Exercises on adjectives describing the character of the English language. Tasty, bright, juicy words, or English adjectives that characterize a person

  • 21.10.2019

Nothing characterizes a person better than an adjective served with an unusual sauce of other bright adjectives and decorated with a bright ribbon.

When meeting a person, the first thing we can describe is his appearance. Do not limit yourself to a standard set of words, as there is a lot of vocabulary that will help you in this difficult task. So, you can tell a girl that she is beautiful using words beautiful, pretty, cute(sweetheart, lovely), stunning(stunning). Men were less fortunate. For them there is only one word that characterizes male beauty - handsome.

Speaking about human growth, it is worth remembering three words - tall(high), short(short), of medium height(medium height). If you want to talk about age, use young(young), old(elderly), middle-aged(middle-aged).

If you want to talk more about hair, you should remember the following words: long (hair)- long hair
short (hair)- short hair
shoulder-length– shoulder length
curly– curly
wavy– wavy
bald- bald

If your friend has special facial features, pay attention to the vocabulary below:

almond-shaped eyes– almond-shaped eyes
snub-nosed- a person with a snub nose
turned-up nose- snub nose
freckled– freckled

So, we sorted out the appearance. You can go directly to the character of a person. And then prepare your memory cards, use your brain at full capacity, stock up on pen and paper, or just try to remember all the necessary words. It is not surprising that we can say good or bad about a person, because sometimes we have to describe people who we don’t like at all.

Aggressive– aggressive
Angry (vicious)- evil, spiteful
Arrogant– arrogant or someone who always turns his nose up
Boastful- boastful
Faint-hearted- cowardly
Dishonest– dishonest
Flabby, weak-willed– weak-willed
Fussy- nervous, fussy. We can also add here nervous
Excitable, high-strung– easily excitable
Hypocritical– hypocritical
Impatient– impatient
Indecisive– indecisive
Mercenary– selfish
Narrow-minded– thinking in one direction (limited)
Rebellious- rebellious, rebellious
Rude- rude
Secretive– secretive
Self-assured– arrogant
Self-centered– self-centered
Self-confident- self-confident
Self-conscious- shy, shy
Selfish– selfish
Taciturn, silent- silent
Unscrupulous- unprincipled
Unpredictable– unpredictable
Vain- vain, narcissistic
Violent- hot-tempered

I am sure that these adjectives are quite enough to fully describe your boss in a dream if you don’t like him. Well, if your leader is an angel in the flesh, write down and memorize the next batch of words. Let's start.

Affectionate– loving
Ambitious- ambitious
Competent– knowledgeable, qualified
Considerate– delicate, attentive to others
Courageous- courageous, fearless
Dedicated- devoted, convinced
Easygoing- good-natured, easy-going
Experienced– experienced
Fair-minded- impartial, fair
Frank- frank
Generous- noble, kind
Hard-working- hardworking
Imaginative– creative, imaginative
Lively- lively, energetic
Outgoing, social– sociable
Remarkable- wonderful, outstanding
Sensible, well-balanced- sensible
Tender- affectionate
Thoughtful- caring, attentive
Tolerant– tolerant
Trustworthy- reliable

Now you know that adjectives in English that characterize a person can be a real weapon in your hands. When expressing your own point of view, be sure to give reasons for your opinion in order to avoid the emergence of other implications.

When a new personality is born, it receives a unique character as a gift. Human nature can consist of traits inherited from parents, or it can manifest itself in a completely different, unexpected quality.

Nature not only determines behavioral reactions, it specifically influences the manner of communication, attitude towards others and oneself, and towards work. A person's character traits create a certain worldview in an individual.

A person’s behavioral reactions depend on character

These two definitions create confusion because they both play a role in shaping personality and behavior. In fact, character and temperament are heterogeneous:

  1. Character is formed from a list of certain acquired qualities of a person’s mental make-up.
  2. Temperament is a biological quality. Psychologists distinguish four types of it: choleric, melancholic, sanguine and phlegmatic.

