Attempts to describe personality types, character traits, and temperaments have always amused people. Even though human personality has defied all attempts to categorize it into a few types, so many attempts have been made to do so. It was the Greeks who first attempted a description of human personality and character. They categorized human personality under the scope of the four temperaments – sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic.
Today English language has a variety of words for describing people, their personality, character and temperament. These words can be categorized into words that describe a person’s general behavior and outlook, attitude towards others, attitude towards money and property, and his view of life. In this ESL lesson you will learn how to describe someone’s personality and character.
The following is a list of adjectives for describing someone’s personality, character traits and temperament. You can search by word or category to find the most suitable word for describing a person’s character.
| Personality Types: General Categories | Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character Traits, and Temperaments |
|---|---|
| Describing positive personality types: Appealing, elegant or neat outlook and behaviour | adorable, affluent, alluring, appealing, aristocratic, arresting, attractive, beautiful, becoming, beguiling, bewitching, breathtaking, captivating, charismatic, charming, chic, Circean, classy, clean, clubby, couth, crisp, cuddly, dapper, dashing, dazzling, dear, debonair, decorous, desirable, devastating, dignified, elegant, enchanting, engaging, enthralling, enticing, entrancing, exquisite, fancy, fashionable, fetching, finished, flowery, flush, glamorous, glorious, graceful, gracious, handsome, healthy, highborn, immaculate, impeccable, imperial, ingratiating, intoxicating, inviting, irresistible, kingly, lardy-dardy, lavish, lush, luxuriant, luxurious, magnetic, modish, natty, neat, nifty, nubile, opulent, ornate, plush, plushy, polished, posh, prepossessing, pretty, princely, privileged, prosperous, redolent, refined, regal, resplendent, rich, ritzy, royal, scrumptious, seductive, select, silk-stocking, sleek, slick, smart, smooth, snazzy, soigne, sophisticated, spanking, spellbinding, spiffy, splashy, splendid, spotless, spruce, stainless, stately, sterling, striking, stunning, stylish, suave, sumptuous, surefooted, sure-handed, svelte, swank, swanky, swell, swish, tantalizing, tasty, tidy, trendy, trig, trim, ultrachic, ultramodern, ultrarich, voguish, wealthy, well, well-groomed, well-heeled, well-off, winning, winsome, yummy |
| Describing negative personality types: unappealing, shabby or clumsy outlook and behaviour | abysmal, angular, awkward, awry, cadaverous, clumsy, contaminated, crumpled, decrepit, derelict, destitute, dingy, disfigured, disgusting, dowdy, down-and-out, drippy, dumpy, fiddle-footed, filthy, frightful, frowzy, funky gaudy, gawky, geeky, ghastly, gnarly, graceless, grisly, grotesque, gruesome, hard-up, heavy-footed, hideous, homely, horrid, horrific, imperfect, impoverished, impure, incongruous, indecorous, indigent, inelegant, infelicitous, lowborn, lowly, macabre, malodorous, meretricious, messy, monstrous, odious, oily, overdressed, penniless, penurious, plain, poor, putrid, ragged, ragtag, rancid, ratty, repellent, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, rough, rugged, scabrous, scandalous, scraggly, scummy, scuzzy, seedy, shabby, shaggy, shocking, shoddy, sickening, simian, slatternly, slavering, sleazy, slimy, slobbery, sloppy, slovenly, slummy, sordid, squalid, stinky, subhuman, tacky, tawdry, tenth-rate, tousled, ugly, ulcerous, unappealing, unbecoming, unclean, uncoordinated, uncouth, undesirable, undignified, unfashionable, unfit, unhandy, unhealthy, unkempt, unpolished, unsanitary, unsavory, unsightly, untidy, weather-beaten, woolly |
| Positive personality traits: Warm, friendly or loving approach and behaviour | adoring, affable, affectionate, agreeable, amiable, amicable, amorous, appreciative, approachable, ardent, chummy, companionable, compassionate, congenial, convivial, cordial, devoted, disarming, earthy, empathic, familiar, favorable, fond, forgiving, friendly, genial, good-humored, good-natured, gracious, gregarious, heartwarming, hearty, hospitable, ingratiating, intimate, kind, kindhearted, kindly, kindred, largehearted, likable, lovable, loving, merciful, neighborly, open, open-hearted, pally, palsy-walsy, personable, reverent, romantic, sensitive, sensual, sentimental, sociable, soft, soft-hearted, summery, sympathetic, tender, tender-hearted, touching, warm, warm-hearted, well-disposed, worshipful |
