HEIGHT
He is tall. He is short.
+ He is very tall. He is quite short.
She is skinny. (negative)
She is anorexic. (medical)
She is underweight. (negative)
She is thin. (negative)
She is slim. (positive)
She is slender. (positive)
He is average / normal / medium height.
He is relatively normal height.
BUILD
She is fat. (negative)
She is tubby. (negative)
She is overweight. (negative)
She is plump. (neutral)
She is stocky. (neutral)
She is bonny. (positive)
!Note - if a man is fat (especially round the waist) we often say he has a beer belly.

HAIR

blonde/fair hair brown hair red hair black hair grey hair
blonde brunette redhead - -
EYES

grey eyes green eyes blue eyes brown eyes dark eyes

!Note!
This is a black
eye!

TYPE OF HAIR
 She He has no She She
She She
hair. = He has medium has medium
has long hair. has short hair. has short hair.
is bald. length hair. length hair.
She has She has
She has She has She has
medium medium
+ long, black h short, black h -
length , blon length, red hair
short, blonde h
air. air. air.
de hair. .
She has
She has
+ She has She has medium She has
medium
long, straight, short, straight, - length, straig short, curly,
+ length, wavy,
black hair. black hair. ht, blonde blonde hair.
red hair.
hair.
Her hair
Her hair Her hair Her hair
is medium Her hair
is long, is short, is medium
orstraight and straight and
- length,
length, wavy
is short, curly
straight and and blonde.
black. black. and red.
blonde.
She wears
+
glasses.
TYPE OF COMPLEXION

She is black.
He is asian. He He is white.
She has dark She is white. She has She is white. She
has light-brown He has fair
skin. lightly tanned skin. has very pale skin.
skin. skin.

OTHER FEATURES
 Can you spot the named feature?

moustache beard chin forehead nostrils

eyebrows cheeks fringe lips teeth

SOME FEATURES (IT MAY NOT BE

POLITE TO MENTION THEM)

crow's feet wrinkle(s) scar(s) spot(s)

a sign of maturity
aka laughter lines which can appear any part of the aka pimple(s)
on any part of the body where a
a sign of maturity body, often on the wound has any part of the
that appear at the forehead body, but most
 healed
noticeable on the
corners of the eyes
face

Note !
BALD, BLACK, BLONDE, BLUE, BROWN, CURL
Y, FAT, GREY, LONG , MEDIUM,
OVERWEIGHT, PALE, PLUMP, RED, SHORT, SKIN
NY, SLIM, STOCKY, STRAIGHT, TALL, TANNED,
THIN, WAVY AND WHITE

ARE ALL ADJECTIVES - THEY DESCRIBE THINGS

- See more at: http://www.learnenglish.de/basics/appearances.html#other

Physical characteristics

tall

short

slim

thin

fat

obese

well-built

overweight

medium height

well-dressed

smart

scruffy

good-looking

attractive
beautiful

pretty

handsome

ugly

old

young

middle-aged

bald

bald-headed

beard

moustache

long hair

short hair

straight hair

curly hair

fair-haired

blond-haired or blonde-haired

brown-haired

dark-haired

ginger-haired

blonde

brunette

redhead

Feelings

happy

sad

miserable
worried

depressed

excited

bored

fed up

pleased

delighted

surprised

astonished

disappointed

enthusiastic

relaxed

stressed

anxious

tired

weary

exhausted

annoyed

angry

furious

livid

disgusted

Emotional characteristics

confident

sensitive

calm

hot-headed

impulsive
cheerful

generous

kind

mean

crazy

sensible

serious

honest

dishonest

good-humoured

bad-tempered

moody

hard-working

lazy

clever

intelligent

unintelligent

arrogant

snobbish

happy

unhappy

stupid

outgoing

cautious

adventurous

shy

introverted

extroverted
easy-going

rude

bad-mannered

impolite

emotional

polite

funny

witty

boring

patient

impatient

sophisticated

crude

cheeky

friendly

unfriendly

conceited

modest

brave

cowardly

absent-minded

talented

obedient

disobedient

principled

corrupt

unscrupulous
Face Shape
Square

Oval

Round

Triangular

Heart-shaped

Thin

Wide

Chiseled

Skin and Complexion

Complexion is the natural appearance

and color of the skin, especially of the face. For example, Mary has a
soft, creamy complexion.

Wrinkled: covered with lines or loose folds of skin;

often associated with age

Freckled: sprinkled or covered with light brown spots

 Ruddy: skin that has a reddish tint; may have the
appearance of sunburn

Sallow: skin that has a yellowish tint; may be

associated with illness

Tanned: skin with a warm, golden-brown tint

Rosy or fresh-faced: pink-cheeked, fair

complexion that glows with a hint of pink

Other skin-related adjectives: pale, fair, spotless,

silky, smooth, creamy, dewy, baby-soft, peaches-and-
cream, glowing, paper-thin or translucent (as with a very
old person), sunburned, peeling, rough, callused,
weathered, weatherbeaten, craggy, leathery, mottled,
dry, brown, dark

Eyes

TIP: Pay attention to the eyes, as they

often reveal much about a person.

Shape, size, and appearance: large, small, almond-

shaped, round, squinty, crinkly, bulging, heavy-lidded,
hooded, deep-set, close-set, hollow, tear-filled
 Eye color: black, brown, hazel, green, blue, violet,
gray, amber

Eye expressions: piercing, mesmerizing, sad,

sorrowful, haunted, gentle, sympathetic, warm,
compassionate, expressive, bright, twinkling, lively,
dancing, laughing, shifty, sly, distrusting, sleepy

Other: brown-eyed boy, bright-eyed sister, wide-eyed

child, gold-flecked eyes

Mouth and Lips

Lip shape and size: thin, full, pouting, rosebud
(babys lips, often), pursed (puckered up, as
when concentrating)

Mouth expressions: laugh, smile, beam, grin, frown,

grimace, scowl, sneer, curl, pout

Adjectives describing the mouth or mouth

expressions: toothy, toothless, gap-toothed, kind,
sweet, dimpled, relaxed, firm, serious, cruel, snarling

Hair
 Hair color: black, brunette,
brown, chestnut-brown, blond, honey-blond, golden-
blond, ash-blond, fair, cornsilk, auburn, red, strawberry-
blond, gray, silver, white, salt-and-pepper

Texture or appearance: wispy, fuzzy, wavy, curly,

kinky, frizzy, wild, untamed, unmanageable, straight,
spiky, stiff, buzzed, shaved, parted, neatly-combed,
tamed, cascading, long, short, cropped, dull, shiny

Hair styles: braids, ponytail, pigtails, bun, messy

bun, twist, bob, ringlets, flip, cornrows, extensions,
bangs, buzz, layered, feathered, chopped, gelled, spiked,
slicked down

Lots of hair: thick, full, lustrous, bushy, coarse, wiry,

stiff

Little hair: thin, scraggly, fine, baby-fine, downy,

wispy, limp, flat, balding, bald, bald spot, receding
(gradual loss of hair at the front of the head)

Treated hair: permed, dyed, bleached, highlighted,

weaved, streaked, colored

Facial Hair
 Hair: beard, goatee, mustache, soul patch, sideburns

Beard growth: stubble, fuzz, peach fuzz, bristles,

five oclock shadow (describes new beard
growth thats shadowy in appearance. Its usually more
noticeable late in the day on the jaw, chin, or cheek area,
but some men purposely grow five oclock shadows.)

