Has 'What is he like?' been used correctly in this context? I think 'What does he look like?' would be better, but is 'What is he like?' unnatural?

Last Edited on 5-Aug-2008 9:00 AM

TheMudge
The Real Mudge
2893 posts
Aug 05, 2008
9:19 AM

There's nothing wrong with asking "What is he like?" to inquire about someone's looks, but you're unlikely to get an answer pertaining to looks if you don't follow that up with a clarification. Most likely, the response would be something more general – "He's nice," "He's okay," or "He's all right but kind of boring" – something like that. If a question is unspecific, you are likely to get an unspecific answer. If you want to know about looks, ask, "What does he look like?" or pin it down to something even more specific, such as, "Is he handsome?"
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Rich Turner (The Curmudgeon Himself)