Looking for just the right words to express a person’s characteristics or personality? This giant list provides ample ideas to give your students’ (or your own) writing some sparkle and pizzazz. You’ll find positive and negative adjectives to describe a person, words to portray their personality and behavior, plus a selection of truly unique descriptors.
Why are adjectives important?
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This is a detailed explanatory sentence about engaging and intriguing adjectives.
Adjectives bring writing to life! They help the reader better envision people, places, and things, and get a clear sense of what a writer has in mind. We can help our students develop into experienced writers who use adjectives to paint a picture with words, adding color and depth to their writing.
How do you choose the right adjective?
Choosing strong adjectives is all about understanding shades of meaning. Consider these words: big, huge, humongous, massive, and immense. Each has the same basic definition but evokes a slightly different feeling. The adjectives you choose have the ability to create a mood and provoke reactions in readers. When you use them well, a piece of writing takes on a whole new level of impressive quality.
Deciding on the right adjectives can be tricky. Writers, especially young student writers, often become attached to a few favorites, making their writing boring and predictable. Challenge your students to seek out and use new words on a regular basis. Teach students to explore the possibilities using a thesaurus to help them find new options, or use a list like the ones below to help guide students to brainstorm a list on an anchor chart and then hang it in the classroom.
Positive Adjectives To Describe a Person
- Able
- Agreeable
- Amiable
- Appealing
- Astute
- Authentic
- Bighearted
- Bright
- Comfortable
- Content
- Cultured
- Curious
- Cute
- Dashing
- Defiant
- Delightful
- Discerning
- Educated
- Experienced
- Fabulous
- Fanciful
- Farsighted
- Fashionable
- Friendly
- Generous
- Gentle
- Gifted
- Hopeful
- Humble
- Illustrious
- Incisive
- Intelligent
- Joyful
- Knowledgeable
- Likable
- Lucky
- Mature
- Popular
- Professional
- Punctual
- Qualified
- Resilient
- Resourceful
- Smart
- Steady
- Strong
- Talented
- Teachable
- Unaffected
- Well-respected
Negative Adjectives To Describe a Person
- Absent-minded
- Awful
- Awkward
- Bad-tempered
- Bitter
- Callous
- Churlish
- Closed-off
- Clumsy
- Cold
- Combative
- Contemptuous
- Contentious
- Crass
- Crude
- Dim
- Fickle
- Foolish
- Grim
- Grouchy
- Gruff
- Gullible
- Haggard
- Harried
- Hateful
- Hypercritical
- Ignorant
- Impudent
- Insecure
- Lazy
- Meddlesome
- Morose
- Naughty
- Nosy
- Obnoxious
- Petulant
- Pompous
- Quarrelsome
- Querulous
- Quick-tempered
- Resentful
- Short-tempered
- Sneaky
- Sour
- Spiteful
- Stupid
- Sullen
- Unlucky
- Vulgar
- Weak-willed
Adjectives To Describe a Person’s Personality
- Amicable
- Amusing
- Anxious
- Brave
- Broad-minded
- Carefree
- Cheerful
- Clever
- Considerate
- Consistent
- Cowardly
- Crazy
- Creative
- Cynical
- Dedicated
- Deep
- Dependable
- Determined
- Diligent
- Direct
- Dispassionate
- Earnest
- Easygoing
- Egotistical
- Emotional
- Empathetic
- Exacting
- Fair-minded
- Faithful
- Funny
- Gentle
- Giving
- Hilarious
- Honest
- Humorous
- Independent
- Inflexible
- Intellectual
- Kind
- Moody
- Narrow-minded
- Nervous
- Nice
- Open-minded
- Overemotional
- Passionate
- Pessimistic
- Powerful
- Practical
- Proud
- Reliable
- Self-centered
- Self-confident
- Sensible
- Sensitive
- Shrewd
- Silly
- Sincere
- Sympathetic
- Thoughtful
- Thoughtless
- Tough
- Trustworthy
- Unassuming
- Understanding
- Untrustworthy
- Upbeat
- Vain
- Warmhearted
- Wise
Adjectives To Describe a Person’s Behavior
- Adventurous
- Affectionate
- Aggressive
- Aloof
- Ambitious
- Apologetic
- Arrogant
- Artistic
- Assertive
- Aware
- Boastful
- Bold
- Boring
- Bossy
- Calm
- Careful
- Careless
- Cautious
- Charming
- Chatty
- Chivalrous
- Civil
- Clingy
- Collaborative
- Commanding
- Communicative
- Compassionate
- Competitive
- Compliant
- Compromising
- Confrontational
- Conscientious
- Cooperative
- Courageous
- Courteous
- Cruel
- Cynical
- Deceitful
- Decisive
- Defensive
- Deliberate
- Devious
- Dexterous
- Diplomatic
- Discreet
- Dishonest
- Domineering
- Efficient
- Eloquent
- Energetic
- Enterprising
- Enthusiastic
- Entrepreneurial
- Envious
- Extravagant
- Extroverted
- Fastidious
- Fearless
- Ferocious
- Flamboyant
- Flirtatious
- Forceful
- Friendly
- Frugal
- Gallant
- Generous
- Grumpy
- Hardworking
- Helpful
- Hostile
- Idle
- Imaginative
- Impartial
- Impatient
- Impolite
- Impulsive
- Inconsiderate
- Indecisive
- Indiscreet
- Industrious
- Intolerant
- Introverted
- Inventive
- Irresponsible
- Jealous
- Laid-back
- Lazy
- Loud
- Loving
- Loyal
- Mean
- Modest
- Nasty
- Neat
- Non-judgmental
- Observant
- Obstinate
- Optimistic
- Organized
- Overcritical
- Patient
- Patronizing
- Persistent
- Polite
- Possessive
- Proactive
- Quick-tempered
- Quiet
- Rational
- Reserved
- Resourceful
- Responsive
- Romantic
- Rude
- Secretive
- Self-disciplined
- Selfish
- Shy
- Sociable
- Straightforward
- Stubborn
- Tactless
- Talkative
- Tidy
- Unpredictable
- Unreliable
- Untidy
- Vague
- Wild
- Witty
Unique Adjectives To Describe a Person
- Adaptable
- Affable
- Analytical
- Belligerent
- Bigheaded
- Calculating
- Candid
- Cantankerous
- Capricious
- Charismatic
- Circumspect
- Complex
- Convivial
- Cordial
- Courtly
- Crafty
- Crotchety
- Dauntless
- Delicate
- Dynamic
- Ebullient
- Eccentric
- Erudite
- Ethereal
- Exuberant
- Fervent
- Finicky
- Forthright
- Frank
- Freewheeling
- Funky
- Genial
- Giddy
- Glib
- Gregarious
- Kooky
- Philosophical
- Pigheaded
- Pioneering
- Placid
- Plucky
- Quick-witted
- Reclusive
- Shrewd
- Tenacious
- Touchy
- Venal
- Versatile
- Visionary
- Zealous
Practice using lots of adjectives to describe a person with these 30 Inspiring Picture Writing Prompts.
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