90 Adjectives to Describe People’s Character

90 Adjectives to Describe People’s Character

Here are 90 adjectives to describe people’s character to help you express your thoughts better.

Adventurous

eager and willing to try new things.

• Brian was an adventurous young man, always ready to embark on a new enterprise.

Aggressive

behaving in an angry manner, violent.

• He is a fast and aggressive player. 

Ambitious

having a strong desire to be successful, rich, …

• I agree that Anne is ambitious but she is also lazy, so I doubt she will be successful.

Boring

not interesting, dull.

• People in my office are so boring. 

Bossy

a person who tends to give orders to others.

• People at work don’t like her. She’s too bossy and interfering.

Brave

strong and fearless in the face of danger.

• Mary was so brave to learn to drive at 55.

Bright

intelligent.

• Tom’s children are quite bright, they’ve got the best grades at school.

Calm

serene, peaceful, free from anxiety.

• After the sauna treatment, Sofia felt calm and relaxed.

Charming

pleasant, likeable.

• Your friend is very charming but has a rather strange way of dressing.

Cheerful

happy, joyous, optimistic.

• A cheerful waiter brought us our drinks and danced away to the bar.

Childish

behaving in an immature way.

• Will you stop being childish and start behaving like an adult person?

Compassionate

showing compassion, sympathetic.

• Ryan was a good listener and compassionate man.

Confident

certain of your skills and abilities.

• Mark is a confident speaker.

Considerate

thoughtful and kind.

• He’s always considerate towards children and elderly people.

Conservative

resisting change.

• They always go on holiday to Turkey. They don’t want to visit new places. They’re so conservative.

Creative

original and imaginative.

• The advert says that they need talented and creative designers for the job.

Curious

interested in exploring and learning new things.

• Simon was so curious to know all about the country they were visiting.

Decisive

capable of making decisions quickly and effectively.

• If you want the employees to respect you, then you must be decisive.

Determined

not letting anyone prevent you from doing what you want.

• Sarah is a totally determined lady. She’ll never allow her children to be lazy.

Diligent

doing things carefully and in a detailed manner.

• Cheryl was a diligent worker. She always did her work with great care and concentration.

Dishonest

opposite of honest, deceitful.

• It turned out that Sean is dishonest because he lied about his work experience at the job interview.

Eager

strongly wanting to have or do something.

• New students were all eager to study new things.

90 Adjectives to Describe People’s Character

Energetic

full of energy.

• Martin was one of those people who are energetic all day long.

Extroverted

outgoing person who is confident around other people.

• Diana has always been an open and extroverted person. 

Faithful

loyal and supportive.

• Ryan is a loyal and faithful man. We’re lucky to have him as a member of our party.

Forgetful

forgetting things easily.

• Maria is becoming forgetful probably because of working too much.

Friendly

pleasant and kind.

• Our neighbours are so friendly. They have always been there for us.

Funny

humorous and amusing.

• Jay Malone is the funniest comedian I’ve ever seen.

Generous

willing to give money or presents to someone.

• David is such a generous man. He always gives money to charities.

Gentle

calm and kind.

• Nurse Karen is a gentle lady. 

Greedy

always wanting more than you need.

• That politician is ambitious, dishonest and greedy.

Gregarious

a person who likes spending time in other people’s company.

• Amy was a gregarious, outgoing, lively girl.

Grumpy

a bad-tempered person who complains too much.

• Some people are grumpy when they wake up.

Gullible

easily persuaded to believe something and easily tricked.

• Lisa tends to buy things she sees in commercials. She’s so gullible.

Hard-working

tend to work a lot.

• Laura is a responsible, hard-working lawyer.

Helpful

useful, ready to help.

• Our neighbours are kind and helpful.

Honest

a person who’s telling the truth and therefore can be trusted.

• Colin is an honest man, I think we can trust him.

Hostile

opposite of friendly.

• The protesters looked a bit hostile, so we were afraid to pass by them.

Humble

modest, not believing that you’re important.

• Although he was the best in class he was still very humble.

Ignorant

lacking information and knowledge.

• Some people in that country are so ignorant that they can’t read or write.

Immature

 behaving in a way typical for someone younger, childish.

• Chris is rather immature for his age, don’t you agree?

90 Adjectives to Describe People’s Character

Impatient

easily irritated and annoyed.

• He should have never become a teacher. He’s so impatient.

Independent

not controlled by anybody or anything.

• Although only 18, she’s completely independent, having a steady job and her own apartment.

Intelligent

able to understand and learn easily.

