Wordbay · Character
Words to describe a person’s character
For the friendly colleague, the cold neighbour, the know-all and the quietly reliable: words that pin down what someone is like, from the kind to the frankly unflattering.
Everyday (25)
- affable adjective. Friendly, easy-going and pleasant to talk to.
- aloof adjective. Cool and distant; not friendly or involved.
- articulate adjective. Able to express ideas clearly and fluently.
- brash adjective. Loudly and aggressively self-confident.
- candid adjective. Truthful and direct, even when the truth is uncomfortable.
- complacent adjective. Smugly satisfied with how things are, and so not alert to danger.
- conscience noun. The inner sense of right and wrong that guides what a person does and makes them feel guilty when they fail it.
- conscientious adjective. Careful to do a job thoroughly and well, from a sense of duty.
- cynical adjective. Believing that people are driven mainly by self-interest.
- discreet adjective. Careful about what you say or do, so as not to embarrass anyone or give away secrets.
- eccentric adjective. Odd or unconventional, usually in a harmless or charming way.
- frugal adjective. Careful and sparing with money or food; simple and inexpensive.
- glutton noun. Someone who habitually eats far more than they need.
- gregarious adjective. Fond of company and happiest among other people.
- gumption noun. Practical good sense, and the get-up-and-go to act on it.
- impetuous adjective. Acting quickly on impulse, without thinking things through.
- inertia noun. The tendency of an object to stay still, or keep moving, until a force acts on it.
- jaded adjective. Tired and unimpressed after having seen or done too much of something.
- meticulous adjective. Showing great care and attention to every detail.
- pious adjective. Deeply religious and devout; also used of a show of virtue that seems self-righteous.
- pompous adjective. Self-important and showily solemn.
- pragmatic adjective. Dealing with things sensibly and practically rather than by theory or ideals.
- shirk verb. To avoid a duty, task or responsibility out of laziness or fear.
- tenacious adjective. Holding firmly to something and refusing to give up.
- volatile adjective. Liable to sudden, unpredictable changes of mood or temper.
Well-read (50)
- abstemious adjective. Sparing in eating and drinking; not one to indulge.
- antihero noun. A central character who lacks traditional heroic qualities such as courage, honesty or kindness.
- ascetic adjective. Choosing a strict, simple life without comforts or pleasures, often for religious or moral reasons.
- bibliophile noun. A person who loves books, especially one who collects them for their bindings, editions or rarity.
- bibulous adjective. Very fond of drinking alcohol.
- buffoon noun. A person who behaves in a ridiculous but amusing way; a clown.
- callow adjective. Young and lacking experience of life.
- capricious adjective. Changing mood or behaviour suddenly and without reason.
- cheese-paring adjective. Mean with money to the point of pettiness.
- churlish adjective. Rude and ungracious, especially when kindness is expected.
- curmudgeon noun. A bad-tempered, grumpy person, often an older one, who complains about everything.
- diffident adjective. Shy and lacking confidence in yourself.
- dour adjective. Stern, gloomy and unsmiling.
- ebullient adjective. Bubbling over with cheerful energy and enthusiasm.
- eminent adjective. Famous and respected within a particular field.
- enfant terrible noun. A person whose unconventional or shocking behaviour unsettles their profession.
- fastidious adjective. Very concerned with accuracy, cleanliness and detail; hard to please.
- feckless adjective. Lacking the energy, will or sense to get things done.
- flibbertigibbet noun. A flighty, chattering person who can't stick to one thing.
- hedonism noun. The pursuit of pleasure as the main goal of life, or the belief that pleasure is the highest good.
- imperious adjective. Expecting to be obeyed, in a proud and commanding way.
- ingenious adjective. Clever, original and inventive.
- ingenuous adjective. Innocent, trusting and open, sometimes more than is wise.
- insular adjective. Interested only in your own small world and wary of outsiders.
- intransigent adjective. Refusing to change your views or agree to any compromise.
- irascible adjective. Quick to lose your temper.
- jocular adjective. Fond of joking, or said in a playful, joking way.
- laconic adjective. Using very few words, often in a dry or understated way.
- litigious adjective. Too ready to go to court to settle disagreements.
- loquacious adjective. Talking a great deal, easily and often.
- magnanimous adjective. Generous and forgiving, especially towards a rival or someone weaker.
- mensch noun. A person of real integrity and kindness, someone to look up to.
- mercurial adjective. Prone to quick, unpredictable changes of mood.
- munificent adjective. More generous than is usual or expected.
- obsequious adjective. Too eager to please or obey, in a fawning way.
- officious adjective. Too keen to assert authority or interfere, especially in small matters.
- parsimonious adjective. Extremely unwilling to spend money or use resources.
- perfunctory adjective. Done quickly and with little care or interest, just to get it over with.
- popinjay noun. A vain, overdressed person who chatters conceitedly.
- profligate adjective. Recklessly wasteful with money or resources.
- puckish adjective. Playful and mischievous.
- punctilious adjective. Showing great attention to correct details of behaviour or procedure.
- reticent adjective. Not inclined to share your thoughts or feelings; reserved.
- sangfroid noun. Calm composure in a difficult or dangerous moment.
- sardonic adjective. Grimly mocking or cynical.
- solipsism noun. The idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist; also an extreme self-absorption that ignores others.
- spendthrift noun. A person who spends money recklessly and wastefully.
- stoicism noun. Calm endurance of hardship without complaint; also the ancient philosophy of accepting what you cannot control.
- supercilious adjective. Behaving as if you think you are better than other people.
- truculent adjective. Quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant.
Advanced (27)
- antinomian adjective. Rejecting moral or social rules as binding, originally the belief that faith frees believers from moral law.
- atrabilious adjective. Gloomy and bad-tempered.
- bibliophage noun. A person who devours books, reading constantly and voraciously.
- bibliotaph noun. A person who hoards books and keeps them locked away, refusing to lend them.
- bumptious adjective. Irritatingly self-assertive and pleased with yourself.
- captious adjective. Inclined to find fault or raise trivial objections.
- choleric adjective. Bad-tempered and easily angered.
- complaisant adjective. Willing to please others and go along with what they want.
- contumacious adjective. Stubbornly disobedient to authority, especially to a court.
- credulous adjective. Too ready to believe what you are told.
- effete adjective. Worn out and no longer able to do what it once did.
- eupeptic adjective. Having a good digestion, and so cheerful and optimistic.
- lickspittle noun. A person who flatters and grovels to those in power.
- masterful adjective. Powerful and commanding; used to taking control of others.
- opsimath noun. A person who begins to learn or study late in life.
- pertinacious adjective. Holding firmly to a purpose or opinion, sometimes to the point of stubbornness.
- phlegmatic adjective. Calm and unflustered, slow to show emotion.
- pusillanimous adjective. Lacking courage or determination; timid.
- querulous adjective. Complaining in a whining, peevish way.
- saturnine adjective. Gloomy, brooding and serious in manner or looks.
- scaramouch noun. A boastful but cowardly person; a buffoonish braggart.
- sedulous adjective. Showing steady, careful and persistent effort.
- splenetic adjective. Bad-tempered and spiteful.
- sybaritic adjective. Devoted to luxury and pleasure.
- vainglorious adjective. Excessively proud of yourself and given to boasting.
- valetudinarian noun. A person who worries constantly about their own health, often imagining illness.
- zetetic adjective. Proceeding by enquiry and questioning rather than by accepting answers.