24 Compound Adjectives to Describe a Person

24 Compound Adjectives to Describe a Person

Hello English learners. Welcome to a new lesson. In case you want to express your thoughts and ideas in a more sophisticated and complex manner, you must read today’s lesson, because we will look at 24 compound adjectives to describe a person. A compound adjective is made up of two or three words usually connected with a hyphen. Here is the list:

1. Absent-minded
2. Bad-tempered
3. Big-headed
4. Big-hearted
5. Broad-shouldered
6. Easy-going
7. Good-natured
8. Hard-working
9. Laid-back
10. Level-headed
11. Light-hearted
12. Narrow-minded
13. Open-minded
14. Quick-thinking
15. Self-centred
16. Short-tempered
17. Simple-minded
18. Single-minded
19. Strong-willed
20. Thin-skinned
21. Tight-fisted
22. Two-faced
23. Well-dressed
24. Well-behaved

Absent-minded

Meaning: not very focused and forgetful.

Professors are often caricatured as absent-minded people.

Bad-tempered

Meaning: easily annoyed, grumpy.

Fiona can be very bad-tempered when she’s hungry.

Big-headed

Meaning: a person who thinks that he/she is more important or clever than others, arrogant.

The main character in the novel is shown as a big-headed and pompous person.

Big-hearted

Meaning: kind and generous.

Sid has always been a big-hearted man, especially when it comes to children.

Broad-shouldered

Meaning: having broad shoulders.

Elsa described her father as a tall, broad-shouldered man.

Compound adjectives to describe a person

Easy-going

Meaning: relaxed, not easily worried or annoyed.

Rebecca is an easy-going girl who is very popular among her friends.

Good-natured

Meaning: pleasant, kind and friendly.

Ben was a good-natured and relaxed man, someone you could get on well with forever.

Hard-working

Meaning: always doing a lot of work.

I remember Jill as a hard-working and ambitious girl.

Laid-back

Meaning: calm and relaxed, worriless.

Sophia has never seen her boss upset. He is always cool and laid-back.

Level-headed

Meaning: calm and sensible, capable of dealing with difficulties.

What we need is a responsible, level-headed man to run the company.

Light-hearted

Meaning: happy and cheerful.

George was an optimistic and light-hearted young man.

Narrow-minded

Meaning: full of prejudice, not willing to accept other people’s opinions and ideas.

Lisa never liked people in her hometown; they were ignorant and narrow-minded.

Compound adjectives to describe a person

Open-minded

Meaning: willing to accept new ideas.

Anne-Marie’s parents were friendly and open-minded people, willing to consider new ideas.

Quick-thinking

Meaning: able to make sensible decisions fast.

We are seeking a quick-thinking and communicative individual for the position.

Self-centred

Meaning: only interested in yourself and your activities, egoistic.

As soon as he began earning a lot of money, he became more and more self-centred.

Short-tempered

Meaning: an intolerant person who gets angry easily.

Nobody liked Chris because he was a short-tempered choleric man.

Simple-minded

Meaning: understanding things in a simple, limited way.

Anna is a naïve, simple-minded person because she thinks her problems will go away just like that

Single-minded

Meaning: determined to achieve his/her goal.

Sally was led by a single-minded determination to succeed.

Strong-willed

Meaning: always determined to achieve their goals.

Charlie was a strong-willed young man, and once he decided to graduate from college, nothing could stop him.

Compound adjectives to describe a person

Thin-skinned

Meaning: sensitive and easily insulted.

Politicians are not supposed to be sensitive and thin-skinned.

Tight-fisted

Meaning: not very generous, stingy.

How come Paul never pays for drinks? He’s too tight-fisted.

Two-faced

Meaning: not sincere, deceitful.

Nobody trusted her because she was a two-faced liar.

Well-dressed

Meaning: wearing elegant and fashionable clothes.

The photo showed a well-dressed woman in her thirties.

Well-behaved

Meaning: properly conducting yourself. Also: well-mannered.

Michael was a respectful, well-behaved child.

Learn 90 adjectives to describe people’s character

Find 18 nouns that describe people’s character here

Learn 25 collocations that describe personality

Learn 10 idioms that describe people here 

Compound adjectives to describe a person

If you really want to learn English but don’t know how to do it and where to start, don’t hesitate to contact us. Book an online English lesson with one of our certified and experienced English teachers and take a test and consultation! Tap the banner to learn more!