irregular, Itchy
Jagged
Knitted
Layered, Leathery, Level, Limp, Lined, Long-haired, Loose, Luke-warm, Lumpy
Malleable, Metallic, Moist, Mosaic, Mushy
Narrow, Neat
Oily, Ornamented
Padded, Patterned, Pleated, Pliable, Pockmarked, Pointed, Pointy, Polished, Pot-holed, Prickly, Printed, Pulpy
Ragged, Rasping, Razor-sharp, Refined, Ribbed, Ridged, Rigid, Rough, Rubbery, Rusty, Rutted
Sandy, Saturated, Scalding, Scarred, Scored, Scraped, Scratched, Sculptured, Serrated, Shaggy, Sharp-edged, Sheer, Silky, Slick, Slimy, Slippery, Smooth, Soaked, Soapy, Sodden, Soft, Soggy, Soiled, Solid, Sopping, Spiky, Spiny, Spongy, Springy, Steely, Stiff, Sticky, Stubbly, Stuccoed, Sweaty, Swollen, Syrupy
Thick, Thin, Thorny, Throbbing, Tiled, Tough, Tweedy
Unblemished, Unbreakable, Uncomfortable, Uneven, Unyielding
Varnished, Velvety, Veneered, Vibrating, Viscous
Warm, Waterlogged, Wavy, Wet, Wide, Wiry, Withered, Woollen, Woven, Wrinkled
Yielding
Zigzag
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