A great way to expand your students’ vocabulary is to explore adjectives, specially those used to describe people!  Children love talking about themselves and each other and this list of adjectives to describe people offers a great jumping off point to get those adjectives flowing!

112 Adjectives to Describe a Person from A-Z!

  1. Adventurous
  2. Affectionate
  3. Agile
  4. Alert
  5. Amiable
  6. Artistic
  7. Athletic
  8. Awesome
  9. Bold
  10. Brave
  11. Bright
  12. Brilliant
  13. Busy
  14. Calm
  15. Caring
  16. Charming
  17. Cheerful
  18. Clever
  19. Compassionate
  20. Confident
  21. Considerate
  22. Cooperative
  23. Courageous
  24. Creative
  25. Curious
  26. Daring
  27. Delightful
  28. Dependable
  29. Determined
  30. Diligent
  31. Eager
  32. Easygoing
  33. Energetic
  34. Enthusiastic
  35. Excellent
  36. Exciting
  37. Fabulous
  38. Fair
  39. Faithful
  40. Fantastic
  41. Fearless
  42. Friendly
  43. Funny
  44. Generous
  45. Gentle
  46. Genuine
  47. Gifted
  48. Glad
  49. Glorious
  50. Good
  51. Graceful
  52. Grateful
  53. Great
  54. Happy
  55. Hardworking
  56. Healthy
  57. Helpful
  58. Honest
  59. Hopeful
  60. Humorous
  61. Imaginative
  62. Independent
  63. Intelligent
  64. Inventive
  65. Joyful
  66. Kind
  67. Lively
  68. Loving
  69. Loyal
  70. Lucky
  71. Marvelous
  72. Mature
  73. Modest
  74. Neat
  75. Nice
  76. Obedient
  77. Optimistic
  78. Organized
  79. Original
  80. Outgoing
  81. Passionate
  82. Patient
  83. Peaceful
  84. Perceptive
  85. Playful
  86. Polite
  87. Positive
  88. Practical
  89. Precious
  90. Proud
  91. Quick
  92. Quiet
  93. Reliable
  94. Respectful
  95. Responsible
  96. Smart
  97. Sociable
  98. Strong
  99. Talented
  100. Thoughtful
  101. Unique
  102. Upbeat
  103. Valiant
  104. Vibrant
  105. Wacky
  106. Warm
  107. Wise
  108. Witty
  109. Wonderful
  110. Xtraordinary (a playful take on ‘Extraordinary’)
  111. Youthful
  112. Zealous

 

Understanding Adjectives

if you’re just getting started learning about adjectives, here’s a simple but fun lesson to introduce the concept:

 

As a teacher, you want to help your students develop their language skills. One of the most important concepts they’ll need to understand is adjectives. Adjectives are words that describe people, places, and things. They can be used to convey a wide range of emotions and characteristics, from happy and friendly to angry and aggressive.

When teaching adjectives, it’s important to start with the basics. Begin by explaining what an adjective is and giving examples of common adjectives, such as “happy,” “sad,” “angry,” “friendly,” and “helpful.” You can also use visual aids, like pictures or objects, to help illustrate the concept.

Once your students have a basic understanding of adjectives, you can start to introduce more complex concepts, such as comparative and superlative adjectives. Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things, while superlative adjectives are used to compare three or more things. For example, “happier” is a comparative adjective, while “happiest” is a superlative adjective.

When teaching adjectives, it’s important to encourage your students to use descriptive language. Encourage them to use adjectives to describe the people and things around them, and to be as specific as possible. For example, instead of simply saying “the dog is big,” encourage them to say “the dog is huge” or “the dog is enormous.”

By helping your students understand adjectives and encouraging them to use descriptive language, you can help them develop their language skills and become more effective communicators.

Positive Adjectives to Describe a Person

When it comes to describing a person, using positive adjectives can go a long way in conveying your thoughts and feelings towards them. Here are some positive adjectives you can use to describe a person, along with some subsections to help you categorize them:

Character Traits

  • Kind
  • Generous
  • Honest
  • Empathetic
  • Compassionate
  • Courageous
  • Confident
  • Optimistic
  • Humble
  • Reliable

Physical Appearance

  • Beautiful
  • Attractive
  • Charming
  • Elegant
  • Stylish
  • Fit
  • Healthy
  • Radiant
  • Striking

Intellectual Capabilities

  • Intelligent
  • Creative
  • Innovative
  • Knowledgeable
  • Analytical
  • Logical
  • Wise
  • Curious
  • Perceptive
  • Resourceful

Emotional Quotient

  • Caring
  • Understanding
  • Patient
  • Forgiving
  • Accepting
  • Supportive
  • Encouraging
  • Respectful
  • Tolerant
  • Empowered

 

Negative Adjectives to Describe a Person

Uhoh!  You may sometimes find yourself needing to use unflattering adjectives to describe a person!