| Negative personality traits: Cold, unfriendly, or irritable outlook and behaviour | abrupt, alien, aloof, arid, asexual, ashen, astringent, austere, bad-tempered, bilious, bitter, bleak, bloody, blunt, brusque, brutal, callous, cantankerous, catty, cheap, chilly, closed, cold, coldblooded, cold-hearted, contemptuous, crabby, cranky, cross, crotchety, cruel, crusty, cryptic, curmudgeonly, cursed, curt, cussed, cutthroat, cynical, dispassionate, distant, domineering, dour, Draconian, dry, dyspeptic, egocentric, empty, envious, forbidding, formidable, freezing, frigid, frosty, gelid, glacial, glowering, gray, greedy, grouchy, grudging, gruff, grumpy, hardened, hardhearted, hateful,naughty, heartless, hollow, huffish, humiliating, icy, ignoble, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, impersonal, inconsiderate, indifferent, inhospitable, insensitive, insulting, insusceptible, intolerant, irreconcilable, irritable, jealous, liverish, matter-of-fact, mean, mechanical, merciless, misanthropic, miserly, nasty, niggardly, nippy, ornery, parched, parsimonious, peckish, peevish, penurious, petty, piercing, pinchbeck, pitiless, Procrustean, psychopathic, reactionary, remorseless, remote, ruthless, sadistic, salty, self-serving, sharp-tongued, shrewish, snappish, snarly, snippety, snippy, snitty, snotty, sour, spleenful, stark, steely, stern, still, stoical, stony, strict, surly, suspicious, testy, tetchy, thick-skinned, tight, tight-fisted, touchy, troglodytic, truculent, tyrannical, uncharitable, uncommunicative, uncongenial, unfeeling, unforgiving, unfriendly,ungrateful, unkind, unkindly, unmerciful, unmoved, unsympathetic, vengeful, venomous, vexatious, vicious, vitriolic, waspish, wintry, withholding, wizened, wooden, wrongheaded |
| Words for describing positive, sociable and outgoing characters | ambitious, assertive, blatant, bloviating, blustering, boisterous, bold, bombastic, brash, brazen, breathy, chatty, choleric, defiant, dramatic, emphatic, evangelical, excited, exhibitionist, expansive, expressive, extemporaneous, extroverted, exuberant, flagrant, flamboyant, flashy, flirtatious, forward, freewheeling, garrulous, grandiloquent, gregarious, gushy, high-profile, histrionic, immodest, indiscreet, intrusive, jabbering, lippy, loquacious, loud, loudmouthed, madcap, meteoric, militant, noisy, obtrusive, outgoing, outspoken, overbearing, overt, overweening, petulant, presumptuous, prolix, protrusive, protuberant, public, pugnacious, pushy, raucous, rousing, shrill, sonorous, spectacular, splashy, stagestruck, stagy, stentorian, strident, swinging, switched-on, talkative, theatrical, throaty, turgid, uninhibited, unreserved, unselfconscious, uproarious, verbose, visible, vitriolic, vocal, vociferous, voluble, wordy |
| Words for describing unsociable, introverted and reserved characters | abashed, alien, alienated, alone, aloof, anonymous, antisocial, ascetic, asocial, austere, autonomous, awkward, bashful, chary, donnish, claustral, cloistered, concealed, confidential, covert, coy, crafty, delitescent, detached, discreet, distant, elusive, enigmatic, estranged, evasive, ghostly, guarded, hermitic, indirect, inhibited, inner- directed, inscrutable, insular, introspective, introverted, invisible, inward, isolated, laconic, latent, lone, lonely, low-profile, misty, misunderstood, modest, monastic, monkish, mum, mute, mysterious, nebulous, nonverbal, oblique, obscure, occult, paradoxical, passive, phantom, private, quiescent, quiet, reclusive, reluctant, remote, repressed, reserved, restrained, reticent, retiring, secluded, secretive, self-absorbed, self-conscious, self-effacing, sensitive, sequestered, shadowy, shamefaced, sheepish, short-spoken, shy, silent, smoky, sneaky, soft-spoken, solitary, solo, spectral, sphinxlike, spooky, standoffish, stay-at-home, stealthy, still, stolid, strange, subterranean, surreptitious, suspicious, taciturn, tactful, tight-lipped, tiptoe, unapproachable, unassertive, unassuming, unclear, uncommunicative, undemonstrative, understated, unexpressive, unfathomable, unobtrusive, unsociable, vanishing, veiled, voiceless, wary, watchful, wistful, withdrawn, wordless, xenophobic |
| Words for describing people's attitude towards others: Assertive and confident character types | abusive, adamant, assuming, assured, authoritative, autocratic, bossy, bullheaded, bumptious certain, cocksure, commanding, compelling, conclusive, confident, controlling, decisive, determined, direct, directed, dogged, dogmatic, dominant, domineering, do-or-die, egoistic, egotistic, emphatic, enduring, entitled, entrenched, firm, fixed, focused, forceful, formidable, grandiose, hard-bitten, hard-boiled, hard- edged, hardened, hardheaded, headstrong, hellbent, high and mighty, high-flown, high-handed, high-powered, immovable, impenetrable, imperative, imperious, impervious, implacable, impregnable, independent, indestructible, indomitable, inexorable, inflated, inflexible, insistent, insuperable, intent, intimidating, intractable, invincible, invulnerable, ironbound, ironclad, irresistible, lordly macno, magisterial, magistral, messianic, mighty, militaristic, mulish obdurate, obstinate, omnipotent, one-sided, opinionated, orgulous, ossified, overweening, overwhelming, persistent, persuasive, pertinacious, pigheaded, poised, portentous, possessive, predominant, preponderant, presumptuous, prideful, prodigious, proprietary, proud, purposeful, pushy, recalcitrant, redoubtable, refractory, relentless, renitent, resolute, rigid, secure, self-assured, self-confident, self-important, self-involved, self-possessed, self-righteous, self-satisfied, self-seeking, single-minded, smug, stiff, strident, strong-minded, strong-willed, stubborn, sure, swaggering, swashbuckling, swellheaded, take-charge, tenacious, territorial, thick-skinned, turgid, unassailable, unbending, undaunted, unfaltering, unflagging, unflinching, unreceptive, unregenerate, unrelenting, unstinting, unstoppable, unswerving, unwary, unwieldy, unwilling, unyielding, vain, vainglorious, vehement, willful |