Adjectives: bearded, bushy, stubbly, bristly, scratchy,

unshaven, shaggy, whiskered, beardless, clean-shaven,
smooth, trimmed, neatly-trimmed, pencil-thin

Body
TIP: Choose strong verbs and adjectives.

Build: small, slim, slight, thin, lean, willowy, skinny,

angular, bony, fine-boned, chunky, chubby, large, portly,
plump, round, stout, pudgy, full-figured, ample, broad-
shouldered, burly, solid, muscular

Posture: stand, sit, slouch, flop, lean, recline, rest,

stretch, sprawl, curl up, roost, squirm, arch, slump,
stoop, bend, hunch, scoot, walk, run, race, jog

Clothing
 Fabric: denim, twill, wool,
cashmere, cotton, linen, seersucker, gingham, lace,
chiffon, tulle, velvet, velveteen, fleece, flannel, tweed,
polyester, jersey, corduroy, spandex, leather

Bottoms: jeans, skinny jeans, cargo pants, flat-front

pants, pleated pants, slacks, trousers, overalls,
sweatpants, crop pants, capris, skirt, shorts, board shorts

Tops: sport shirt, dress shirt, polo shirt, button-down

shirt, tank top, blouse, tunic, long-sleeve, short-sleeve,
sleeveless, collared, T-shirt, V-neck, scoop-neck,
turtleneck, sweatshirt, hoodie, pullover, sweater,
cardigan, sweater set

Other clothing: dress, gown, frock, uniform,

coveralls, costume, pajamas, bathrobe, robe, vest,
jacket, blazer, coat, apron

Footwear: socks, stockings, shoes, slippers, sandals,

flip-flops, loafers, heels, pumps, boots, ankle boots,
riding boots, slouch boots, athletic shoes, sneakers,
tennis shoes, gym shoes, runners

Accessories: mittens, gloves, hat, cap, head wrap,

bandana, scarf, muffler, necklace, choker, bracelet, ring,
 earrings, cuffs, cufflinks, purse, clutch, bag, tote,
sunglasses, eyeglasses, glasses

Adjectives (appearance): stylish, natty, smart, chic,

classy, elegant, polished, draped, flowing, sheer, casual,
relaxed, carefree, starched, crisp, sharp, dressy, lacy,
shiny, shimmering, sparkling, glittery, sloppy, torn,
ripped, tattered, disheveled, slovenly, tacky,
unkempt, faded, scratchy, worn, frayed, nubby, rough,
smooth, pliable, warm, soft, quilted, knit

Adjectives (patterns): striped, solid, plaid, checked,

floral print, geometric print

Sentence Starters Describing Clothes (Encourage your

students to write more maturely by using strong sentence openings.)

Smartly dressed in (name of garment), the woman

Casually attired in (name of garment), Chloe

Simply clad in (name of garment), Mark

Uncle Max sported a (name of garment)

Wearing a (name of garment), the detective

Look

absent
ADJECTIVE

showing that you are not paying attention to what is happening because you are thinking about
something else

appealing
ADJECTIVE

an appealing look, voice etc shows that you want help, approval, or agreement
beatific
ADJECTIVE

LITERARY a beatific expression on your face is extremely happy and peaceful

black
ADJECTIVE

showing angry or unhappy feelings

bleak
ADJECTIVE

used about someones expression

brooding
ADJECTIVE

looking as if you are thinking and worrying about something

bug-eyed
ADJECTIVE

INFORMAL very excited or interested, so that your eyes are wide open

curious
ADJECTIVE

used about someones expression

dark
ADJECTIVE

a dark look or remark is angry and threatening

darkly
ADVERB

in an angry and threatening way

deadpan
ADJECTIVE

pretending to be serious when you are really joking

doleful
ADJECTIVE

looking sad
downcast
ADJECTIVE

downcast eyes are looking downwards, especially because you are sad, embarrassed, or shy

dreamy
ADJECTIVE

a dreamy look, expression etc shows that you are thinking about something pleasant rather
than paying attention

etched
ADJECTIVE

MAINLY LITERARY if a feeling is etched on someones face, their expression shows clearly what they
are feeling

expressionless
ADJECTIVE

not allowing your feelings to show in your face, eyes, or voice

faint
ADJECTIVE

used about the expression on someones face

fixed
ADJECTIVE

a fixed expression on someones face does not change or look natural

glazed
ADJECTIVE

a glazed look or expression shows no interest or emotion

glowering
ADJECTIVE

looking very angry

grave
ADJECTIVE

looking very serious and worried

haunted
ADJECTIVE

someone who has a haunted look looks frightened or worried

hunted
ADJECTIVE

someone who has a hunted look seems very worried or frightened

meaningful
ADJECTIVE

expressing a clear feeling or thought without words

mild
ADJECTIVE

a mild feeling or expression is one that is not very strong or severe

mischievous
ADJECTIVE

a mischievous look or expression shows that you enjoy having fun by causing trouble

mobile
ADJECTIVE

moving a lot and showing changes in what you are feeling

Mona Lisa
ADJECTIVE

used for describing a mysterious smile or expression on a womans face

pained
ADJECTIVE

showing that you feel very upset or unhappy

pitying
ADJECTIVE

a pitying expression shows that you feel pity for someone, but sometimes also that shows you do
not think they deserve respect

pleading
ADJECTIVE

a pleading look shows that you want something very much

pleadingly
ADVERB

if you say something pleadingly, or if you look at someone pleadingly,

your voice or expression shows that you want something very much
quizzical
ADJECTIVE

showing that you are confused or surprised by something, and perhaps that you think it is
rather strange and funny