When it comes to describing a person, there are both positive and negative adjectives that you can use. While positive adjectives can be used to highlight a person’s good traits, negative adjectives can be used to describe their flaws. In this section, we will focus on negative adjectives that can be used to describe a person.

    • Arrogant: Someone who is arrogant believes that they are better than others and often looks down on them.
    • Dishonest: A dishonest person is someone who lies or deceives others.
    • Self-centered: A self-centered person is someone who only thinks about themselves and doesn’t consider the needs or feelings of others.
    • Greedy: Someone who is greedy is always looking for more and is never satisfied with what they have.
    • Dirty: A dirty person is someone who is unclean or unkempt.
    • Smelly: A smelly person has an unpleasant odor.
    • Ignorant: An ignorant person lacks knowledge or understanding about a particular topic.
    • Close-minded: A close-minded person is someone who is not open to new ideas or perspectives.
    • Incompetent: An incompetent person is not capable of doing a particular task or job well.
    • Moody: Someone who is moody experiences frequent changes in their mood.
    • Irritable: An irritable person is easily annoyed or angered.
    • Aggressive: An aggressive person is someone who is quick to anger and often uses physical or verbal violence to express themselves.

 

Neutral Adjectives to Describe a Person

 

When you want to describe someone without being too positive or negative, you can use neutral adjectives. These adjectives are neither overly complimentary nor critical, and they can be used to describe a wide range of people.

General Characteristics

Some neutral adjectives that can be used to describe a person’s general characteristics include:

  • Average
  • Common
  • Decent
  • Ordinary
  • Typical

These adjectives are useful when you want to describe someone without making any assumptions about their abilities or personality.

Physical Descriptions

When describing a person’s physical appearance, it’s important to be sensitive and respectful. Some neutral adjectives you can use include:

  • Average-looking
  • Fit
  • Healthy
  • Normal
  • Plain

These adjectives can be used to describe someone’s physical appearance without being overly critical or complimentary.

Intellectual Attributes

When describing a person’s intellectual abilities, it’s important to be objective and accurate. Some neutral adjectives you can use include:

  • Competent
  • Intelligent
  • Knowledgeable
  • Skilled
  • Well-informed

These adjectives can be used to describe someone’s intellectual attributes without exaggerating or making false claims.

Emotional States

When describing a person’s emotional state, it’s important to be empathetic and respectful. Some neutral adjectives you can use include:

  • Calm
  • Content
  • Relaxed
  • Serene
  • Tranquil

These adjectives can be used to describe someone’s emotional state without making any assumptions or judgments about their feelings.

Remember, when describing a person, it’s important to be respectful and objective. Neutral adjectives can help you do this by allowing you to describe someone without being overly positive or negative.

Using Adjectives Effectively

When describing a person, it is important to choose your adjectives carefully to accurately convey their traits and characteristics. Here are some tips for using adjectives effectively:

  • Be specific: Instead of using generic adjectives like “nice” or “good,” try to use more specific adjectives like “compassionate” or “helpful” to paint a clearer picture of the person you are describing.
  • Use a mix of positive and negative adjectives: While it may be tempting to only use positive adjectives when describing someone, using a mix of positive and negative adjectives can provide a more well-rounded description. Just make sure to use negative adjectives in a constructive way and avoid being overly critical.
  • Consider the context: The adjectives you choose may vary depending on the context in which you are describing the person. For example, if you are describing someone in a professional setting, you may want to use more formal adjectives like “diligent” or “efficient.”
  • Use comparisons: Comparing someone to a well-known person or character can be an effective way to convey their traits. For example, you could describe someone as having the “wit of Sherlock Holmes” or the “compassion of Mother Teresa.”

By following these tips, you can use adjectives effectively to accurately describe a person and convey their traits and characteristics to your readers.