| Describing people's attitude towards others: Submissive, diffident and uncertain character types | accommodating, acquiescent, adaptable, ambivalent, apologetic, apprehensive, assailable, awkward, balky, changeable, chary, compliant, conciliatory, culpable, cursory, dainty, deferential, dependent, diffident, doubtful, downtrodden, dubious, ductile, effeminate, equivocal, exposed, fatalistic, fawning, flexible, flimsy, halfhearted, halting, haphazard, harmless, hesitant, humiliated, ill-at-ease, impalpable, inconclusive, inconstant, incredulous, indecisive, indirect, inoffensive, insecure, irresolute, labile, lambent, loath, lost, malleable, masochistic, mealy-mouthed, meek, mousy, mutable, noncommittal, obedient, obeisant, obsequious, penitent, phlegmatic, plastic, pliable, pliant, prostrate, protean qualmish, queasy, questioning, quizzical, receptive, reconciled, reluctant, repentant, reserved, resigned, respectful, self-denying, serviceable, servile, shackled, slavish, solicitous, squishy, subdued, submissive, subservient, suggestible, supple, suppliant, susceptible, sycophantic, tentative, tenuous, thin-skinned, timid, tongue-tied, tractable, tremulous, vacillating, vague, vulnerable, wavering, yielding, |
| Describing strength of character and personality: Strong, bold, or tough temperaments | able-bodied, adventuresome, adventurous, all-powerful, audacious, belligerent, bluff, blunt, bold, brash, brave, brawny, courageous daring, dauntless, decisive, doughty, durante, effective, fearless, firm, flinty, forbidding, formidable, full-blooded, gritty, gutsy, gutty, hale, hardball, hard-nosed, hardy, heavy, hell-for-leather, indestructible, inexhaustible, intrepid, lionhearted, lusty, manly, massive, mettlesome, mighty, militant, motivated, muscular, nervy, oppressive, physical, plucky, potent, powerful, ready, reliant, resilient, robust, rocky, rough, rugged, ruthless, scrappy, seif-made, self-reliant, self-sufficient, self-supporting, self-sustaining, solid, spartan, spirited, spunky, stalwart, staunch, steadfast, steely, stout, stout-hearted, strapping, street-smart, streetwise, strong, sturdy, substantial, thriving, tough, truculent, unblinking, valiant, valorous, venturesome, warlike, yeomanly |
| Describing lack of strength of character and personality: Weak and fearful temperaments | abashed, afraid, ailing, alarmed, anemic, anxious, apprehensive, ashamed, asthmatic, bloodless, brittle, clinging, consumptive, cowardly, craven, creaky, cringing, debilitated, decrepit, delicate, desperate, disconcerted, faint, fainthearted, faltering, fearful, feeble, fidgety, fitful, flimsy, fragile, frail, frangible, frightened, futile, gutless, hagridden, helpless, horrified, horror-struck, humbled, humiliated, hung-up, ill, impotent, impoverished, incapacitated, ineffective, inept, infirm, insecure, insufficient, jittery, lame, lily-livered, limp, limp-wristed, mawkish, meager, milk-livered, mortified, namby-pamby, needy, nervous, neurotic, oversensitive, overwhelmed, pale, pallid, paltry, panicked, panic-stricken, paranoid, pathetic, petrified, pitiful, plaintive, poor-spirited, punchless, puny, pusillanimous, recreant, scared, shaky, sheepish, short-winded, shrinking, sickly, simpering, skimpy, skittish, slight, sniveling, snuffling, spasmodic, spineless, spooked, squeamish, stressed, stressed-out, sulky, terrified, timid, timorous, toothless, tottering, trapped, trembling, tremulous uncomfortable, undernourished, uneasy, unnerved, unwell, uptight vertiginous, wary, washed-out, washy, watery, weak, weakhearted, weak-kneed, wet, whining, whiny, white, white-livered, wimpy, wispy, wormy |
| Vocabulary for describing active and lively characters | acrobatic, active, adroit, agile, alert, alive, ambulatory, athletic, attentive, avid, awake, bouncy, breezy, bright-eyed, brisk, bubbly, bustling, busy, buxom, catalytic, chipper, crisp, curious, deft, diligent, dynamic, eager, effervescent, elusive, energetic, energized, enterprising, errant, exhilarated, exuberant, fecund, feisty, fervent, fleet, fleet-footed, fluent, fluid, footloose, free, fresh, frisky, frolicsome, galvanic, go-go, gymnastic, hale, high-spirited, high-strung, hurried, industrious, interested, intrigued, irrepressible, itinerant jaunty, jingly, kinetic, lambent, liberated, light, limber, lissome, lithe, lively, mercurial, mobile, motile, nimble, nomadic, operose, outdoorsy, peppy, perky, productive, prolific, prompt quick, quicksilver, rambunctious, rapid, ready, renascent, saltatory, sassy, saucy, sentient, sinuous, skittish, snappy, speedy, spirited, sprightly, springy, spruce, spry, strenuous, supple, swift, switched-on, sylphlike, tireless, unencumbered, up-and-coming, vibrant, vigilant, vigorous, vital, vivacious, volant, volatile, wakeful, whippy, wide-awake, wide-eyed, zappy, zestful, zesty, zingy |