radiant
ADJECTIVE

someone who is radiant looks extremely happy

roguish
ADJECTIVE

a roguish expression suggests that someone is likely to do something that is wrong but
not harmful

sardonic
ADJECTIVE

a sardonic smile, expression, or comment shows a lack of respect for what someone else
has said or done

set
ADJECTIVE

a set smile or expression does not change, and often hides what someone is really thinking

shamefaced
ADJECTIVE

with an expression that shows you feel ashamed about something

slack-jawed
ADJECTIVE

INFORMAL with your mouth open

sly
ADJECTIVE

a sly smile, look, or remark shows that the person doing it knows something that other people do
not know

smiley
ADJECTIVE

INFORMAL smiling, or tending to smile often

straight-faced
ADJECTIVE

not showing that you want to laugh

sullen
ADJECTIVE

showing that you are in an unhappy mood, and do not want to talk

sullen
ADJECTIVE

used about someones expression or attitude

taut
ADJECTIVE

used about something such as a voice or expression that shows someone is nervous or angry

thoughtful
ADJECTIVE

used about someones face or expression

tight-lipped
ADJECTIVE

someone who is tight-lipped has their lips pressed tightly together because they
are annoyed about something or they do not approve of it

unblinking
ADJECTIVE

MAINLY LITERARY looking straight at someone or something without closing your eyes at all

unreadable
ADJECTIVE

MAINLY LITERARY if someones face, eyes, or expression are unreadable, you cannot guess what
they are thinking

vacant
ADJECTIVE

looking as if you do not understand or are not paying attention

wan
ADJECTIVE

used about someone who looks very sad

wanly
ADVERB

with a tired sad expression on your face

wide-eyed
ADJECTIVE

with an expression that shows that you are very surprised, frightened, or impressed

wild-eyed
ADJECTIVE

someone who is wild-eyed looks very angry or frightened

withering
ADJECTIVE

a withering look, expression, or remark deliberately makes you feel silly or embarrassed

wolfish
ADJECTIVE

looking as though you want to hurt or trick someone

worried
ADJECTIVE

used about the expression on peoples faces

wry
ADJECTIVE

showing that you think something is funny but not very pleasant, often by the expression on
your face

beatifically
ADVERB

deadpan
ADVERB

dolefully
ADVERB

expressionlessly
ADVERB
mischievously
ADVERB

pityingly
ADVERB

pouty
ADJECTIVE

quizzically
ADVERB

radiantly
ADVERB

sardonically
ADVERB

scowling
ADJECTIVE

shamefacedly
ADVERB

sullenly
ADVERB

sullenness
NOUN

unblinkingly
ADVERB

vacantly
ADVERB

witheringly
ADVERB

wolfishly
ADVERB
wryly
ADVERB

on someones face

used for saying that someones face has a particular expression

straight face

if someone has a straight face, they look serious even though they
are saying something funny or are in a funny situation

To Describe Sound
Blaring Melodic Screeching

Deafening Moaning Shrill

Faint Muffled Silent

Hoarse Mute Soft

High-pitched Noisy Squealing

Hissing Purring Squeaking

Hushed Quiet Thundering

Husky Raspy Voiceless

Loud Resonant Whispering

To Describe a Person or Personality

Aggressive Famous Restless

Agoraphobic Fearless Rich

Ambidextrous Fertile Righteous

Ambitious Fragile Ritzy

Amoral Frank Romantic

Angelic Functional Rustic

Brainy Gabby Ruthless

Breathless Generous Sassy

Busy Gifted Secretive

Calm Helpful Sedate

Capable Hesitant Shy

Careless Innocent Sleepy

Cautious Inquisitive Somber

Cheerful Insane Stingy

Clever Jaunty Stupid

Common Juicy Super

Complete Macho Swanky

Concerned Manly Tame

Crazy Modern Tawdry

Curious Mushy Terrific

Dead Naughty Testy

Deep Odd Uninterested

Delightful Old Vague

Determined Open Verdant

Different Outstanding Vivacious

Diligent Perky Wacky

Energetic Poor Wandering

Erratic Powerful Wild

Evil Puzzled Womanly

Exuberant Real Wrong

To Describe Appearance
Ablaze Distinct Quirky

Adorable Drab Ruddy

Alluring Dull Shiny

Attractive Elegant Skinny

Average Embarrassed Sloppy

Awkward Fancy Smiling

Balanced Fat Sparkling

Beautiful Filthy Spotless

Blonde Glamorous Strange

Bloody Gleaming Tacky

Blushing Glossy Tall

Bright Graceful Thin

Clean Grotesque Ugly

Clear Handsome Unattractive

Cloudy Homely Unbecoming

Clumsy Interior Uncovered

Colorful Lovely Unsightly

Confident Magnificent Unusual

Cracked Murky Watery

 Crooked Old-fashioned Weird

Crushed Plain Wild

Curly Poised Wiry

Cute Pretty Wooden

Debonair Puffy Worried

Dirty Quaint Zaftig

Read more at http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-

adjectives.html#YoYvVaMTQP6szx1T.99

feel, smell, look, sound + adjective

May 3, 2013 By Nestor Leave a Comment

What is wrong with this sentence?

I feel badly today.

Verbs like feel, sound, look, taste, appear and seem are called sense verbs. In
English, we normally use sense verbs with adjectives (I feel bad today), not
adverbs.

Look at the examples below:

She seems happy.

He feels ashamed.

It looks delicious.

It sounds serious!

When do we use adverbs after sense verbs?

We can use an adverb after some of these verbs when we answer the
question How..?

How did he look at you?

He looked at me angrily.

We can also use the adverb well after look, sound, feel, appear, but the
meaning is healthy.

Tom looks very well after the operation.

The opposite is unwell.

You look unwell today. Is everything all right?

Here are some examples of sense verbs:

See= 'Can you see that airplane?'

Look = 'She looked at the painting carefully.'

Hear = 'I heard the phone ringing.'

Sound = 'She sounds like Madonna.'

Feel = 'Abdul felt his chair move.'

Taste= 'Can you taste this soup for me?'

Watch = 'They watched the film together.'

Smell = 'Cigarette smoke smells terrible.'

base and ing verbs

Compare these two sentences to see the difference in meaning between base
and ing verbs. The sense verb is saw (see).

'I saw her play football.' = I saw the whole game of football/ I saw the whole
action.

'I saw her playing football' = When I saw her she was playing. We assume that
the speaker did not watch the whole game. The game probably continued after
the speaker stopped watching.

describing things using sense verbs and adjectives

We can use sense verbs with adjectives to describe our personal opinions and
thoughts about things:

'This cake tastes delicious.'