Having the same temperament, individuals can have completely different characters. But temperament has an important influence on the development of nature - smoothing or exacerbating it. Also, human nature directly affects temperament.

What is character

Psychologists, speaking about character, mean a certain combination of individual traits that are persistent in their expression. These traits have the maximum impact on the behavioral line of the individual in diverse relationships:

  • among people;
  • in the work team;
  • to one's own personality;
  • to the surrounding reality;
  • to physical and mental labor.

The word "character" is of Greek origin and means "to mint." This definition was introduced into everyday use by the natural scientist of Ancient Greece, the philosopher Theophrastus. Such a word really, very accurately defines the nature of an individual.


Theophrastus was the first to coin the term "character"

The character seems to be drawn as a unique drawing; it gives birth to a unique stamp, which is worn by the individual in a single copy.

To put it simply, character is a set, a combination of stable individual mental characteristics.

How to understand nature

To understand what kind of nature an individual has, you need to analyze all his actions. It is behavioral reactions that determine examples of character and characterize personality.

But such a judgment is often subjective. A person does not always react the way his intuition tells him. Actions are influenced by upbringing, life experience, and customs of the environment where the person lives.

But you can understand what kind of character a person has. By observing and analyzing the actions of a certain person for a long time, it is possible to identify individual, especially stable traits. If a person behaves the same way in completely different situations, showing similar reactions, makes the same decision, this indicates the presence of a certain nature.

Knowing which character traits are manifested and predominant in an individual, one can predict how he will manifest himself in a given situation.

Character and its traits

A character trait is an important part of a personality; it is a stable quality that determines the interaction between a person and the surrounding reality. This is the defining method of resolving emerging situations, therefore psychologists consider a personality trait as a predictable personal behavior.


Variety of characters

A person acquires characteristics of character throughout his entire life; it is impossible to classify individual traits of nature as innate and characterological. To analyze and assess a personality, a psychologist not only determines the totality of individual characteristics, but also identifies their distinctive features.

It is character traits that are defined as primary in the study and compilation of psychological characteristics of a person.

But, when defining and assessing a person, studying behavioral traits in social terms, the psychologist also uses knowledge of the meaningful orientation of nature. It is defined in:

  • strength-weakness;
  • breadth-narrowness;
  • static-dynamic;
  • integrity-contradiction;
  • integrity-fragmentation.

Such nuances constitute a general, complete characteristic of a particular person.

List of personality traits

Human nature is a complex combination of unique traits that forms a unique system. This order includes the most striking, stable personal qualities, revealed in gradations of human-society relationships:

Relationship system Inherent Traits of an Individual
Pros Cons
To self Fastidiousness Condescension
Self-criticism Narcissism
Meekness Boastfulness
Altruism Egocentrism
To the people around you Sociability Closedness
Complacency Callousness
Sincerity Deceit
Justice Injustice
Community Individualism
Sensitivity Callousness
Courtesy Shamelessness
To work Organization Laxity
Mandatory Cluelessness
Performance Sloppiness
Enterprise Inertia
Hard work Laziness
To items Economy Wastefulness
Thoroughness Negligence
Neatness Negligence

In addition to the character traits included by psychologists in the gradation of relationships (as a separate category), manifestations of nature in the moral, temperamental, cognitive and sthenic spheres were highlighted:

  • moral: humanity, toughness, sincerity, good nature, patriotism, impartiality, responsiveness;
  • temperamental: passion, sensuality, romance, liveliness, receptivity; passion, frivolity;
  • intellectual (cognitive): analytical, flexible, inquisitive, resourceful, efficient, critical, thoughtful;
  • sthenic (volitional): categoricalness, persistence, obstinacy, stubbornness, determination, timidity, courage, independence.

Many leading psychologists are inclined to believe that some personality traits should be divided into two categories:

  1. Productive (motivational). Such traits push a person to perform certain actions and actions. These are goal-traits.
  2. Instrumental. Giving personality during any activity individuality and method (manner) of action. These are methods-traits.

