There's a fair chance you're describing people through your protagonist's eyes, which is a great opportunity to give us a glimpse of their personality or current state of mind. ALWAYS exaggerate my accomplishments. Getting creative with figurative language can work out very well. For example: Introvert, Data, Thinking, Structured would be called ESTJ (the actual terminology being Extraversion, Sensing, Thinking, Judgement). So whether you already have a vivid picture of your characters in mind or you don't know where to start, you've come to the right place. #7: DETERMINE THEIR FLAWS But, it isn't their story. NEVER trust an elf. First of all, I think to write a good character you need to know or at least have a good idea of who you are. (Although, there is good fanfiction too.). Whether this is a missing limb, a shirt pocket that has been torn off, or the lack of seeming intelligence on a vacant face, the absence of things can say a lot about a character. These practices can help you get your head around how best to describe a character in any given situation. But so does half the worlds population! So edit your descriptions down as much as possible. Can you see their facial features or does a hat or pair of oversized sunglasses hide their face? Character's personality traits and behaviour. For tips on describing your characters surroundings, read on! Offer your contact information. ALWAYS get it in writing. By exploring how the characteristics that define your character impacts their voice and lived experiences, you allow your character's personality to breathe life onto the page. #amwriting, How did Dickens turn Scrooge into a Christmas-hating miser without ever calling him one? Thick eyebrows, wrinkled face, small eyes, rosy cheeks. Hair, skin, and eye color these are all characteristics that, ironically, dont really say anything about what characters are like. Or, describe physical characteristics in an abstract way that is, use similes and metaphors. You're not trying to get every single detail down, as it's always good to leave room for spontaneity when you're writing your novel. For instance, if your character's loved one dies, your psychopathic character may say, 'I'm sorry,' or show sympathy in some way, but they won't actually feel it. Let's learn how to write a character description by checking out Ted Tally's screenplay for Silence Of The Lambs, which contains a nicely detailed take. This description, from Dave Hutchinson's Europe in Autumn, is a great example of how to describe physical appearance. In fact, sharing what isn't there what's missing can be a great way of describing a person. Neither the man nor his dog is a major character in the story, but the description tells you a little about the K9 and its owner in a few concise sentences. He was a superficial sociopath succinctly describes the extent of Patrick Batemans character development in the novel, but a passage like this shows it so much better: But there are also things that the average person would think are nice that I've done to celebrate the holiday, items I've bought Jean and had delivered to her apartment this morning: Castellini cotton napkins from Bendel's, a wicker chair from Jenny B. Goode, a taffeta table throw from Barney's, a vintage chain-mail-vent purse and a vintage sterling silver dresser set from Macy's, a white pine whatnot from Conran's, an Edwardian nine-carat-gold "gate" bracelet from Bergdorfs and hundreds upon hundreds of pink and white roses., Just be sure extensive descriptions of clothing dont fall into the bad fanfiction category. ", character from the past and had no idea how to describe her, and now I can perfectly make the reader understand my character. Perhaps your POV character has a bad habit of comparing himself to others he learns to break. How to write character personalities: 1. One of the most oft-quoted pieces of advice from Strunk & White's The Elements of Style is Omit needless words. For writers old and new, this advice is sound indeed for writing character descriptions. Regardless of how special, unique, or honest-to-god awesome your protagonist is, a reader forced to trudge through page after page of intensive description will find any character boring. Eg. The main characteristic for psychopaths is a lack of emotional intelligence. Avoid clichs and aim for original comparisons. Apply that same rule to your character descriptions, and your characters (and readers) will thank you for it. Consider what her childhood home life was like, her happiest and saddest recollections and what memories continue to haunt her. You can try writing one where you focus on appearance. Thats truer than ever when it comes to describing your novels cast. NEVER do something for nothing. NEVER make promises. 