'The seawater feels warm.'

'You look tired.'

'Fresh bread smells great.'

'This new band sound original'

describing things using sense verbs and nouns

We use subject + sense verb + like + object to compare the similarity between
two nouns. For example:

'Your father looks like Father Christmas.'

Your father (subject) + looks (sense verb) + like+ Father Christmas (object)

'Perfume smells like flowers.'

'This tastes like dog food!'

Physical
Vocabulary for Description
Feature

Arm long, short, lank, lanky, bony, rounded, well-shaped

Bearing posture, bear oneself well, hold one's body upright, stooping

Build large, small, powerful, slight, heavy, slim, solid, delicate, strong, spare,
stocky, neat, sturdy, graceful

Cheekbones long, high, prominent, perfect, sculptured, broken, cracked, fractured

Physical
Vocabulary for Description
Feature

Cheeks wide, chubby, plump, hollow, sunken, with dimples, with creases,
blushing, pink, rosy, scarlet, ashen, pale, pallid, pasty, cool, smooth, soft,
flushed, hot, ruddy, tear-stained, wet, hamster, hamster-like, rouged,
stubby, unshaven

Chin clean-shaven, double, protruding, massive, pointed, round, decided

Constitution strong, feeble, vigorous, frail, rugged, delicate, iron, weak (poor)

Ears curving, earlobe, lop-eared, pointed, pointy, floppy

Eye-lashes winged, straight, thin, artificial, false, thick, short, long, curling

Eyebrows amber, arched, bushy, dark, jet-black, heavy, thick, enquiring, querying,
questioning, quizzical, cynical, sardonic, sceptical, surprised, amused,
derisive, mocking, lifted, raised, pencilled, raise (knit) one's brows,
shaggy, unkempt, plucked, shaped, straight, thin, well-marked

Eyelids big, large, heavy, hooded, drooping, swollen with tears, lower, upper,
closed, half-closed, lowered

Eyes firm, blue, brown, bulging, close-set, cross-eyed, dark, deep, deep-set,
full and blood shot, gray, hazel, hazel-eyed, pale, sunken, wide-set, left /
right, green, greedy, hungry, downcast, sad, solemn, soulful, cold,
expressionless, glassy, glazed, lifeless, steely, vacant, penetrating,
piercing, intelligent, keen, sharp, shrewd, curious, prying, anxious,,
angry, cruel, fierce, mad, staring, wild, dazed, unfocused, unblinking,
half-closed, narrowed, short-sighted, sightless, unseeing, dry, cloudy,
misty, moist, rheumy, tear-filled, tearful, watery, soft, velvety, warm,
clear, limpid, liquid, bright, brilliant, luminous, lustrous, sparkling, starry,
sleepy, tired, weary, dark-ringed, exhausted, red-rimmed, bleary,
bloodshot,, baggy, puffy, swollen, beady, piggy, protuberant, sunken,
hooded, hollow, heavy-lidded, wide-apart, wide-set, close-set, narrow,
wide, enormous, large, huge, big, golden

Face dark, fair, florid, olive, pasty, sallow, pale, sunburnt, swarthy
(complexion
)

Face (in clear-cut, clean-cut, craggy, delicate, fine, prominent, striklng, indistinct,
general) vague, coarse, ugly, plain, ordinary, soft, small, regular, sharp, large,
irregular, f ull face, profile,

Face (shape) angular, oval, square, long, round, thin, wrinkled, freckled, with a beauty
spot or a mole, with a dimple in the chin, with a pointed beard and
moustache

Figure well-made, shapeless, graceful, ill-made, lithe, clumsy, superb, ordinary,

perfect, flawed, lean, tat, slight, stout, neat, well-fed, bony, paunchy,
slm, plump, slender, stocky
Physical
Vocabulary for Description
Feature

Fingers thumb, forefinger, bony, lean, skeletal, skinny,, delicate, elegant,

slender, slim, chubby, fat, plump, podgy, blunt, spatulate, square-tipped,
gnarled, arthritic, gentle, capable, deft, nimble, skilful, skilled, nerveless,
nervous, clumsy, dirty, filthy, grubby, sticky, index finger, middle finger,
ring finger, little finger, finger nail

Forehead broad, narrow, domed, retreating, furrowed, wrinkled, smooth, sloping,

high, domed, low, large, wide, small

Gait Steady, unsteady, heavy, light, swaggering, rolling, strolling, shuffling,

stumbling, waddling, walk with a stoop, a limp, halting, walk with a halt
(with a limp), awkward, swaying

General apearance, looks, look, look like, resemble, take after somebody, family
appearance likeness, (not) look oneself, look wretched, look one's best, look one's
age, attractive, unattractive, impressive, unimpressive, good-looking, ill
favoured, pleasant-looking, unpleasant looking, pretty, repulsive,
charming, ugly, lovely, common, beautiful, plain, nice, usu

Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character

General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

Describing positive adorable, affluent, alluring, appealing, aristocratic, arresting,

personality types: attractive, beautiful, becoming, beguiling, bewitching,
Appealing, elegant or breathtaking, captivating, charismatic, charming, chic, Circean,
neat outlook and classy, clean, clubby, couth, crisp, cuddly, dapper, dashing,
behaviour 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 abysmal, angular, awkward, awry, cadaverous, clumsy,

personality types: contaminated, crumpled, decrepit, derelict, destitute, dingy,
unappealing, shabby or disfigured, disgusting, dowdy, down-and-out, drippy, dumpy,
clumsy outlook and fiddle-footed, filthy, frightful, frowzy, funky gaudy, gawky,
behaviour geeky, ghastly, gnarly, graceless, grisly, grotesque, gruesome,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

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 adoring, affable, affectionate, agreeable, amiable, amicable,

traits: Warm, friendly or amorous, appreciative, approachable, ardent, chummy,
loving approach and companionable, compassionate, congenial, convivial, cordial,
behaviour 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 abrupt, alien, aloof, arid, asexual, ashen, astringent, austere,
traits: Cold, unfriendly, bad-tempered, bilious, bitter, bleak, bloody, blunt, brusque,
or irritable outlook and brutal, callous, cantankerous, catty, cheap, chilly, closed, cold,
behaviour 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,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

uncongenial, unfeeling, unforgiving, unfriendly,ungrateful,

unkind, unkindly, unmerciful, unmoved, unsympathetic,
vengeful, venomous, vexatious, vicious, vitriolic, waspish,
wintry, withholding, wizened, wooden, wrongheaded