Gradation of character traits according to Allport


Allport's theory

The famous American psychologist Gordon Allport, an expert and developer of gradations of an individual’s personal characteristics, divided personality traits into three classes:

Dominant. Such traits most clearly reveal the behavioral form: actions, activities of a certain person. These include: kindness, selfishness, greed, secrecy, gentleness, modesty, greed.

Ordinary. They manifest themselves equally in all numerous areas of human life. These are: humanity, honesty, generosity, arrogance, altruism, egocentrism, cordiality, openness.

Secondary. These nuances do not have a particular impact on behavioral reactions. These are not dominant behaviors. These include musicality, poetry, diligence, and diligence.

A strong relationship is formed between a person’s existing personality traits. This pattern forms the final character of the individual.

But any existing structure has its own hierarchy. The human warehouse was no exception. This nuance is traced in Allport's proposed gradation structure, where minor traits can be suppressed by dominant ones. But in order to predict an individual’s actions, it is necessary to focus on the entire set of personality traits.

What is typicality and individuality?

The manifestation of the nature of each person always reflects the individual and typical. This is a harmonious combination of personal qualities, because the typical serves as the basis for identifying the individual.

What is a typical character. When a person has a certain set of traits that are the same (common) for a specific group of people, such a warehouse is called typical. It is like a mirror, reflecting the accepted and habitual conditions of existence of a particular group.

Also, typical features depend on the warehouse (a certain type of nature). They are also a condition for the emergence of a behavioral type of character into the category of which a person is “recorded.”

Having understood exactly what characteristics are inherent in a given personality, a person can be drawn up an average (typical) psychological portrait and assigned a certain type of temperament. For example:

Positive Negative
Choleric
Activity Incontinence
Energy Hot temper
Sociability Aggressiveness
Determination Irritability
Initiative Rudeness in communication
Impulsiveness Unstable behavior
Phlegmatic person
Perseverance Low activity
Performance Slowness
Calm Inactivity
Consistency Unsociability
Reliability Individualism
Integrity Laziness
Sanguine
Sociability Aversion to monotony
Activity Superficiality
Goodwill Lack of persistence
Adaptability Poor perseverance
Cheerfulness frivolity
Courage Recklessness in actions
Resourcefulness Inability to concentrate
Melancholic
Sensitivity Closedness
Impressionability Low activity
Performance Unsociability
Restraint Vulnerability
Cordiality Shyness
Accuracy Poor performance

Such typical character traits, corresponding to a certain temperament, are observed in each (to one degree or another) representative of the group.

Individual manifestation. Relationships between individuals always have an evaluative characteristic; they are manifested in a rich variety of behavioral reactions. The manifestation of an individual’s individual traits is greatly influenced by emerging circumstances, the formed worldview and a certain environment.

This characteristic is reflected in the vividness of the individual's various typical features. They vary in intensity and develop individually for each individual.

Some typical traits manifest themselves so powerfully in a person that they become not just individual, but unique.

In this case, typicality develops, by definition, into individuality. This personality classification helps to identify the negative characteristics of an individual that prevent them from expressing themselves and achieving a certain position in society.

By working on himself, analyzing and correcting shortcomings in his own character, each person creates the life he strives for.

As Victor Hugo used to say, a person has three characters: one is attributed to him by his environment, another he attributes to himself, and the third is real, objective.

There are more than five hundred human character traits, and not all of them are clearly positive or negative; much depends on the context.

Therefore, any personality that has collected certain qualities in individual proportions is unique.

A person’s character is a specific, unique combination of personal, ordered psychological traits, characteristics, and nuances. It is formed, however, throughout life and manifests itself during work and social interaction.

Soberly assessing and describing the character of the chosen person is not an easy task. After all, not all of its properties are demonstrated to the environment: some features (good and bad) remain in the shadows. And we seem to ourselves to be somewhat different than what we see in the mirror.

Is it possible? Yes, there is a version that this is possible. Through long efforts and training, you are able to assign yourself the qualities you love, becoming a little better.

A person's character is manifested in actions, in social behavior. It is visible in a person’s attitude to work, to things, to other people and in her self-esteem.