| Vocabulary for describing inactive and lazy characters | abstracted, aged, apathetic, asleep, atrophied, barren, beat, benumbed, blank, blase, bored, bovine, bushed, cadaverous, comatose, complacent, dazed, dead, disinterested, docile, doltish, dopey, dormant, draggy, dreamy, drooping, droopy, drowsy, drugged, dull, dulled, emotionless, empty, enervated, exhausted, fallow, fatigued, flat, floppy glassy, glassy-eyed, groggy, haggard, hazy, hoary, hypnotic, hypnotized, idle, immobile, impassive, impervious, inactive, inanimate, inattentive, incapacitated, indifferent, indolent, inert, insensate, insipid, lackadaisical, languid, languorous, late, latent, lazy, leaden, lethargic, lifeless, listless, logy, lymphatic, malingering, moribund, mute, numb, overripe, paralyzed, passive, phlegmatic, placid, pococurante, poky, porcine, punch-drunk, punchy, rusty, sagging, sapped, satiated, sedentary, semi- comatose, semiconscious, senseless, shiftless, shot, slack, sleepy, slothful, slow, slowpoke, sluggish, sodden, somnolent, spaced-out, spent, spiritless, stagnant, static, stiff, stuporous, supine, tardy, tepid, tired, torpid, truant, uninterested, unmindful, unmotivated, unresponsive vacant, vacuous, weary, wizened, world-weary, worn-out, yawning, zomboid, zonked |
| Describing happy and optimistic outlook to life | agrin, airy, amazed, amused, amusing, astonished, beatific, bemused, blissful, blithe, buoyant, carefree, cavalier, cheerful, cheery, chipper, content, contented, convivial, delighted, devil-may-care, droll, ebullient, ecstatic, elated, enchanted, enraptured, enthusiastic,euphoric, expectant, exuberant, exultant, fanciful, fancy-free, festive, flying, frolicsome, fulfilled, fun-loving, funny, glad, gleeful, glowing, happy, happy-go-lucky, harmonious, hilarious, hopeful, humorous, impish, infectious jaunty, jocose, jocular, jocund, jolly, jovial, joyful, joyous, jubilant, laughing, lighthearted, merry, mirthful, mischievous, optimistic, overjoyed, perky, playful, pleased, puckish, radiant, rapturous, ravished, relieved, rhapsodic, roguish, roseate, rosy, sanguine, sated, satisfied, silly, sky-high, spirited, sportive, starry-eyed, stoked, sunny, thankful, triumphant, waggish, whimsical, wishful |
| Describing unhappy sad and pessimistic outlook to life | abject, absorbed, abysmal, achy, afflicted, aggrieved, agonizing, anguished, beleaguered, bereaved, bereft, bleak, blue, brokenhearted, brooding, bummed, bummed-out, chagrined, cheerless, contrite, crestfallen, crushed, dark, dejected, demure, depressed, deprived, desolate, despondent, disconsolate, discontented, discouraged, disenchanted, disgusted, disillusioned, dismal, dissatisfied, distraught, distressed, disturbed, doleful, dolorous, doomed, dour, down, down-at-heel, downbeat, downcast, elegiac, embittered, fatalistic, forlorn, fretful, funereal, gloomy, glum, grave, grief-stricken, grieving, grim, grouchy, gram, grumpy, guilt-ridden, guilty, hapless, harried, heartbroken, heavy-hearted, homesick, hopeless, humorless, hurt, inconsolable, indisposed, injured, joyless, lachrymose, languishing, lonely, lonesome, lovesick, lugubrious, melancholy, miserable, misty-eyed, moody, mopey, morbid, morose, mournful, nostalgic, oppressed, out-of-sorts, owlish, pained, pathetic, pensive, perturbed, pessimistic, pining, pitiable, pitiful, plaintive, plangent, poignant, pouty, pungent, regretful, remorseful, repentant, rueful, ruthful, sad, saturnine, serious, severe, sighing, sober, solemn, somber, soppy, sorrowful, sorry, stern, stricken, subdued, suffering, suicidal, sulky, sullen, surly, teary, teary-eyed, tortured, tragic, tristful, troubled, unfortunate, unfulfilled, unhappy, unlucky wailful, weepy, wistful, woebegone, woeful, wounded, wrecked, wretched, wronged |
| Describing inherent positive emotional status: Calm, gentle, and easygoing types | apollonian, calm, casual, composed, constrained, cool, cool-headed, demure, dewy, dispassionate, dryeyed, easygoing, emollient, even-tempered gentle, imperturbable, laconic, laid-back, lenient, levelheaded, low-key, low-pressure, meditative, mellow, mild, muted neutral, nonchalant, nonviolent, objective, pacific, pacifistic, passive, patient, peaceful, poised, quiet, relaxed, restrained, reticent, sedate, self-disciplined, self-possessed, serene, soft, steady, stoical, subdued taciturn, tame, temperate, tempered, tranquil, unbothered, unemotional, unflappable, unforced, unhassled, unhurried, unruffled, unstirred, untroubled |
| Describing inherent negative emotional status: Angry, aggressive, and passionate types | aggravated, aggressive, aghast, agitated, amorous, angered, angry, animated, annoyed, antsy, argumentative, avid, bellicose, belligerent, blooming, brash, breathless choleric, combative, competitive, contentious, dedicated, defiant, dramatic, edgy, effusive, emotional, excitable, excited, explosive, ferocious, feverish, fierce, fiery, fire-eating, flighty, flustered, frazzled, free-swinging, frenzied, fuming, furious harried, hassled, henpecked, high-keyed, high-pressure,high-strung, hostile, hot, hot-blooded, hotheaded, huffy, hungry, hyper, hysterical impassioned, impetuous, impulsive, incensed, indignant, inflammatory, intemperate, intensive, intent, irascible, irate, irrepressible, jealous livid, lusty mad, manic, miffed, militant, militaristic, overwrought, overzealous passionate, peeved, peppery, perfervid, piqued, pissed, pissed off, pugnacious, pushy quarrelsome rabid, raddled, raging, rambunctious, rash, resentful, restive, restless, ruffled, rumbustious scrappy, seething, self-indulgent, sensuous, short, short-tempered, sick and tired, snappish, sore, steaming, stewing, sthenic, stir-crazy, stirred up, stormy, strained, subjective, sulfurous, sultry, temperamental, tempestuous, tense, testy, ticked, ticked-off, ticklish, torrid, touchy, troubled, truculent, tumultuous, turbulent, turned-on, unglued, unreasonable, unreconciled, unremitting, unrestrained, unsettled, unstable, upset, vehement, Vesuvian, vexed, violent, visceral, volcanic, warm-blooded, white-hot, worked-up, wound-up, wrathful, wrought-up, wroth, zealous |