Words for describing ambitious, assertive, blatant, bloviating, blustering, boisterous,

positive, sociable and bold, bombastic, brash, brazen, breathy, chatty, choleric,
outgoing characters 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 abashed, alien, alienated, alone, aloof, anonymous, antisocial,
unsociable, introverted ascetic, asocial, austere, autonomous, awkward, bashful, chary,
and reserved donnish, claustral, cloistered, concealed, confidential, covert,
characters 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 abusive, adamant, assuming, assured, authoritative, autocratic,

people's attitude bossy, bullheaded, bumptious certain, cocksure, commanding,
towards others: compelling, conclusive, confident, controlling, decisive,
Assertive and confident determined, direct, directed, dogged, dogmatic, dominant,
character types domineering, do-or-die, egoistic, egotistic, emphatic, enduring,
entitled, entrenched, firm, fixed, focused, forceful, formidable,
grandiose, hard-bitten, hard-boiled, hard- edged, hardened,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

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 accommodating, acquiescent, adaptable, ambivalent,

attitude towards others: apologetic, apprehensive, assailable, awkward, balky,
Submissive, diffident changeable, chary, compliant, conciliatory, culpable, cursory,
and uncertain character dainty, deferential, dependent, diffident, doubtful,
types 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 able-bodied, adventuresome, adventurous, all-powerful,

character and audacious, belligerent, bluff, blunt, bold, brash, brave, brawny,
personality: Strong, courageous daring, dauntless, decisive, doughty, durante,
bold, or tough effective, fearless, firm, flinty, forbidding, formidable, full-
temperaments 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,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

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 abashed, afraid, ailing, alarmed, anemic, anxious,

strength of character apprehensive, ashamed, asthmatic, bloodless, brittle, clinging,
and personality: Weak consumptive, cowardly, craven, creaky, cringing, debilitated,
and fearful decrepit, delicate, desperate, disconcerted, faint, fainthearted,
temperaments 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 acrobatic, active, adroit, agile, alert, alive, ambulatory, athletic,
describing active and attentive, avid, awake, bouncy, breezy, bright-eyed, brisk,
lively characters 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 abstracted, aged, apathetic, asleep, atrophied, barren, beat,

describing inactive and benumbed, blank, blase, bored, bovine, bushed, cadaverous,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

lazy characters 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 agrin, airy, amazed, amused, amusing, astonished, beatific,
optimistic outlook to life 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 abject, absorbed, abysmal, achy, afflicted, aggrieved,

and pessimistic outlook agonizing, anguished, beleaguered, bereaved, bereft, bleak,
to life 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,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

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 apollonian, calm, casual, composed, constrained, cool, cool-

positive emotional headed, demure, dewy, dispassionate, dryeyed, easygoing,
status: Calm, gentle, emollient, even-tempered gentle, imperturbable, laconic, laid-
and easygoing types 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 aggravated, aggressive, aghast, agitated, amorous, angered,

negative emotional angry, animated, annoyed, antsy, argumentative, avid,
status: Angry, bellicose, belligerent, blooming, brash, breathless choleric,
aggressive, and combative, competitive, contentious, dedicated, defiant,
passionate types 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 balanced, businesslike, careful, cautious, celibate, chary,

view of life: Moderate circumspect, clocklike, closemouthed, collected, composed,
and balanced views and concise, concrete, conscientious, conservative, consistent,
opinions constant, controlled, conventional, cool-headed, diplomatic,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

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 aberrant, abnormal, addictive, alcoholic, amok, anarchic,

view of life: Excessive anarchistic, apoplectic, avaricious, berserk, brash, chaotic,
and radical views 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 ceremonious, chaste, civil, civilized, classical, clubby,

describing a person's conforming, conventional, correct, courteous, courtly, couth,
manners: Proper, cultivated, cultured decent, decorous, delicate, demure,
courteous, and refined dignified, diplomatic, discreet, effete, elitist, established,
manners 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 abandoned, aberrant, abnormal, abominable, aboriginal,

describing manners: abusive, animalistic, atavistic, barbaric, base, bawdy, beastly,
Vulgar and rude bibulous, bizarre, blasphemous, blooey, blunt, boorish, brash,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

manners 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 abreast, accurate, acute, analytical, apt, articulate, astute, au

and clever personality fait, authoritative, bookish, bright, brilliant, broad-ranging
types 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, absent-minded, abstracted, addlebrained, addled, agog,

ignorant personality amnesiac, backward, baffled, befogged, befuddled, benighted,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

types 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 ablaze, able, acclaimed, accomplished, adept, adequate,

abilities: Bright and admirable, admired, ageless, aglow, all-around, amazing,
skillful 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,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

varied, vast, versatile, victorious, vintage, vivid, well-known,

well-spoken, well-thought-of, whiz-bang, wonderful, wondrous,
worthwhile, worthy

Describing a person's automatic, average, banal, bland, blank, boring, bourgeois,

abilities: Dull or characterless, colorless, common, commonplace, conventional,
average 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 actualized, adult, all-knowing, all-seeing, august, aware,

of maturity: Wise and awesome, balanced, broad, broad-minded, centered, clear,
experienced 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 abstract, absurd, adolescent, affected, amateurish,

of maturity: Foolish and anthropocentric, anti-intellectual, artless, artsy, asinine,
immature 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,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

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 aboveboard, angelic, authentic benevolent, bona fide, candid,

status: Good, sincere capital, choice, conscientious, constant dear, decent,
and honest 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 accursed, adulterous, affected, amoral, apocryphal, apostate,

status: Bad, false and arch, artificial, awful, backhanded, bad, baleful, baneful,
dishonest 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,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

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 accessible, accommodating, adaptable, approving, artless

describing giving, beatific, believing candid, careless, childlike, complaisant,
generous personality compliant, credulous, democratic, dewy-eyed, doting, dulcet,
types 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 abrasive, accusatory, acerbic, acidic, acquisitive, admonishing,

describing Demanding, agnostic, arbitrary, arrogant, assiduous, assumptive, atheistic,
selfish personality types 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: accessory, accommodating, aggrandizing, altruistic, amenable,

Helpful, positive, or nice amicable, attached, avuncular, beneficent, benevolent, benign,
Personality Types: Vocabulary for Describing Personality Types, Character
General Categories Traits, and Temperaments

to others 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: abrasive, abusive, acrid, acrimonious, annoying, antagonistic,

Troublesome, negative, argumentative, avaricious, averse, baneful, bilious, bitter,
or unpleasant to others 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

List of Descriptive Words for Appearance

What follows is a list of descriptive words for appearance. However, the words
are not just listed as belonging to one and the same category. They have been
broken up to distinguish different sorts of appearance words.