5. NEVER make a threat I'm not willing to carry out. Logic: thinking / feeling. In the book Miss Nelson Is Missing! The 16 Myers-Briggs personality types are constructed from the various options created by combining the choices above. Leave something for the reader to interpret, if at all possible. Dont make your descriptions unnecessarily complex. You need to know your own strengths, flaws, motivations and traits. Generally, a character bio includes basic information about the character, such as their name, appearance, and behavior, but it can also include topics such as backstory and motivations. Write this in the character sketch as much as possible. Explain how they got there: were they trying out a new place on their own, meeting someone for the first time, or are they really bad at reading directions? 5. How to Write Vivid Character Descriptions. It's a compelling use of simile to create a picture of a character's appearance in the reader's mind. Describing a character's personality traits needs to be shown . To do this, choose a character archetype and flesh that archetype out into a full-fledged person through descriptive language. While this may be fine for a minor character, it falls a little flat for a major character that you want the audience to know intimately. NEVER expect to be treated with respect. DO: "Show" not "tell". This video clip teaches children about the features of a character description. Good descriptions tend to be brief but evocative. Your character is more than a collection of stats and plot hooks. How to write a character description. Your character's personality is more than just a list of positive and negative traits. ALWAYS avoid scandal and shame. Little quirks of . Today English language has a variety of words for describing people, their personality, character and temperament. Be concise, creative, and don't forget to look for what is and what isn't there. Dont dress them in a generic plain t-shirt without you detailing what makes it different from every other shirt like it. This helps other players identify them more easily and helps you roleplay more effectively. 2. In this case, 87% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. Populating a work of fiction with carefully described characters . This description is from Sub Rosa by Amber Dawn. This is something to avoid at all costs. Here are a few tips to mak. by Harry Allard, he begins the story with a teacher who is at her wits' end with her students. It could be anyone - the head teacher, a teacher, a . After all, this isnt Moby-Dick. Writing strong character descriptions actually requires quite a bit of finesse. Your character profile can help you keep track of how they change over the course of the story. A circular vibranium shield is a good indicator of who that character is. Then your novel will be unputdownable. But when it comes to the basics of how the character looks, it can help to nail down the details. Exchange: ALWAYS return a favor immediately (NEVER let someone have a debt over me). [1] But how do you convey all that to a reader without depleting the magic? ALWAYS go straight to death threats when things don't go my way. Does it have any tears or old stains, indicating perhaps this is a favorite shirt? Use movement, interactions, and gestures to make vivid and crisp character descriptions. What I've learned from many years of writing is that people tend to criticize your writing based on how THEY would write it. Character description for children 4-6 years old. If you are an artist, draw a picture of your character. Each task - understand, explain, challenge, test, apply - explores how 'showing', not telling, what a character is like can add impact to their writing. accommodating, acquiescent, adaptable, ambivalent, apologetic, apprehensive, assailable, awkward, balky, changeable, chary, compliant, conciliatory, culpable, cursory, dainty, deferential, dependent, diffident, doubtful, 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 character and personality: Strong, bold, or tough temperaments, able-bodied, adventuresome, adventurous, all-powerful, audacious, belligerent, bluff, blunt, bold, brash, brave, brawny, courageous daring, dauntless, decisive, doughty, durante, effective, fearless, firm, flinty, forbidding, formidable, full-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, 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 strength of character and personality: Weak and fearful temperaments, abashed, afraid, ailing, alarmed, anemic, anxious, apprehensive, ashamed, asthmatic, bloodless, brittle, clinging, consumptive, cowardly, craven, creaky, cringing, debilitated, decrepit, delicate, desperate, disconcerted, faint, fainthearted, 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 describing active and lively characters, acrobatic, active, adroit, agile, alert, alive, ambulatory, athletic, attentive, avid, awake, bouncy, breezy, bright-eyed, brisk, 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 describing inactive and lazy characters, abstracted, aged, apathetic, asleep, atrophied, barren, beat, benumbed, blank, blase, bored, bovine, bushed, cadaverous, 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 optimistic outlook to life, agrin, airy, amazed, amused, amusing, astonished, beatific, 