| Describing a person's view of life: Moderate and balanced views and opinions | balanced, businesslike, careful, cautious, celibate, chary, circumspect, clocklike, closemouthed, collected, composed, concise, concrete, conscientious, conservative, consistent, constant, controlled, conventional, cool-headed, diplomatic, down-to-earth, equitable, factual, frugal, gingerly, inveterate, laconic, levelheaded, matter-of-fact, middle-of-the-road, mild, moderate, modest, no-nonsense, objective, obsolete, old-fashioned, orderly, orthodox, ossified, outdated, outmoded, passe, penny-wise, pious, practical, pragmatic, prudent rational, reasonable, regimented, regular, safe, sane, sensible, sober, sound, sparing, square, stable, standardized, standpat, steady, stick-in-the-mud, sticky, stodgy, strait-laced, stringent, studied, tactful, temperate, thrifty, tough-minded, ultraconservative, utilitarian, workmanlike |
| Describing a person's view of life: Excessive and radical views | aberrant, abnormal, addictive, alcoholic, amok, anarchic, anarchistic, apoplectic, avaricious, berserk, brash, chaotic, crazed, crazy, daffy, daft, delirious, demoniacal, deranged, deviant, dizzy, dotty, dysfunctional, eldritch, epicurean, erratic, esurient, excessive, extravagant, extreme, fanatic, fanatical, febrile, fey, flagrant, flaky, florid, frantic, freakish, frenetic, frenzied, gonzo, greedy, headlong, hedonistic, heedless, hog wild, homicidal, hyper, hysterical, immodest, incendiary, inordinate, insane, insatiable, irrational, kamikaze, lunatic, mad, madcap, maniacal, monomaniacal, nihilistic, obsessive, odd, off, off-the-wall, overwrought, perfervid, phrenetic, pinko, pixilated, potty, prodigal, profuse, psycho, psychotic, punk, quirky, rabid, radical, raging, rakish, rapacious, rash, ravening, raving, reckless, screwy, spasmodic, strange, streaky, surreal, ultra, ultraist, unbalanced, unbridled, unconventional, uncurbed, unfettered, unhinged, unrestrained, voracious, wacky, warped, wasteful, way-out, weird, wiggy, wild-eyed, wired zany, zooey |
| Vocabulary for describing a person's manners: Proper, courteous, and refined manners | ceremonious, chaste, civil, civilized, classical, clubby, conforming, conventional, correct, courteous, courtly, couth, cultivated, cultured decent, decorous, delicate, demure, dignified, diplomatic, discreet, effete, elitist, established, esthetic, ethical, fastidious, felicitous, finicky, formal, fussy, gallant, genteel, gentlemanly, gracious, holier-than-thou, honorable, ingratiating, irreproachable, kosher, law-abiding, legitimate, maidenly, mannered, matronly, modern, modest, moral, moralistic, obedient, official, orthodox, polite, pompous, precious, presentable, priggish, prim, prissy, pristine, professional, proper, prudent, prudish, punctilious, punctual, puritanical, refined, religious, reputable, respectable, respectful, rhetorical, righteous, rigid, safe, sanctimonious, seemly, self-righteous, smooth, smug, snobbish, snooty, soapy, sporting, sportsmanlike, squeamish, stable, staid, starchy, stiff, stilted, straight, stuffy, suave, tasteful, taut, traditional, tweedy, unflappable, upright, uptight, urbane, well-behaved, well bred, well mannered |
| Vocabulary for describing manners: Vulgar and rude manners | abandoned, aberrant, abnormal, abominable, aboriginal, abusive, animalistic, atavistic, barbaric, base, bawdy, beastly, bibulous, bizarre, blasphemous, blooey, blunt, boorish, brash, brazen, brutish, caddish, cannibalistic, carnal, cheap, cheeky, coarse, common, coquettish, crass, crude, debauched, decadent, degenerate, depraved, deviant, dirty, dirty-minded, discourteous, disobedient, disorderly, disreputable, dissipated, dissolute, egregious, feral, flatulent, flip, flippant, flooey, foul, garish, gauche, gross, heathenish, heteroclite, heterodox, hoggish, ill-bred, illicit, ill-mannered, immoderate, immoral, impertinent, impolite, impolitic, improper, impudent, inappropriate, incongruous, indecent, indecorous, indelicate, inexcusable, informal, insolent, intoxicated, irregular, irreverent, kinky, knockabout, lascivious, lawless, lecherous, lewd, libertine, libidinous, licentious, loose, loud, low, lowbrow, lubricious, lustful, mannerless, meretricious, native, naughty, obscene, obstreperous, offbeat, offhand, outlandish, outrageous, overdressed, perverted, plebeian, primitive, profane, profligate, promiscuous, prurient, prying, queer, Rabelaisian, racy, raffish, rakish, rambunctious, randy, rank, raucous, raunchy, raw, rebellious, refractory, revolutionary, ribald, riotous, ripped, rip-roaring, risque, roily, rough, rough-and-tumble, rough-hewn, rowdy, rowdydowdy, rude, rumbustious, rustic, ruttish, salacious, sassy, savage, scabrous, scandalous, scurrilous, self-abandoned, shameless, showy, slutty, smutty, steamy, swinish, tactless, tasteless, tawdry, tipsy, trashy, unbecoming, unblushing, uncivil, uncivilized, uncontrollable, unconventional, uncool, uncouth, uncultured, undiplomatic, ungracious, unmanageable, unmannered, unmannerly, unnatural, unrefined, unruly, unseemly, unsportsmanlike, untamed, untoward, vulgar, wanton, weird, wild |