• Helen is a very intelligent and hard-working student. She’s never failed an exam.

Introverted

Quiet and shy.

• I think he is too introverted to be a DJ.

Intuitive

being able to understand something based on your feelings and emotions rather than facts.

• I’ve heard that astrologists often rely on their intuition rather than facts.

Judgmental

tend to criticize people too quickly.

• Our boss is so judgmental. Hardly anyone likes him.

Kind

Helpful, caring, generous.

• They were so kind that they let us stay in their beach bungalow for free.

Lazy

unwilling to work.

• Bob was the laziest person I’ve ever met.

Mature

sensible, emotionally developed.

• April is very mature for her age.

Mean

unpleasant, cruel, stingy.

• Our landlord is a mean old man. We’ve been freezing all winter in our apartment.

Modest

not showing off about your success, being humble.

• Although a valedictorian, he’s so modest about his achievements.

Moody

a person who changes moods easily.

• Teenagers can be so moody sometimes. 

Motivated

keen and enthusiastic about achieving something.

• No wonder employees in that company are highly motivated. Their salaries are very good.

Neat

people who like to keep everything in perfect order.

• Tim is such a neat man. His flat is always in good order.

Nervous

stressed, worried, anxious.

• He was an overly sensitive and nervous person.

Optimistic

positive and hopeful about the future.

• A new president is an optimistic man.

Organized

plan and keep things carefully and neatly.

• My secretary is a highly organized lady.

Passionate

having strong feelings and interests about something.

• Sally was very passionate about her religion.

90 Adjectives to Describe People’s Character

Patient

a person capable of waiting calmly.

• Although very young, Pamela is a patient and diligent person.

Pensive

quiet and thinking about something in a serious way.

• My late aunt was a quiet and pensive person.

Pessimistic

believing that bad things will happen rather than good.

• Diana is a depressed, pessimistic girl.

Polite

behaving in a pleasant socially acceptable way.

• Sean has always been a polite young man.

Practical

focused on real situations rather than imaginary.

• What they need is someone experienced and practical to get the country out of the crisis.

Proud

a person who has respect for themselves.

• Although poor, he’s a very proud man.

Quiet

mild and discreet.

• His parents were quiet people in their seventies.

Realistic

having realistic and practical beliefs and ideas.

• Brian is always realistic about what he can and cannot do.

Reliable

someone you can trust.

• She’s never late; she’s so reliable.

Reserved

not showing your feelings, shy.

• He was a quiet reserved man who liked to keep himself for himself.

Respectful

showing respect for others.

• We taught our children to be respectful of elderly people.

Responsible

morally acceptable for good judgment and correct behaviour.

• Mark was a highly responsible manager.

Rude

impolite and offensive.

• There were a few really rude children in that class.

Selfish

thinking only about your own advantage rather than others’.

• Everyone in the village thought he was a selfish man because he thought exclusively about his own good.

Sensible

having good judgment.

• You can rely on her to babysit for you. She’s a very sensible girl.

90 Adjectives to Describe People’s Character

Serious

a thoughtful, quiet person who doesn’t laugh a lot.

• Mildred was a serious child.

Shy

feeling uncomfortable around people.

• He didn’t ask her out because he is shy.

Skilful

good at doing something.

• Gary was a skilful swimmer.

Strict

limiting people’s freedom by imposing principles and rules of behaviour.

• His parents were very strict.

Stingy

unwilling to spend money.

•  I won’t go out with Pete. He’s a stingy man who never pays for his drinks. 

Stubborn

refusing to change your attitude or opinion despite all arguments.

• Once he makes up his mind, Dennis can be very stubborn.

Superficial

a person who never thinks about serious matters.

• He is polite but very superficial.

Sympathetic

showing care for someone’s suffering.

• Laura is a very sympathetic woman. She’s always emotional about the refugees.

Talented

having an ability to be good at something.

• Tom is a talented writer.

Talkative

tend to talk a lot.

• Sheila is such an amusing, talkative woman.

Thoughtful

a person who considers things with great care.

• Will is so attentive and thoughtful.

Tidy

Neat, tends to keep things in order.

• Simona was neat and tidy person.

Timid

Shy and nervous.

• Despite being talented he was a rather timid child.

Tolerant

willing to accept other people’s opinions and behaviour.

• The job is for tolerant and open-minded people.

Trustworthy

A person who deserves to be trusted.

• The politician I’m voting for is reliable, honest and trustworthy.

Vain

overly proud of their looks or position.

• Linda was a vain, egotistical woman.

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