Describing people

One way to improve your English vocabulary is to use a variety of words when you describe people and their behaviour. Here are some words you can use when you speak about people in English.

كيف تصف الناس وتصف سلوكهم ؟

تعلم هذه المفردات المهمة في وصف الناس وحاول استخدامها باستمرار

active  = always doing something: "She's an active person and never wants to stay in and watch TV."

aggressive  =  being angry or threatening: "He's very aggressive at work and often starts arguments."

ambitious =  wanting to succeed: "He's ambitious and wants to be the head of the company soon."

argumentative  = always arguing with people: "Why can't you stop being so argumentative? Everyone else agrees that we should use less paper in the office!"

arrogant  =  thinking so highly of yourself that you think you are better than anyone else: "He always behaves as if nobody else's opinion is important - I find him very arrogant."

assertive  = being confident about yourself, so that people don't force you to do things you don't want to do: "It's important to be assertive at work."

B

bad-tempered   = in a bad mood: "What's got into him lately? He's so bad-tempered."

bashful =shy: "He's quite a bashful person, and never speaks first."

big-headed  =  thinking you're very important or clever: "I've never met anyone so big-headed!"

bossy  = telling people what to do all the time: "He's so bossy - he never lets me do things the way I want to do them."

C

canny =  clever and knowing how to do things: "He showed me a canny way to fill out my tax forms."

capricious  =  changing your mind suddenly or unpredictably: "You told me you liked skiing and now you say you don't. I wish you weren't so capricious!"

careless = not taking care over things: "He's a careless driver - I'm sure he'll have an accident one of these days."

caring  = wanting to help other people: "My boss is very caring and often asks me how things are going."

catty  = saying nasty or spiteful things about other people: "I know you don't like her, but calling her names is a bit catty."

cautious  = being careful about what you do, so that you avoid mistakes: "He's cautious about investing money in the stock market."

charming = pleasant and likeable: "What a charming man!"

cheeky = being rude or disrespectful: "It was a bit cheeky of him to ask for money after he told me he earned a lot himself."

clever  = intelligent: "She's a clever student and picks things up quickly."

conceited  = thinking you're very clever, or better than others and behaving in a way that shows this: "He's so conceited - he won't speak to us because he thinks we're below him."

conscientious  = doing something with care and attention, because you want to do it well: "She's a conscientious student and always does her homework."

considerate  = thinking and caring about others: "My neighbour brought me flowers when I was in hospital - he's very considerate." (That was considerate of him)

coy  = pretending to be shy so that you don't have to give information: "He's very coy about his qualifications - maybe he doesn't have a degree after all."

creative  = someone who can make or design things, or can think of solutions to a problem: "She's creative and artistic."

curious  = wanting to know things: "I'm curious to find out what you think of the situation."

D

deceitful  = trying to make people think something, so that you get what you want: "He lied about his qualifications to get a job - he's so deceitful."

docile  = quiet and submissive: "She's a docile child and always does what she's told."

dogmatic  = never questioning your ideas and wanting others to accept them without discussion: "He's a dogmatic politician and thinks he's right all the time."

domineering  = trying to control other people: "He's loud and domineering in the office - it's difficult to get him to listen to us."

E

enthusiastic = having a lot of interest in something: "He's an enthusiastic supporter of equal rights."

excitable  = someone who easily gets excited: "He gets very excitable about politics - it's one of his passions in life."

extroverted  = outgoing and lively: "She's extroverted and loves going out with people."

F

faithful = being loyal to someone or something: "He's faithful to the company."
"She's a faithful friend."

fickle = changing your mind and being unpredictable: "Politicians can be fickle when it suits them!"

flaky = slightly unstable and unreliable: "She's a little flaky at times, but otherwise she's a good worker."

full of himself  = being proud because you've achieved something and you want others to know: "He was full of himself after he got the promotion - it got annoying after a while."

funny  = making other people laugh: "He can be extremely funny when he's in the mood."

fussy  = only liking certain things: "She's fussy about what she wears."

G

good-humoured  = opposite of bad-tempered: "The people in my office are good-humoured."

good-natured  = kind and thoughtful: "She's a good-natured person and will always try to help you if she can."

grumpy  = someone who tends to be in a bad mood: "He's always grumpy in the morning and never says 'hello'."

H

happy  = in a good mood: "She's a happy baby and rarely cries."

happy-go-lucky  = not worrying about what might happen in the future: "He's a bit happy-go-lucky and doesn't think too hard about the possible consequences."