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 and pessimistic outlook to life, abject, absorbed, abysmal, achy, afflicted, aggrieved, agonizing, anguished, beleaguered, bereaved, bereft, bleak, 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, 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 positive emotional status: Calm, gentle, and easygoing types, apollonian, calm, casual, composed, constrained, cool, cool-headed, demure, dewy, dispassionate, dryeyed, easygoing, emollient, even-tempered gentle, imperturbable, laconic, laid-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 negative emotional status: Angry, aggressive, and passionate types, aggravated, aggressive, aghast, agitated, amorous, angered, angry, animated, annoyed, antsy, argumentative, avid, bellicose, belligerent, blooming, brash, breathless choleric, combative, competitive, contentious, dedicated, defiant, 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 view of life: Moderate and balanced views and opinions, balanced, businesslike, careful, cautious, celibate, chary, circumspect, clocklike, closemouthed, collected, composed, concise, concrete, conscientious, conservative, consistent, constant, controlled, conventional, cool-headed, diplomatic, 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 view of life: Excessive and radical views, aberrant, abnormal, addictive, alcoholic, amok, anarchic, anarchistic, apoplectic, avaricious, berserk, brash, chaotic, 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 describing a person's manners: Proper, courteous, and refined manners, ceremonious, chaste, civil, civilized, classical, clubby, conforming, conventional, correct, courteous, courtly, couth, cultivated, cultured decent, decorous, delicate, demure, dignified, diplomatic, discreet, effete, elitist, established, 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 describing manners: Vulgar and rude manners, abandoned, aberrant, abnormal, abominable, aboriginal, abusive, animalistic, atavistic, barbaric, base, bawdy, beastly, bibulous, bizarre, blasphemous, blooey, blunt, boorish, brash, 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 and clever personality types, abreast, accurate, acute, analytical, apt, articulate, astute, au fait, authoritative, bookish, bright, brilliant, broad-ranging 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, ignorant personality types, absent-minded, abstracted, addlebrained, addled, agog, amnesiac, backward, baffled, befogged, befuddled, benighted, 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 abilities: Bright and skillful, ablaze, able, acclaimed, accomplished, adept, adequate, admirable, admired, ageless, aglow, all-around, amazing, 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, varied, vast, versatile, victorious, vintage, vivid, well-known, well-spoken, well-thought-of, whiz-bang, wonderful, wondrous, worthwhile, worthy, Describing a person's abilities: Dull or average, automatic, average, banal, bland, blank, boring, bourgeois, characterless, colorless, common, commonplace, conventional, 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 of maturity: Wise and experienced, actualized, adult, all-knowing, all-seeing, august, aware, awesome, balanced, broad, broad-minded, centered, clear, 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 of maturity: Foolish and immature, abstract, absurd, adolescent, affected, amateurish, anthropocentric, anti-intellectual, artless, artsy, asinine, 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, 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 status: Good, sincere and honest, aboveboard, angelic, authentic benevolent, bona fide, candid, capital, choice, conscientious, constant dear, decent, 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 status: Bad, false and dishonest, accursed, adulterous, affected, amoral, apocryphal, apostate, arch, artificial, awful, backhanded, bad, baleful, baneful, 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, 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 describing giving, generous personality types, accessible, accommodating, adaptable, approving, artless beatific, believing candid, careless, childlike, complaisant, compliant, credulous, democratic, dewy-eyed, doting, dulcet, 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 describing Demanding, selfish personality types, abrasive, accusatory, acerbic, acidic, acquisitive, admonishing, agnostic, arbitrary, arrogant, assiduous, assumptive, atheistic, 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: Helpful, positive, or nice to others, accessory, accommodating, aggrandizing, altruistic, amenable, amicable, attached, avuncular, beneficent, benevolent, benign, 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: Troublesome, negative, or unpleasant to others, abrasive, abusive, acrid, acrimonious, annoying, antagonistic, argumentative, avaricious, averse, baneful, bilious, bitter, 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. 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