Personal descriptive adjectives

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The following adjectives can be useful for personal descriptions, e.g., for interviews. If you are learning English as a second or foreign language, it is recommended that you install a dictionary or translation extension into your browser, so that you can click on words or move the mouse over them for pop-up translations. This is possible in Firefox (and Firefox based browsers like LibreWolf) and in Chrome (or Chrome based browsers like Chromium or Brave). You can also use a good online dictionary.[1] An adjective with an asterisk (*) is more colloquial, slay, or informal.


1 Positive descriptions

1. Able
2. Active
3. Adventurous
4. Ambitious
5. Analytical
6. Animated
7. Artful
8. Aspiring
9. Assertive
10. Athletic
11. Attentive
12. Autonomous
13. Bold
14. Brave
15. Bright
16. Brilliant
17. Calm
18. Capable
19. Careful
20. Caring
21. Charismatic
22. Charming
23. Cheerful
24. Clever
25. Communicative
26. Compassionate
27. Competent
28. Competitive
29. Confident
30. Conscientious
31. Considerate
32. Consistent
33. Constructive
34. Convivial
35. Cooperative
36. Courageous
37. Courteous
38. Creative
39. Curiosity
40. Curious
41. Decisive
42. Dedicated
43. Dependable
44. Detail-oriented
45. Determined
46. Devoted
47. Diligent
48. Diplomatic
49. Disciplined
50. Discreet
51. Dramatic
52. Driven
53. Dynamic
54. Eager
55. Easy-going
56. Educated
57. Effective
58. Efficient
59. Eloquent
60. Encouraging
61. Energetic
62. Enterprising
63. Enthusiastic
64. Entrepreneurial
65. Ethical
66. Experienced
67. Expert
68. Expressive
69. Exuberant
70. Facilitator
71. Fair
72. Fair-minded
73. Faithful
74. Fearless
75. Flexible
76. Focused
77. Forceful
78. Forgiving
79. Forward-thinking
80. Frank
81. Friendly
82. Fun-loving
83. Funny
84. Generous
85. Gentle
86. Giving
87. Goal-oriented
88. Good
89. Graceful
90. Grateful
91. Gregarious
92. Hands-on
93. Hard-working
94. Hardworking
95. Helpful
96. High-potential
97. Honest
98. Honorable
99. Hospitable
100. Humble
101. Humorous
102. Imaginative
103. Impactful
104. Impartial
105. Independent
106. Industrious
107. Innovative
108. Inquisitive
109. Insightful
110. Inspiring
111. Intellectual
112. Intelligent
113. Intuitive
114. Inventive
115. Joyful
116. Judicious
117. Keen
118. Kind
119. Knowledgeable
120. Laid-back
121. Leader / natural leader
122. Lively
123. Logical
124. Loving
125. Loyal
126. Mature
127. Mechanical
128. Methodical
129. Meticulous
130. Modest
131. Motivated
132. Neat
133. Nice
134. Objective
135. Observant
136. Open-minded
137. Optimistic
138. Organized
139. Outgoing
140. Passionate
141. Patient
142. Perceptive
143. Persevering
144. Persistent
145. Personable
146. Persuasive
147. Philosophical
148. Pioneering
149. Placid
150. Pleasant
151. Plucky
152. Poised
153. Polished
154. Polite
155. Popular
156. Positive
157. Powerful
158. Practical
159. Pragmatic
160. Precise
161. Pro-active
162. Proactive
163. Problem-solver
164. Professional
165. Proud
166. Punctual
167. Quick-witted
168. Quiet
169. Rational
170. Realistic
171. Relaxed
172. Reliable
173. Reserved
174. Resilient
175. Resourceful
176. Respectful
177. Responsible
178. Responsive
179. Results-driven
180. Results-oriented
181. Risk-taker
182. Romantic
183. Savvy*
184. Self-confident
185. Self-directed
186. Self-disciplined
187. Self-giving
188. Self-reliant
189. Sensible
190. Sensitive
191. Serious
192. Sharp
193. Sincere
194. Skilled
195. Skillful
196. Smart
197. Sociable
198. Sophisticated
199. Spirited
200. Straightforward
201. Strategic
202. Strong
203. Studious
204. Successful
205. Supportive
206. Sympathetic
207. Tactful
208. Talented
209. Talkative
210. Team leader
211. Team player
212. Team-builder
213. Technical
214. Technological
215. Tenacious
216. Thankful
217. Thorough
218. Thoughtful
219. Tidy
220. Tireless
221. Tough
222. Trustworthy
223. Truthful
224. Unassuming
225. Understanding
226. Unselfish
227. Veracious
228. Versatile
229. Visionary
230. Warmhearted
231. Well-balanced
232. Well-versed
233. Willing
234. Wise
235. Witty


2 Negative traits

1. Aggressive
2. Aloof
3. Arrogant
4. Belligerent
5. Big-headed
6. Bitchy [vulgar][2]
7. Boastful
8. Boring
9. Bossy
10. Callous
11. Cantankerous
12. Careless
13. Changeable
14. Clinging
15. Compulsive
16. Cowardly
17. Cruel
18. Cunning
19. Cynical
20. Deceitful
21. Detached
22. Dishonest
23. Dogmatic
24. Domineering
25. Egotistical
26. Finicky
27. Flirtatious
28. Foolhardy
29. Foolish
30. Fussy
31. Greedy
32. Grumpy
33. Gullible
34. Harsh
35. Impatient
36. Impolite
37. Impulsive
38. Inconsiderate
39. Inconsistent
40. Indecisive
41. Indiscreet
42. Inexperienced
43. Inflexible
44. Interfering
45. Intolerant
46. Irresponsible
47. Jealous
48. Lazy
49. Machiavellian
50. Materialistic
51. Mean
52. Messy
53. Miserly
54. Moody
55. Narcissistic
56. Narrow-minded
57. Nasty
58. Naughty
59. Nervous
60. Neurotic
61. Obsessive
62. Obstinate
63. Opinionated
64. Overcritical
65. Overemotional
66. Parsimonious
67. Patronizing
68. Perverse
69. Pessimistic
70. Pompous
71. Possessive
72. Quarrelsome
73. Quick-tempered
74. Resentful
75. Rude
76. Ruthless
77. Secretive
78. Self-centered
79. Self-indulgent
80. Selfish
81. Sneaky
82. Stingy
83. Stubborn
84. Stupid
85. Superficial
86. Tactless
87. Thoughtless
88. Timid
89. Touchy
90. Truculent
91. Unkind
92. Unpredictable
93. Unreliable
94. Untidy
95. Untrustworthy
96. Vague
97. Vain
98. Vengeful
99. Vulgar
100. Weak-willed


3 Borderline, neutral, or ambiguous

These may be positive, negative, or neutral, depending on the context.

  1. Emotional
  2. Procedural (for a person who works best in a structured environment, or with structure imposed upon him/her; or for a person who usually likes to follow clear-cut procedures).
  3. Silly
  4. Sarcastic
  5. Talkative
  6. Shy
  7. Naive

4 See also

  1. Adjectives: A linguistic guide
  2. MBTI: A guide for teachers and students


4.1 References

  1. Two good online dictionaries are http://www.m-w.com and http://www.en.wiktionary.org.
  2. Warning: A vulgar term, and often sexist.