In addition, character qualities are divided into groups - “volitional”, “emotional”, “intellectual” and “social”.

We are not born with specific traits, but acquire them through the process of upbringing, education, exploration of the environment, and so on. Of course, the genotype also influences the formation of character: the apple often falls extremely close to the apple tree.

At its core, character is close to temperament, but they are not the same thing.

In order to relatively soberly assess yourself and your role in society, psychologists advise writing down your positive, neutral and negative traits on a piece of paper and analyzing them.

Try to do this too; you will find examples of character traits below.

Positive character traits (list)

Negative character traits (list)

At the same time, some qualities are difficult to classify as good or bad, and they cannot be called neutral. So, any mother wants her daughter to be shy, silent and bashful, but is this beneficial for the girl?

Again, a dreamy person may be cute, but completely unlucky because he always has his head in the clouds. An assertive individual looks stubborn to some, but obnoxious and pushy to others.

Is it bad to be gambling and carefree? How far has cunning gone from wisdom and resourcefulness? Do ambition, ambition, and determination lead to success or to loneliness? It will probably depend on the situation and context.

And what you want to be, you decide for yourself!

Write a list of those qualities of a person that you think are very suitable for him as a person.

We offer you an example of such a list (with a breakdown of each quality). We hope it helps you at least a little:

  1. Workaholism. A person is able to work for a long time and not complain of terrible fatigue.
  2. Altruism. A person always thinks about other people, forgets about his own problems, troubles and worries.
  3. Accuracy. A person tries to take care of his appearance, his clothes, his things.
  4. Creativity. A person thinks outside the box and is able to find a way out of any current situation.
  5. Pedantry. A person acts strictly according to the points of any instruction, without deviating even one step from the information presented.

Adjectives characterizing a person

Sincere, responsible, reliable, inventive, eccentric, talented, selfless, fair, sociable, sympathetic, stress-resistant, strong, attentive, smart, strong.

Accentuation of a person’s character with a description of each type

A person can be characterized taking into account character accentuations. Let's tell you a little about them.

Stuck type

Characterized by obvious “stuckness” on thoughts and experiences. People are unable to forget previous insults, betrayals, and quarrels. In conflict, they take a leading and active position. Arguing with such people is almost always useless and pointless. They will stand their ground and are unlikely to admit they are wrong. “Stuck” people are relentless fighters for real justice.

Negative qualities and aspects of this type: touchiness (seriously and over trifles), vindictiveness, rudeness, straightforwardness, jealousy, arrogance, harshness, non-acceptance of any other person's opinion.

Conformal type

People of this type are distinguished by hyper sociability, turning into talkativeness. Often they do not have their own opinion, they do not strive to somehow stand out from the crowd. “Conforming” people are very fond of various entertainments and do not deny their interest in gambling.

Negative qualities and aspects of this type: a long process of adaptation to anything, insincerity, pretense, duplicity, incorrect perception of objective reality.

Anxious type

People develop feelings of inferiority. They constantly feel like they are acting incorrectly and making mistakes. They don't know how to be themselves because they try to be the best in everything. They cannot be trusted with the position of leader, as nothing good will come of it.

Negative qualities and aspects of this type: fearfulness, shyness, isolation, shyness, “overdoing” with a sense of duty and responsibility, a high degree of sociability only with close people.

Dysthymic type

“Dysthymic” people attract others with their serious approach to any problems and matters, conscientiousness and good-heartedness. They have an extremely negative attitude towards all changes. It is easier for them to live as usual.

Negative qualities and aspects of this type: pessimism, decadent mood, profound slow thinking, love of loneliness, desire to work alone (not in a team).

Cycloid type

The main difference between “cycloid” people is a high degree of efficiency. They dress rather strangely (as they would for picnics, for outdoor recreation). They try to be as interesting as possible for their interlocutors. Charming.

Negative qualities and aspects of this type: instability, inconstancy, excessive gullibility, intrusiveness, laziness, straightforwardness (sometimes), affectation, excessive gesticulation, inattention.