| Describing intelligent and clever personality types | abreast, accurate, acute, analytical, apt, articulate, astute, au fait, authoritative, bookish, bright, brilliant, broad-ranging canny, cerebral, clear, clearheaded, clearsighted, clever, cogent, cognizant, coherent, comprehensive, concise, conscious, conversant, cunning, discerning, donnish, droll educated, erudite, expert, facile, fluent glib, heads-up, heady, highbrow, high-minded, imaginative, incisive, informed, ingenious, innovative, inquiring, inquisitive, insightful, intellectual, intelligent, interpretive, inventive, keen, knowing, knowledgeable, learned, limpid, literate,logical, lucid, luminous, observant, omnilegent, omniscient, organized, pawky, pedagogic, penetrating, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, piercing, pithy, precocious, prescient, proficient, profound quick-witted rational, recondite, reflective, retentive, right, ruminant, savvy, serious-minded, sharp, sharp-witted, shrewd, silver-tongued, smart, smoothtongued, subtle, succinct, terse, trenchant, tuned-in, ultrasmart, uncanny, understanding, unerring, urbane, well-advised, well-informed, well-read, well-rounded, well-spoken, witty, worldly, worldly-wise |
| Describing stupid, ignorant personality types | absent-minded, abstracted, addlebrained, addled, agog, amnesiac, backward, baffled, befogged, befuddled, benighted, besotted, bewildered, blithering, bovine, confounded, confused, cretinous, dense, dim, dimwitted, disorganized, disoriented, doltish, dull, dumb, dumbfounded, duncical, empty-headed, erroneous, fallible, fatuous, fat-witted, feeble-minded, foggy, fuzzy, hazy, idiotic, ignorant, illiterate, imbecilic, inarticulate, incognizant, incoherent, incompetent, inconscient, lumpish, maundering, mindless, mixed-up, moronic, muddled, muddleheaded, myopic, mystified, numb, oblivious, obtuse, opaque, perplexed, preoccupied, puzzled, rambling, rattled, retarded, scatterbrained, senile, simple, simpleminded, slow, slow-witted, sophomoric, spaced, spaced-out, spacey, speechless, stunned, stunted, stupefied, stupid, stuporous, subliterate, subnormal, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted, turbid, unclear, unconscious, undiscerning, unfocused, uninformed, unknowing, unlearned, unlettered, unorganized, unread, unschooled, unskilled, untutored, unversed, vacant, vacuous, witless, woodenheaded, woozy, wrong, zoned out, zonked out |
| Describing a person's abilities: Bright and skillful | ablaze, able, acclaimed, accomplished, adept, adequate, admirable, admired, ageless, aglow, all-around, amazing, ambidextrous, anointed, artful, artistic, arty, atypical, auspicious, avant-garde, bedazzling, blessed, bodacious, breathtaking, bright, brilliant, capable, celebrated, charismatic, colorful, competent, conspicuous, consummate, controversial, coordinated, corking, creative, creditable dazzling, different, distinct, distinctive, distinguished, divine, eccentric, efficient, effulgent, eminent, esteemed, estimable, excellent, exceptional, exclusive, exemplary, exotic, extraordinary, famous, fascinating, favored, fine, first-class, first-rate, flashing, foremost, fortunate, glimmering, glittering, glorious, glossy, glowing, grand, great handy, heavenly, honored, iconoclastic, idiosyncratic, illuminated, illustrious, imaginative, imperial, important, imposing, impressive, incandescent, incomparable, incredible, individual, indubitable, inimitable, inspiring, invaluable, inviolate, iridescent, jazzy, light, lucky, luminous, lustrous magical, magnificent, majestic, major, marquee, marvelous, masterful, matchless, nonpareil, notable, noted, noteworthy, novel original, otherworldly, outstanding, peculiar, peerless, perfect, phenomenal, praiseworthy, preeminent, prepared, prestigious, priceless, primary, Promethean, prominent, protean, proverbial, quaint, qualified, radiant, rare, refulgent, remarkable, renowned, resourceful, respected, resplendent, reverential, ripe, sacred, saintly, scintillating, select, sensational, serendipitous, shining, signal, significant, singular, skillful, sole, sovereign, sparkling, special, spicy, splendid, startling, stellar, storied, stupendous, sublime, successful, super, superb, superhuman, superior, superlative, supernatural, supreme, surefooted, sure-handed, talented, terrific, tiptop, titled, together, top, topflight, topnotch, top-of-the-line, towering, transfigured, uncommon, unconventional, unequaled, unexcelled, unique, unmatched, unorthodox, unprecedented, unusual, unwonted, utopian, valuable, valued, varied, vast, versatile, victorious, vintage, vivid, well-known, well-spoken, well-thought-of, whiz-bang, wonderful, wondrous, worthwhile, worthy |
| Describing a person's abilities: Dull or average | automatic, average, banal, bland, blank, boring, bourgeois, characterless, colorless, common, commonplace, conventional, cursory, customary, elated, derivative, dim, dingy, dismal, down-to-earth, drab, dreary, dull, empty, everyday, expressionless, faded, fair, fallible, familiar, faulty, flat, glib, gratuitous, habitual, hackneyed, homespun, humble, humdrum, imitative, inartistic, inconclusive, inconspicuous, indifferent, inefficient, inept, inferior, inglorious, innocuous, insignificant, insipid, jejune, lackluster, lifeless, low-class, lowly, low- quality, lukewarm, lusterless, matter-of-fact, mediocre, menial, middling, mild, minor, modest, mortal, mundane, musty, negligible, nondescript, obvious, okay, one-dimensional, ordinary, passable, pedestrian, perfunctory, petit bourgeois, plain, plain-spoken, plastic, plebeian, proletarian, prosaic, prototypical, regular, repetitive, rinky-dink, run-of-the- mill, secondary, second-class, second-rate, shoddy, simple, small-time, soggy, soporific, spare, stagnant, stale, standard, stereotypical, sterile, stock, stripped-down, subordinate, superficial, superfluous, tarnished, tasteless, tedious, tepid, terrestrial, timeworn, tiresome, tolerable, trite, typical, unadorned, unassuming, undistinctive, undistinguished, unexceptional, unexciting, unhip, unimaginative, uninspiring, uninteresting, unprepared, unpretentious, unqualified, unsung, untalented, untitled, useless, usual, vapid, workaday, would-be |