I

impulsive  = doing things without thinking first: "Before you buy a new car, just stop and think first whether you really need one. You can be so impulsive at times!"

inconsiderate  = not considering other people or their feelings: "He drives in the middle of the road and expects everyone else to get out of his way - he's such an inconsiderate driver."

intelligent = having the mental ability to understand things: "She's an intelligent student."

introverted  = opposite of extroverted: "He was introverted as a teenager, but became more confident as he got older."

inventive  = able to think up new ideas: "As head of Marketing, he can often think of inventive ways to keep his customers happy."

irritating  = annoying others: "He can be very irritating to work with."

J

jokey = making jokes: "You're in a jokey mood today, but we've got work to do!"

jolly  = happy and cheerful: "It was the weekend and everyone was in a jolly mood."

K

kind = thoughtful and caring: "My neighbour is kind - she looked after my cat when I was on holiday."

L

loud-mouthed  = someone who talks a lot and often says offensive things: "Don't worry about what he said - he can be very loud-mouthed at times."

loyal = someone who is faithful and stands by you: "His colleagues were loyal to him when he was having problems with his boss."

M

manic  = behaving in a slightly crazy way: "He's a bit manic at the moment - we've got a deadline, so he's rushing to finish the work."

manipulative  = trying to get other people to do what you want, by influencing or deceiving them: "She's very manipulative when she wants something."

moody  = having unpredictable moods: "Some people think he's moody - you never know if he's happy or grumpy."

N

nervous  = uncomfortable with a situation: "I'm always nervous before an exam."

O

old-fashioned  = behaving or thinking in a way that isn't modern: "He's a bit old-fashioned and thinks women shouldn't work."

opinionated  = having strong opinions: "He's opinionated and dogmatic - the last person you want to negotiate with."

P

passive = not being assertive and doing what other people want you to do without arguing: "He's passive at work, but domineering at home."

perfectionnist  = someone who isn't satisfied until what they do is perfect: "Her boss is a perfectionnist and sends back reports for correction even if there's only one spelling mistake in it."

persuasive = being able to persuade people to do things or to accept your ideas: "He's a persuasive talker."

picky  = only liking certain things or people: "She's picky about her friends."

playful  = someone who likes to play and have fun: "You're in a playful mood today!"

pleasant = nice and polite: "The bank manager was pleasant to me today."

polite  = showing good manners: "She's extremely polite and never forgets to say 'please' or 'thank you'."

pragmatic  = being practical and aware of your limitations: "She has a pragmatic approach to her job - she prioritises her work and does what she can within the day."

Q

quick-tempered  = getting angry quickly: "He was quick-tempered when he was young, but he's more relaxed now."

quiet = not saying much: "She's quiet and reserved."

R

reserved  = keeping your ideas and thoughts to yourself: "He's reserved, but polite."

rude  = impolite: "He's very rude, and never says 'please' or 'thank you'."

S

scatter-brained / scatty = someone who often forgets things: "Don't you remember where you put your wallet? You're so scatter-brained!"

serious  = not light-hearted: "He's a serious student and always does his homework."

shy  = quiet, because you are not very confident: "He's so shy, and hates saying anything to people he doesn't know."

sincere = saying what you believe (opposite of insincere): "He's sincere in his beliefs."

slapdash = doing your work quickly and carelessly: "He's got a very slapdash attitude - I doubt he'll ever become a lawyer."

slimy = trying to get what you want by being over-friendly: "That man is so slimy - he makes me feel sick!"

sly = doing things in a secretive way: "You never know what he's up to - he's sly and manipulative."

spiteful = trying to hurt other people because you didn't get what you wanted: "Just because you didn't buy her a new bike, she's taking it out on her younger sister. She's spiteful - that's all."

T

thoughtful = thinking about other people or thinking about ideas: "He's a thoughtful person and won't do anything unless he has considered the consequences."

thoughtless  = not thinking about other people or the consequences of your actions: "He's extremely thoughtless - he knew I was ill, but still expected me to take the children swimming."

trustworthy  = someone you can trust: "My accountant is trustworthy - he never lets me down."

U

unkind = not kind: "I think it was very unkind of her to call you names."

V

volatile quickly changing moods: "He's easily excitable, and pretty volatile."

W

witty = being able to make other people laugh by what you say: "He's witty and charming - the perfect person to invite to a party."

X

xenophobic = disliking foreigners because you are afraid of them: "I find his attitude rather xenophobic."

Y

youthful = acting young: "He's a youthful grandfather and often plays football with the children."