Here you will learn 33 English adjectives that describe people and personality.
I help you learn English words that describe people.
In my video lesson, there are 12 adjectives to describe people, with meanings and English pronunciation. This lesson is great for advanced English language learners who want to improve their speaking and writing skills and sound like native speakers.
Particularly useful for English proficiency exams like FCE, IELTS, CAE, etc.
Adjectives that Describe People and Personality
Harry
What type of person are you? Are you sensible and calm in a crisis?
Perhaps you are sociable and enjoy going out with friends and family.
How would your friends and colleagues describe your personality?
There are many adjectives that describe people and personalities in the English language. Some of them you can use to describe positive personality qualities, these are called positive adjectives. There are also adjectives that describe people in a negative way, so-called negative adjectives. Let’s have a closer look.
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English Adjectives that Describe People
Cathy works as a carer in a home for elderly people. She needs to be patient with the old people she looks after. She must be hard-working, because she has long shifts with only a short break and her duties include lifting and carrying. Cathy is always calm under pressure and can be relied on in an emergency. Cathy’s boss David says she is the ideal person for her job and a great team member.
Steve teaches maths in a secondary school. He is confident about working with large groups of teenagers. Steve is intelligent and able to explain maths in a way his pupils can understand. He is sociable and enjoys organising the end of term party for the other teachers. Steve’s colleagues like having him around.
Rob enjoys swimming and belongs to a local club. He is the fastest swimmer in his county for backstroke. Rob is very competitive and always likes to win at whatever sport he plays. He hopes to get a place in the national swimming team and represent his country at the next championships. Rob’s coach says he always turns up for training sessions and is very reliable.
Lisa is a hairdresser who owns her own business. She is charming to her customers and enjoys helping them to look their best. People like coming to her salon to get their hair cut, because Lisa is a sociable person who loves her work.
Positive and Negative Personality Adjectives
Positive
Patient Confident Intelligent Reliable Sensible Charming
Negative
Impatient Shy Stupid Unreliable Foolish Unpleasant
33 Adjectives that Describe People and Personality
Vocabulary - Adjectives that Describe People and Personality
1. Patient – someone who is not in a hurry and can spend time helping other people.
2. Hard-working – a person who puts a lot of effort into their work.
3. Calm – a person who is relaxed and not nervous.
4. Confident – someone who is self-assured and able to succeed.
5. Intelligent – someone who has the ability to learn and understand things quickly.
6. Reliable – a person who can be depended on to do what they say.
7. Sensible – a person who can be trusted to make the right decision.
8. Sociable – someone who is friendly and enjoys the company of other people.
9. Competitive – a person who likes to win at games or sports. They may be bad losers.
10. Charming – someone who has an attractive personality that makes people like them.
11. Ambitious – someone who has a strong desire to do well or to be successful.
12. Generous – someone who is happy to give more money, time and help than is usual.
13. Arrogant – someone who thinks that he/she is better than other people.
14. Aggressive – someone who often figths and argues with other people.
15. Cheerful – someone who feels happy.
16. Easy-going – someone who is relaxed and not worried about what other people do, someone who is very easy to get on with.
17. Responsible – someone who is able to act sensibly and make his own decisions.
18. Honest – someone who always tells the truth.
19. Tolerant – someone who is able to accept other people’s ideas even if he/she doesn’t agree with them.
20. Dull – a boring person, someone who has no personality.
33 Adjectives that describe people and personality
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21. Thick – stupid.
22. Down-to-earth – someone who is sensible and realistic in things they say or do.
23. Pretentious – someone who pretends to be very important.
24. Spontaneous – someone who acts in an open and natural way, capable of making decisions without planning.
25. Witty – someone who is very quick thinking and clever with words
26. Flexible – someone who adapts quickly to new situations and doesn’t mind change
27. Ruthless – someone who is determined to get what they want and does not care about others
28. Shrewd – someone who is good at judging people and situations
29. Pushy – someone who tries hard to get what they want, especially in a rude way
30. Conceited – someone who thinks that they are very important, celver, etc
31. Conscientious – someone who takes care in doing things properly and carefully
32. Assertive – someone who behaves confidently in order that people take notice of what they say
33. Diffident – someone who is not confident, a shy person
How would you describe yourself? Or people you like? Try to use adjectives that describe people and personality from this article.
You can also use adjectives to describe physical appearance if you would like to describe how they look like.
More Information
For more information in English Expressions, English Phrasal Verbs and English Grammar Rules, check ou the following links:
FOOD PHRASES AND IDIOMS – HOW TO TALK ABOUT FOOD IN ENGLISH
DIFFERENT WAYS TO SAY NO IN ENGLISH
You can always study English advanced level at Learning English with the BBC and British Council Learn English.