Exalted type

Emotions are reflected in constant (frequent) falling in love. People of this type change their mood so quickly that they do not have time to follow it. “Exaltyrs” are strongly attached to their friends and therefore try not to make trouble with them. They believe in eternal friendship, but often get burned.

Negative qualities and aspects of this type: alarmism, susceptibility to despair, tendency to depression of the neurotic type.

You can characterize a person using knowledge of temperamental characteristics

Characteristics of temperament types

Choleric

Always in moving. There is no despondency and pessimism in him. Choleric is a leader with an explosive character. He always argues to the last, defending his own point of view. His distinctive features and hobbies are hypercommunication, mobility, perseverance, sexuality, a desire for extreme sports and experimentation, courage, and a willingness to take risks.

Sanguine

Quick to learn, resourceful, fair, reasonable and talented. He was used to discipline, cleanliness and order. Doesn't like deception. It is difficult to make a sanguine person lose his temper, but it is possible. Routine work, for example, can do this, since sanguine people cannot stand continuous monotony. As soon as they get tired of performing one or another work task, they immediately begin sending out resumes in order to change the type of usual activity.

Melancholic

He is always betrayed by “frozen” facial expressions, timid speech, excessive vulnerability and touchiness, shyness, gloominess, puzzlement and depression. A melancholic person is very sensitive to criticism and praise. Melancholic people are never afraid of loneliness, because they can find harmony within themselves. Their need for friendship is extremely poorly developed.

Phlegmatic person

A silent, balanced, calm, secretive person. He always manages to get everything done (despite his slowness), since everything in his life is planned in advance. They are distinguished by constancy in tastes, habits, and views.

There are people who belong to the mixed type of temperament. What is temperamental “mixedness”? A type of temperament that includes a “cocktail” of various qualities of sanguine, melancholic, choleric and phlegmatic.

Hello! Very often, when we are asked to describe ourselves or another person in English, we limit ourselves to a verbal depiction of appearance. Meanwhile, a person is a versatile personality, with his own character traits and other characterizing features. Without using these words, you cannot tell anything about a person as an individual.

Describing a person in English

  1. In the vast majority of cases, in order to talk about a person, we use characterizing adjectives. In this article, I tried to collect the most popular adjectives that can be used to describe a man or girl as an individual. For this purpose, you can use words that are part of the following categories:
  • Character traits:
  • Personality traits
  • Mental capacity
  • Strong-willed qualities

Attitude towards other people, towards property, towards work
Let's look at all these categories separately. Dictionary for describing appearance in English

Adjectives characterizing a person in English tall When talking about appearance, we describe height, age, voice, clothing. For example, growth can be high ( short), short ( ) or average ( medium) old, and age - elderly or old ( middle-aged), middle-aged ( young) and young ( ). Speaking about the voice, you can indicate that it is hoarse(cracked ), voiced ( crisp ) or melodic ().

tuneful A smile can be charming ( engaging ), charming ( charming ) and sincere ( sincere ) or vice versa, cunning ( cunning ), played out ( forced ) and insincere ( artificial

  • ). You also need to express your own opinion about how a person looks, using the following adjectives:
  • winsome - attractive
  • agreeable - pleasant
  • stylish - fashionable
  • dapper - neat (only about men),
  • lovely-looking - delightful
  • awkward - clumsy

untidy-looking - sloppy

Describing a personality in English involves talking about character traits, habits and preferences. Sides of character can be both positive (intelligent, optimistic, extroverted) and negative (stupid, pessimistic, introverted). And sometimes the same feature, depending on intonation and context, can be both positive and negative (determined, thrifty, obstinate).

When characterizing an individual, do not forget to clarify why you call him that. For example, when you say that a girl is hardworking, explain why you think so:

Any is very hard-working. It can work all day without any break at all. I really admire the way it studies and works. (Annie is a very hard worker. She can work all day without a break. I actually admire the way she studies and works).