| Describing one's level of maturity: Wise and experienced | actualized, adult, all-knowing, all-seeing, august, aware, awesome, balanced, broad, broad-minded, centered, clear, clear-sighted, cogent, coherent, complex, contemplative, deep, discriminating, disinterested, dispassionate, eloquent, enlightened, ethereal, exalted, experienced, farseeing, farsighted, focused, grand, grown-up, immortal, impartial, infallible, infinite, influential, integrated, judicious, just, large-minded, levelheaded, lofty, lucid, magisterial, majestic, mantic, masterful, masterly, mature, metaphysical, mystical, noble, old, omnipresent, omniscient, open-minded, orbicular, oriented, patriarchal, perfect, philosophical, practiced, prescient, profound, prophetic, resonant, sacred, sacrosanct, sagacious, sage, sapient, serene, sophisticated, spiritual, sublime, supernal, supreme, sybilline, telepathic, unassailable, unbiased, understanding, universal, venerable, veteran, visionary, weathered, weighty, wise, wizardly |
| Describing one's level of maturity: Foolish and immature | abstract, absurd, adolescent, affected, amateurish, anthropocentric, anti-intellectual, artless, artsy, asinine, bathetic, bedazzled, biased, bigoted, blind, bumbling, callow, capricious, careless, childish, chumpish, clownish, comical, corny, cretinous, cute, cutesy, daffy, daft, distracted, dopey, ethnocentric, farcical, flabbergasted, flatulent, flighty, foolhardy, foolish, foppish, frivolous, frothy, garrulous, gibbering, giddy, goofy, half-baked, harebrained, harum-scarum, hasty, homophobic, idiotic, ill-advised, imbecilic, immature, impetuous, impractical, imprudent, inane, indiscreet, inexperienced, infantile, injudicious, in the clouds, irrational, juvenile, laughable, lightheaded, long-winded, loquacious, ludicrous, melodramatic, mincing, minor, misanthropic, misogynous, moronic, mushyheaded, muzzy, naive, narrow, narrow-minded, nattering, nerdy, nonplussed, nutty, parochial, pedantic, petty, piddling, pinchbeck, prejudiced, preposterous, pretentious, prolix, provincial, pubescent, puerile, quixotic, quizzical, rash, rattlebrained, redundant, repetitious, ridiculoussappy, sectarian, sententious, shallow,soft-headed, sophistic, speechless, spoony, superficial, superstitious, trifling, trivial, unfledged, ungrounded, unrealistic, unwise, unworldly, verdant, waggish, wide-eyed, windy, woollyheaded, yeasty, youthful, zany |
| Describing moral status: Good, sincere and honest | aboveboard, angelic, authentic benevolent, bona fide, candid, capital, choice, conscientious, constant dear, decent, deserving, devout, direct, earnest, ethical, fair, fair-minded, fine, first-rate, forthcoming, forthright, foursquare, frank, free, genuine, God-fearing, good, guileless, harmonious, high-minded, holy, honest, honorable, humane, idealistic, impartial, incorruptible, irreproachable judicious, just loving, loyal, magnanimous, moral, natural, noble, organic, real, reliable, reverent, righteous, right-minded, scrupulous, selfless, seraphic, simon-pure, sincere, straightforward, sublime, true, true-blue, truthful, unimpeachable, up-and-up, up-front, upright, upstanding, veracious, vestal, virtuous, wholehearted, wholesome, worthy |
| Describing moral status: Bad, false and dishonest | accursed, adulterous, affected, amoral, apocryphal, apostate, arch, artificial, awful, backhanded, bad, baleful, baneful, barefaced, base, bent, bloodthirsty, bogus, calumnious, canting, casuistic, contemptible, corrupt, counterfeit, crafty, crooked, cunning, cursed, damned, debased, deceitful, deceptive, delusive, demoniacal, despicable, detestable, devilish, devious, diabolical, disgraced, dishonest, disingenuous, disloyal, dissembling, duplicitous, egregious, evasive, evil, execrable, fake, fallen, false, fatuous, feigned, fell, fiendish, flagitious, flagrant, foul, foxy, fraudulent, fulsome, furtive, guileful, hangdog, heinous, heretical, hexed, high-sounding, hollow, horrid, hypocritical ignoble, ignominious, infamous, infernal, insidious, insincere, irredeemable Janus-faced, jive loathsome, lowdown malefic, malevolent, malignant, mealy-mouthed, mendacious, miscreant, misleading, mock, monstrous, moralistic, murderous, nefarious, odious, ostentatious, perfidious, pernicious, perverse, phony, predatory, pretentious, pseudo, purulent, recreant, reprobate, rotten, sanctimonious, scurvy, selfish, serpentine, shady, sham, shameful, shifty, sinful, sinister, slanderous, slippery, sly, sneaky, sophistic, sorcerous, specious, spurious, stealthy, synthetic, tainted, terrible, traitorous, treacherous, two-faced, unashamed, unconscionable, unctuous, underhanded, unfair, ungodly, unholy, unjust, unpardonable, unprincipled, unscrupulous, untruthful, unworthy, vain, venal, venomous, vile, villainous, viperous, virtueless, vulpine, wicked, wily, worthless |