Descriptive Words For People's Bodies

 brunette

blonde

brown-eyed

blue-eyed

albino

rosy

heavy

thin

fat

thick

short

tall

muscular

cute

attractive

masculine

feminine

petite

tiny

large

small

pierced

tattooed

scarred

painted

polished

Asian

black
 African American

white

Caucasian

Indian

Spanish

Irish

German

Italian

Greek

Descriptive Words For Disposition

happy

moody

sad

tired

angry

grumpy

sick

ill

mean

cruel

intelligent

dumb

stupified

shocked

angered

excited

aroused

displaced
Descriptive Words For The Appearance Of Things

dirty

clean

rusty

musty

musky

dangerous

hazardous

bad

good

evil

sharp

colorful

boring

weird

angled

shaved

carved

painted

unusual

unique

horrible

terrifying

scary

calming

peaceful

tranquil

organized
 disorganized

messy

harrowing

Other Descriptive Words For Appearance

creepy

fluffy

patterned

checkered

circled

encircled

soft

hard

alive

dead

adequate

important

innocent

dark

light

black

white

blue

green

orange

red

yellow

purple

magenta
 vicious

violent

adorable

alert

beautiful

bright

cloudy

rainy

snowy

icy

slippery

glowing

gleaming

glamorous

fashionable

dowdy

tacky

steep

pale

stormy

Considerations

The possibilities are almost endless for descriptive words for appearance. As
stated earlier, everything and every person has some sort of appearance that
can be described. Descriptive words are often thought of as adjectives, which is
correct. However, while all adjectives are descriptive words, not all descriptive
words are adjectives.

In addition to adjectives, adverbs also describe items, people, and places.

An adverb is generally used to describe either a verb or an adjective. For
example, when he say "He quickly ran," we are using the adverb "quickly" to
describe the verb "ran." When he say "He runs very fast" we are using
the adverb "very" to describe the adjective "fast."
Gerunds, the "ing" form of nouns also how to describe how someone is
appearing, or in other words, how someone is acting. We can say "He is running"
or "She is laughing." "Running" and "laughing" are both gerunds.

Read more at http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/word-lists/list-of-descriptive-

words-for-appearance.html#06QyLBUSXb7kBye4.99

Adjectives describing appearance and personality

1. APPEARANCE AND PERSONALITY

2. Parts of the Body FACE HAIR NOSE LIPS EYE EAR

3. Physical Description What does he/ she look like? Height Build Age tall, short,
medium slim, thin, plump, fat, height skinny, well-built young, elderly, middle-
aged, teenager, in 20s, 30s, 40s Face Eyes Hair round, oval, square, with scars,
wrinkles, freckles, sun-tanned, pale big round blue eyes, large, small, bright,
narrow bald, straight, curly, spiky, wavy

4. Height Tall Short E.g. My husband is tall and my nephew is short.

5. Build Slim Thin Fat Heavy Overweight Well built E.g. My aunt is overweight. My
brother is well built.

6. Eyes Brown eyes Blue eyes Green eyes E.g. My little brother has got brown
eyes.

7. Hair Long straight black hair Medium length wavy black hair Medium length
curly black hair E.g. My girlfriend has got short curly black hair.

8. Hair Long wavy l blond hair Long curly blond hair Long straight blond hair E.g.
My couisins have got long curly blond hair.

9. Hair Long straight red hair Long wavy red hair E.g. My sister has got medium
length straight red hair.

10. Hair Long straight brown hair Short straight brown hair E.g. My mother has
got short straight brown hair.

11. She has got straight blond hair. Hes bald. moustache He has got a
moustache and a beard. beard

12. She is short. She is very tall. Hes old. Hes young.

13. Hes overweight / fat/ heavy. He is thin / slim.

14. She has got long straight red hair. She has got long straight blond hair. She
has got medium length curly black hair. He has got short spiky brown hair.
15. Look at the following example

16. Adjective Order Adjective Length type of hair colour Noun Long curly brown
hair Short wavy blond hair big/small blue/green eyes

17. Practice 1: Put the words in the correct order: 1. She has got hair wavy,
black , long. 2. She has got hair blond, short. 3. Tom has got eyes green. 4. They
have got eyes, big, beautiful, blue.

18. Adjectives used to describe people and things

19. Adjectives used to describe people and things

20. Describing character What is he/ she like? He is shy. She is angry.

21. Adjectives to describe character and personality Attentive Cheeky Intelligent

Faithful Pessimistic Calm Happy Friendly Hard-working Honest Nervous Good
tempered Humble Lively Obedient Optimisti c

22. Adjectives to describe character and personality Outgoing Impatient patient

Polite Popular Tidy Reserved Rude Bad tempered Distracte d Shy Silly Unfriendly
Selfish

23. Adjectives to describe character and personality Naughty Hypocritical

Unhappy Lazy Dishonest Talkative Proud Unpleasant Disobedien t Untidy
Generous

24. What do they look like? Arnold is tall and well built. He has got green eyes
and short brown hair. He is in his 50s. Danny de Vito is short and heavy. He is
going bald and has got brown eyes. Hes in his 50s.

25. Practice 2: Now you try! Describe the famous people 1. Marcelo Salas
medium height average weight short black hair brown eyes 30s

26. Practice 2: Now you try! Describe the famous people 2. Nicole Kidman very
tall slim long curly red hair blue eyes pale skin 30s.

27. Practice 2: Now you try! Describe the famous people 3. Brad Pitt tall slim
short spiky blond hair blue eyes pale complexion 40s.

28. Practice 3: Look at the pictures and describe the people 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Sound Adjectives

boisterous low-pitched shrill

brittle mellifluous silent

calm melodic smooth

 clamorous melodious soft

croaky muffled soundless

discordant musical speechless

dissonant muted squeaky

dull noiseless strong

earsplitting noisy sweet

enjoyable non-deafening tacit

faint penetrating talkative

gentle piercing thundering

gruff pleasing thunderous

half-deafening quiet tranquil

half-shouted rasping tuneful

harmonious raspy unspoken

harsh raucous unvoiced

high resonant velvety

high-pitched riotous vociferous

hoarse rowdy voiceless

husky screaky whispered

loud screaming wordless

low screechy

List of Descriptive Words and Adjectives for Smell

Descriptive words / Adjectives for Smell below.