Table of characterizing adjectives

The criteria that make up a person’s character are also varied. For ease of memorization and pronunciation, I have placed them in a compact table with translation and transcription. This will make it easier for you to navigate the criteria and remember the characterizing adjectives.

Word

Translation

Transcription

Personality traits

arrogant arrogant ["ærəgənt]
irritable irritable ["irit(ə)bl]
self-confident self-confident [self-"kɔnfidənt]
persistent persistent [ pə "sist (ə)nt ]
curious curious ["kjuəriəs]
modest modest ["mɔdist]
capable bright [brait]
brave brave [breiv]
creative creative [kri:"eitiv]
restrained reserved [ri'zə:vd]
observant observant [əb"zə:vənt]
enterprising enterprising ["entəpraiziŋ]
cunning ) or vice versa, cunning ( ["kʌniŋ]
stubborn obstinate ["ɔbstinit]
purposeful purposeful ["pə:pəsful]
boastful boastful ["bəustful]
incorruptible incorruptible [ ‚ɪnkə"rʌptəbəl ]
hot-tempered hot-tempered [‚hɒt"tempərd]
resourceful quick witted [kwik witɪd]

Mental capacity

broad-minded broad-minded ["brɔ:d‚maɪndɪd]
smart bright
smart clever ["klevər]
wise wise [ˈwaɪz]
silly foolish ["fu:lɪʃ]
witty witty ["wɪtɪ]
unsophisticated blunt [blʌnt]
well-read well-read
uneducated uneducated [ˈʌnˈedjukeɪtɪd]
ignoramus ignoramus [ˌɪɡnəˈreɪməs]
polymath erudite [ˈerədīt]
illiterate illiterate [ɪ"lɪtərɪt]
mediocre mediocre [‚mi:di:"əʋkər]
ordinary ordinary [ˈɔ:dnrɪ]

Strong-willed qualities

brave bold
brave brave
cowardly coward ["kaʋərd]
decisive resolve ["rezə‚lu:t]
indecisive irresolute [ɪ"rezə‚lu:t]
courageous courageous [kəʹreıdʒəs]
persistent stubborn ["stʌbərn]
shy timid ["tɪmɪd]
flexible flexible ["fleksəbəl]
timid fearful [ˈfɪəful]
stubborn obstinate ["ɒbstənɪt]
unshakable steady ["stedɪ]

Attitude towards other people

communicative sociable ["səuʃəbl]
selfish selfish ["selfiʃ]
friendly friendly ["frendly]
decent decent ["di:s(ə)nt]
impudent impudent ["ɪmpjədənt]
honest honest ["ɔnist]
tolerant tolerant ["tɔlərənt]
respectful respectful [ris'pektful]
loyal faithful ["feiθful]
hospitable hospitable ["hɔspitəbl]
aloof detached [dɪtætʃt]
unreliable disloyal [dɪslɔɪəl]
sincere frank
fair just
false false
indifferent indifferent [ɪn"dɪfərənt]
truthful truthful ["tru:Ɵfəl]
insidious treacherous ["tretʃərəs]
rude harsh
sensitive, gentle tender ["tendər]
strict strict
good-natured good-natured [ˈɡudˈ "neɪtʃərəd]
demanding exacting [ɪg"zæktɪŋ]
noble noble ["nəʋbəl]
altruistic altruistic [ˏæltruˊɪstɪk]
selfless selfless [self les]
highly moral moral ["mɔ:rəl]
sneaky scoundrel [ˈskaundrəl]
tactful tactful [tæktfʊl]

Attitude to property

greedy greedy ["gri:di]
generous generous [ˈdʒenərəs]
stingy stingy ["stɪŋɪ]
economical frugal ["fru:gəl]
thrifty thrifty [ˈθrɪftɪ]
wasteful wasteful ["weɪstfəl]

Attitude to work

responsible answered [ris'pɔnsəbl]
hardworking hard-working [hɑ:rd"wɜ:rkɪŋ]
cooperating cooperative [kəʋ"ɒpərətɪv]
executive can-do [kæn-du:]
irresponsible