| Vocabulary for describing giving, generous personality types | accessible, accommodating, adaptable, approving, artless beatific, believing candid, careless, childlike, complaisant, compliant, credulous, democratic, dewy-eyed, doting, dulcet, easy, faithful, frank, free, generous, giving, good-natured, gracious, grateful, guileless, gullible, hopeful, humble, impressionable, inconsistent, indiscriminate, indulgent, ingenuous, innocent, instinctive, intuitive, lax, liberal, naive, natural, obliging, open, permissive, rapt, reciprocating, saccharine, selfless, simple, sugary, sweet, syrupy, tender, tolerant, transparent, trustful, trusting, ultraliberal, unabashed, uncritical, understanding, undesigning, unguarded, unquestioning, unsophisticated, unsparing, unsullied, unsuspecting, unwitting, young |
| Vocabulary for describing Demanding, selfish personality types | abrasive, accusatory, acerbic, acidic, acquisitive, admonishing, agnostic, arbitrary, arrogant, assiduous, assumptive, atheistic, biting, blameful, bumptious, cagey, calculating, captious, carping, categorical, caustic, caviling, censorious, challenging, cheap, chiding, choosy, clinical, compulsive, conceited, condescending, constipated, contemptuous, contradictory, contrary, costive, covetous, crafty, critical, deliberate, demanding, deprecatory, derogatory, dictatorial, didactic, disabused, disapproving, disbelieving, disciplined, discriminating, disdainful, disparaging, distrustful, doctrinaire, dogmatic, egocentric, exacting, exigent, facetious, fastidious, fault-finding, fussy, gluttonous, grabby, greedy, guarded, hard, harsh, high-and-mighty, hubristic, huffy, hypercritical, impatient, incisive, insistent, ironic, judgmental, logical, materialistic, measured, methodical, meticulous, mocking, mordacious, mordant, narcissistic, niggling, obsessive, omnivorous, opinionated, opportunistic, painstaking, particular, patronizing, pejorative, peremptory, perseverant, persistent, pertinacious, picky, pointed, political, precise, procacious, querulous, ravenous, rebuking, reproving, rigorous, sanctimonious, sarcastic, sardonic, satiric, satirical, scolding, scornful, scrimping, scrupulous, sedulous, selective, self-centered, selfish, self-serving, self-willed, sharp, sharp-edged, skeptical, slashing, specific, stingy, supercilious, superior, systematic, tactical, tendentious, thorough, tireless, trenchant, ultracritical, unbelieving, ungenerous, unrelenting, unstinting, uppish, vain, vituperative, voracious, withholding, wolfish, wry |
| Way with people: Helpful, positive, or nice to others | accessory, accommodating, aggrandizing, altruistic, amenable, amicable, attached, avuncular, beneficent, benevolent, benign, big-hearted, brotherly, caring, charitable, chivalrous, civic-minded, clement, compassionate, concerned, conciliatory, conscientious, considerate, constructive, cooperative, dutiful, eager, equable, equitable, faithful, fatherly, felicitous, fortunate, fraternal, good-hearted, helpful, heroic, humane, humanitarian, indulgent, instructive, intimate, large,,lenient, loving, loyal, magnanimous, maternal, merciful, motherly, neighborly, nice, obliging, paternal, patriotic, philanthropic, pleasant, positive, progressive, propitiatory, propitious, protective, provident, reliable, responsible, responsive, selfless, self-sacrificing, sensitive, sharing, sisterly, social, social-minded, solicitous, soothing, sunny, supportive, sympathetic, tender, thoughtful, tonic, trustworthy, trusty, unfailing, unselfish, upbeat, useful, valuable, voluntary, well-intentioned, well-meaning, wholesome, worthwhile |
| Way with people: Troublesome, negative, or unpleasant to others | abrasive, abusive, acrid, acrimonious, annoying, antagonistic, argumentative, avaricious, averse, baneful, bilious, bitter, bothersome, bullying, cagey, capricious, cloying, complaining, covetous, crafty, crappy, creepy, crotchety, crummy, cutthroat, dangerous, designing, destructive, difficult, discontented, disquieting, disturbing, divisive, downbeat, envious, fearsome, fickle, fierce, foxy, harsh, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrific, importunate, incompatible, infamous, inhumane, snobbish, snoopy, snotty, sordid, sour, spiteful, spleenful, sticky, stuck-up, subversive, terrifying, thorny, thoughtless, toxic, treacly, tricky, troublesome, truculent, unconcerned, undependable, unfaithful, nosy, invidious, irksome, irreconcilable, irresponsible jackleg, jangly, jaundiced, libelous, lousy, lupine, maddening, maladjusted, manipulative, mean, meddlesome, menacing, nagging, nauseating, negative, negligent, nerve-racking, nettlesome, nihilistic, notorious, noxious, objectionable, obnoxious, odious, offensive, officious, ominous, onerous, oppressive, pernicious, pesky, pestilent, pesty, petulant, pompous, prankish, preachy, prickly, provocative, pugnacious, querulous, rancid, rancorous, rapacious, rascally, remorseless, reprehensible, restrictive, rivalrous, roguish, sacrilegious, savage, scary, scathing, scurrilous, seditious, self-destructive, severe, sharp, sick, slanderous, slashing, slinking, sly, small, smirking, snide, sniffy, ungrateful, unpleasant, unsympathetic, useless, venomous, vicious, vindictive, virulent, vitriolic, vituperative, vulpine |
About Different Personality Types Describing Physical Appearance