Words are listed in Alphabetical Order.

acidyacrid

aromatic

balmy

briny

burnt

damp

dank

earthy

fishy

fragrant

fresh

gamy

gaseous

mildewed

moldy

musty

perfumed

piney

pungent

putrid

rancid

reek

rotten

savory

scented

sharp

sickly

sour
spicy

spoiled

stagnant

stench

sweet

tempting

Feelings (Good) Adjectives

agreeable
brave
calm
delightful
eager
faithful
gentle
happy
jolly
kind
lively
nice
obedient
proud
relieved
silly
thankful
victorious
witty
zealous

Touch Adjectives

boiling
breeze
broken
bumpy
chilly
cold
cool
creepy
crooked
cuddly
curly
damaged
damp
dirty
 dry
dusty
filthy
flaky
fluffy
freezing
hot
warm
wet

Feeling Adjectives
B. Jesse Clarke

1. aggreived
2. afraid
3. agitated
4. agreeable
5. amazed
6. amused
7. angry
8. annoyed
9. anxious
10. apathetic
11. apprehensive
12. arrogant
13. ashamed
14. astonished
15. awful
16. bad
17. bereaved
18. bewildered
19. bored
20. brave
21. brave
22. calm
23. careful
24. certain
25. charged
26. charming
27. cheerful
28. cheery
29. clumsy
30. combative
31. comfortable
32. condemned
33. confused
34. content
35. cooperative
36. courageous
37. crazy
38. creepy
39. cruel
40. dangerous
41. defeated
42. defiant
43. delightful
44. depressed
45. determined
46. disappointed
47. disgusted
48. disinterested
49. disturbed
50. dizzy
51. dull
52. eager
53. elated
54. embarrassed
55. enchanting
56. encouraging
57. energetic
58. enthusiastic
59. envious
60. evil
61. excited
62. exuberant
63. fair
64. faithful
65. fantastic
66. fearful
67. fierce
68. fine
69. flipped-out
70. foolish
71. fortunate
72. frantic
73. friendly
74. frightened
75. frustrated
76. funny
77. generous
78. gentle
79. glad
80. gleeful
81. glorious
82. good
83. grieving
84. grumpy
85. happy
86. healthy
87. helpful
88. helpless
89. hesitant
90. hilarious
91. hungry
92. hurt
93. ill
94. indignant
95. inspired
96. interested
97. itchy
98. jealous
99. jittery
100. jolly
101. joyful
102. joyous
103. jubilant
104. kind
105. lazy
106. lively
107. lovely
108. loving
109. loving
110. lucky
111. mad
112. melancholy
113. motivated
114. mysterious
115. nasty
116. naughty
117. nervous
118. nice
119. nutty
120. obedient
121. obnoxious
122. obstinate
123. outrageous
124. panicky
125. perfect
126. petulant
127. pleasant
128. pleased
129. prepared
130. proud
131. quiet
132. ready
133. relieved
134. reluctant
135. repulsive
136. restless
137. sad
138. scared
139. scary
140. selfish
141. shocked
142. silly
143. sleepy
144. smiling
145. soothing
146. sore
147. sorry
148. splendid
149. stunned
150. successful
151. surprised
152. tense
153. terrible
154. testy
155. thankful
156. thoughtful
157. thoughtless
158. tired
159. troubled
160. unhappy
161. uninspired
162. upset
163. upset
164. uptight
165. victorious
166. vigilant
167. vivacious
168. weary
169. wicked
170. willing
171. wishful
172. witty
173. wonderful
174. worried
175. zany
176. zealous

Descriptive Words List of Adjectives for Touch & Feel

List of Descriptive Words and Adjectives for Touch and Feel

Descriptive words / Adjectives for touch and feel below.

Words are listed in Alphabetical Order.

cold

cool

crisp

damp

dry

dull

elastic

explode

feathery

firm

fishy

fleshy
fragile

furry

fuzzy

gritty

hairy

hard

hot

icy

leathery

lukewarm

moist

oily

pebbly

prickly

pulpy

rough

rubbery

sandy

satiny

sharp

silky

slimy

slippery

smooth

soft

spongy

steamy

sticky
 stuccoed

tacky

tender

tepid

textured

thick

thin

tough

velvety

warm

waxy

wet

wooly

List of Descriptive Words

In order to take away the potential of such a list to become extreme overwhelming, let's
break them down into several shorter components of the list of descriptive words.

General Adjectives
hairy
dusty
melancholy
abrupt
tall
angry
grotesque
monstrous
miniscule

General Adverbs
quickly
 hastily
angrily
faintly
begrudgingly
meagerly

Gerunds
walking
talking
laughing
playing
running
drinking
eating
making
taking
buying
hating
loving
driving
painting
writing
baking
cooking
mixing
biking
hiking
swimming
laughing
joking
crying
diving
tying
betting
getting
hammering
nailing
jumping
preparing
 *There may be some confusion as to why gerunds belong with descriptive words. The
answer is simple: they are often used to describe the actions of an individual. Therefore,
they are descriptive words.

Words Describing People

short
large
fat
thin
thick
blue-eyed
brown-eyed
green-eyed
brunette
blond
smart
intelligent
dumb
stupid
hungry
thirsty
mean
nice
kind
friendly
honest
truthful
comical
hilarious
funny
tall
gorgeous
ugly
beautiful
cute
adorable
dependable
reliable
dishonest
liar
 religious
secular
political
Democrat
Republican
Catholic
Christian
Lutheran
Baptist
Jewish
Islamic
pagan
Hindu
Buddhist
atheist
agnostic
student
teacher
police officer
firefighter
doctor
nurse
lawyer
dependent
certificated financial planner
stay at home mom
manager
employee
homemaker

Words Describing Other Things (some could be used

for people)
broken
bent
icey
steamy
warm
cold
hot
cool
chilly
 breezy
chocolatey
spicey
salty
bittery
sweet
sour
crunchy
delightful
moist
dangerous
exciting
fun
milky
abomination
welcoming
open
closed

Colors
blue
green
yellow
red
purple
pink
magenta
orange
turquoise
Tiffany blue
baby blue
brown
black
caramel
coffee
white
gray
hot pink
lime green
strawberry red
lilac
 seafoam
cyan

Shapes
oval
circle
square
triangle
pentagon
hexagon
septagon
decagon
sextagon
nonatagon
rectangle
prism
rectaungular prism
sphere
globe

Weather
raining
pouring
snowing
sunny
cloudy
hot
cold
warm
cool
freezing
humid
breezy
windy
light rain
thunderstorm
thunder
lightning
downpour
tornado
 flood
hurricane
tsunami
earthquake
blizzard
torrential rains

Read more at http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/word-lists/list-of-descriptive-

words.html#u4x08dk1EdmwOq0t.99

List of Descriptive Words and Adjectives for Hearing ( Loud

Sounds )
Descriptive words / Adjectives for Hearing ( Loud Sounds ) below.

