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!
- Adventurous
- Affectionate
- Agile
- Alert
- Amiable
- Artistic
- Athletic
- Awesome
- Bold
- Brave
- Bright
- Brilliant
- Busy
- Calm
- Caring
- Charming
- Cheerful
- Clever
- Compassionate
- Confident
- Considerate
- Cooperative
- Courageous
- Creative
- Curious
- Daring
- Delightful
- Dependable
- Determined
- Diligent
- Eager
- Easygoing
- Energetic
- Enthusiastic
- Excellent
- Exciting
- Fabulous
- Fair
- Faithful
- Fantastic
- Fearless
- Friendly
- Funny
- Generous
- Gentle
- Genuine
- Gifted
- Glad
- Glorious
- Good
- Graceful
- Grateful
- Great
- Happy
- Hardworking
- Healthy
- Helpful
- Honest
- Hopeful
- Humorous
- Imaginative
- Independent
- Intelligent
- Inventive
- Joyful
- Kind
- Lively
- Loving
- Loyal
- Lucky
- Marvelous
- Mature
- Modest
- Neat
- Nice
- Obedient
- Optimistic
- Organized
- Original
- Outgoing
- Passionate
- Patient
- Peaceful
- Perceptive
- Playful
- Polite
- Positive
- Practical
- Precious
- Proud
- Quick
- Quiet
- Reliable
- Respectful
- Responsible
- Smart
- Sociable
- Strong
- Talented
- Thoughtful
- Unique
- Upbeat
- Valiant
- Vibrant
- Wacky
- Warm
- Wise
- Witty
- Wonderful
- Xtraordinary (a playful take on ‘Extraordinary’)
- Youthful
- 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.
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- 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.