Words are listed in Alphabetical Order.

bangbark

bedlam

blare

bleat

bluster

boom

brawl

bray

bump

caterwaul

clamor

clap

clash

crash
deafening

din

discord

earsplitting

grate

hubbub

jangle

noise

pandemonium

piercing

racket

rage

rasp

raucous

riot

roar

rowdy

rumble

scream

screech

shout

slam

smash

squawk

stamp

stomp
thud

thump

thunder

tumult

whine

whistle

yell

List of Descriptive Words and Adjectives for Hearing ( Soft

Sounds )
Descriptive words / Adjectives for Hearing ( Soft Sounds ) below.

Words are listed in Alphabetical Order.

buzzchime

clink

crackle

faint

gurgle

harmony (musical)

hiss

hum

hush

inaudible

lilting

melody

murmur

mute
mutter

patter

peep

purr

rush

rustle

sigh

snap

speechless

still

swish

tinkle

twitter

whir

whisper

zing

List of Descriptive Words and Adjectives for Smell

Descriptive words / Adjectives for Smell below.

Words are listed in Alphabetical Order.

acidyacrid

aromatic

balmy

briny

burnt
damp

dank

earthy

fishy

fragrant

fresh

gamy

gaseous

mildewed

moldy

musty

perfumed

piney

pungent

putrid

rancid

reek

rotten

savory

scented

sharp

sickly

sour

spicy

spoiled

stagnant
stench

sweet

tempting

List of Descriptive Words and Adjectives for Taste

Descriptive words / Adjectives for Taste below.

Words are listed in Alphabetical Order.

alkaline

bitter

bittersweet

bland

burnt

buttery

crisp

fishy

fruity

gingery

hearty

hot

mellow

oily

oily

overripe

peppery

raw
ripe

salty

sour

spicy

spoiled

sugary

sweet

tangy medicinal

tasteless

unripe

vinegary

List of Descriptive Words and Adjectives for Touch and Feel

Descriptive words / Adjectives for touch and feel below.

Words are listed in Alphabetical Order.

cold

cool

crisp

damp

dry

dull

elastic

explode

feathery

firm
fishy

fleshy

fragile

furry

fuzzy

gritty

hairy

hard

hot

icy

leathery

lukewarm

moist

oily

pebbly

prickly

pulpy

rough

rubbery

sandy

satiny

sharp

silky

slimy

slippery

smooth
soft

spongy

steamy

sticky

stuccoed

tacky

tender

tepid

textured

thick

thin

tough

velvety

warm

waxy

wet

wooly

List of Descriptive Words and Adjectives for Movements ( Slow )

Descriptive words / Adjectives for movements ( Slow ) below.

Words are listed in Alphabetical Order.

amble

bend

crawl

creep
drag

drift

droop

edge

heave

loiter

lumber

plod

saunter

slink

slouch

sneak

stagger

stalk

stray

stroll

swagger

sway

tiptoe

waddle

List of Descriptive Words and Adjectives for Movements ( Fast )

Descriptive words / Adjectives for movements ( fast ) below.

Words are listed in Alphabetical Order.

bolt
bounce

careen

chase

dart

dash

drive

drop

flee

flick

fly

gallop

hope

hurl

hurry

lift

odorous

plummet

plunge

propel

race

ram

run

rush

sail

scamper

scramble
scurry

shove

skip

smash

soar

speed

spin

spring

sprint

streak

stride

swat

swerve

swing

swoop

trot

whisk

zip

zoom

Adjectives: order

from English Grammar Today

Order of adjectives

When more than one adjective comes before a noun, the adjectives are normally
in a particular order. Adjectives which describe opinions or attitudes
(e.g. amazing) usually come first, before more neutral, factual ones (e.g. red):

She was wearing an amazing red coat.

Not: red amazing coat

If we dont want to emphasise any one of the adjectives, the most usual
sequence of adjectives is:

order relating to examples

1 opinion unusual, lovely, beautiful

2 size big, small, tall

3 physical quality thin, rough, untidy

4 shape round, square, rectangular

5 age young, old, youthful

6 colour blue, red, pink

7 origin Dutch, Japanese, Turkish

8 material metal, wood, plastic

9 type general-purpose, four-sided, U-shaped

10 purpose cleaning, hammering, cooking

It was made of a 1strange, 6green, 8metallic material.

Its a 4long, 8narrow, 10plastic brush.

Panettone is a 4round, 7Italian, 9bread-like Christmas cake.

Here are some invented examples of longer adjective phrases. A noun phrase
which included all these types would be extremely rare.
She was a 1beautiful, 2tall, 3thin, 5young, 6black-
haired, 7Scottish woman.

What an 1amazing, 2little, 5old, 7Chinese cup and saucer!

Adjectives joined by and

When more than one adjective occurs after a verb such as be (a linking verb),
the second last adjective is normally connected to the last adjective by and:

Home was always a warm, welcoming place. Now it is sad, dark and cold.

And is less common when more than one adjective comes before the noun
(e.g. a warm, welcoming place). However, we can use and when there are two or
more adjectives of the same type, or when the adjectives refer to different parts
of the same thing:

It was a blue and green cotton shirt.

English Lesson: Feel, Look,

Seem, Smell, Sound, & Taste
UNCATEGORIZED 1 COMMENT

THIS FLOWER SMELLS NICE

Some of my students have told me that they have trouble using
the verbs of the senses, specifically, feel, look, seem, smell,
sound, & taste. Today, Im going to show you how to use these
words in your conversation.

We use these verbs feel, look, seem, smell, sound, & taste + an
adjective:

The silk scarf feels smooth.

The new James Bond movie looks interesting. Lets go see

it.

You seem tired. Are you ok?

Does this cheese smell strange to you?

That music sounds relaxing.

Jack said the steak in this restaurant tastes delicious.

We can also use those verbs with adverbs like so & too, and
determiners like a little & a bit, etc plus an adjective:

The silk scarf feels so smooth.

The new James Bond movie looks so interesting. Lets go

see it.

You seem a little tired. Are you ok?

Does this cheese smell too strange to you?

That music sounds too relaxing. I might fall asleep.

The fried rice here tastes a bit salty.

We also use these verbs + like + an noun phrase, like this:

The silk scarf feels like a dream.

The new James Bond movie looks like an interesting film.

Lets go see it.
 This seems like a nice restaurant. Lets go there.

This cheese smells like walnuts.

That music sounds like old pop music.

The fried rice here tastes like my mothers fried rice.