Name: 50 Advanced Adjectives to Describe Personality | English vocabulary
Uploaded: 2021-07-29T14:08:58.000Z
Duration: 28 min 20 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Hi everyone. In this video we're going to look at 50 advanced adjectives

that can be used to describe somebody's personality.

Adverbs of manner

This video will probably help you if you have  an intermediate to advanced level in English

and if you already know most of the basic words used to describe personality like nice, friendly,

honest, mean, etc. Don't forget to turn on the subtitles if you need them, and if you're really

interested in improving your vocabulary, don't  forget to sign up for my free advanced English

email lessons. I send them out every two weeks and if you don't like them, you can unsubscribe at

any time. The link for that is in the description. Remember that I also have a short course on Udemy

which covers 55 common mistakes made by English learners. To receive my special discount for that,

you just need to click the link in the description. Okay, now the adjectives. I've divided these into

three groups: positive, neutral and negative. We'll start with the negative words and finish with the

positive ones because I think it's nice to end on a positive note. In terms of register, most of these

are standard, but if they are formal or informal, I will point that out. The first word is abrasive.

Abrasive. An abrasive person is rude and unkind. It usually refers to the way a person speaks.

An abrasive person is very direct and just not very polite.

For example, I avoid talking with my manager because he's very abrasive. "Abrasive" can also

be used to describe an object or substance that's rough. Sandpaper, for example, is abrasive.

That might help you remember the meaning. Number two is argumentative.

An argumentative person is someone who often argues or enjoys arguing.

I don't like having discussions with her because she's so

argumentative. The third one is bad-tempered. Someone who is bad-tempered becomes angry

or annoyed very easily. It's similar to "irritable", but it's a bit stronger.

For example: He's very bad-tempered, so most people stay out of his way. Now we have bigheaded.

Bigheaded. This is an informal word and no, it  doesn't literally mean that the person has

a large head. A bigheaded person has a very high opinion of themselves. They might think

that they're very important or intelligent. She's so bigheaded she acts as if she were our boss.

Next we have cocky. This is also an informal word. Someone who's cocky is overconfident,

especially in a way that annoys others. A cocky person often overestimates their abilities.

He's very cocky, but one day he'll realise that he doesn't know everything.

Now we have deceitful. Deceitful. This is actually a formal word. A deceitful person

tells lies or behaves in a dishonest  way. The politician has been accused of

being deceitful, but she isn't worse than any of her colleagues. The next word is

defensive. A defensive person often thinks they are  being criticised even when they're not. Defensive

people often misinterpret what you say because they often think that they're being attacked.

I don't want to ask him about his decisions because he's so defensive. The next word is devious.

Devious. This is a little formal... Um, we don't usually use it in casual conversations, but

people say it sometimes and you'll definitely  see it in books. Someone who's devious

uses dishonest ways to get what they want. A devious person often tricks or fools people.

She's a devious businesswoman and I'm sure she'll be arrested one day. Now we have entitled.

Entitled. An entitled person feels like they have the right to certain benefits

or privileges without necessarily deserving them or having worked for them.

For example: His parents spoiled him as a child, so it's not surprising that he's now

incredibly entitled. The next word is flaky. Flaky is informal.

A flaky person is someone who behaves in a strange or unexpected way and isn't very reliable.

We often use it to describe someone who often arrives late, or forgets things, or frequently loses

things. She's rather flaky, so don't be surprised if she shows up two hours late. Next we have gullible.

A gullible person is too willing to believe what other people tell them. They are easily tricked.

There are actually some silly jokes with the word "gullible". Like: Did you know that "gullible" has

been removed from the dictionary? Or: Do you know that you have "gullible" written on your forehead?

Anyway, here's an example sentence: Salespeople love him because he's so gullible and will believe

anything. Now we have moody. Moody. A moody person is someone whose moods change quickly and frequently.

It's basically the same as "temperamental", and we mainly use it to describe someone who

gets annoyed or angry easily. She's rather moody and it's hard to predict what she'll be like

from one day to the next. Here's another informal word. This one is nosy. Nosy.

A nosy person is too interested in other people's lives and what other people

are doing. They might, for example, ask too many personal questions. It's like being too curious.

Their nosy neighbours are always looking over their fence.

Now we have obstinate. This is a little formal... Um, in everyday speech we'd probably just say

"stubborn". It's a synonym. An obstinate person often refuses to change their opinions or behaviour in

a way that is unreasonable. He was an obstinate child, but he has turned into a very reasonable

young man. And now another informal word. This one is pigheaded. Pigheaded. Be careful, this is not

the same as "bigheaded". "Pigheaded" really just means the same thing as "obstinate" or "stubborn".

She's extremely pigheaded, so don't expect her to change her mind. Next we have self-centred.

Self-centred. A self-centred person primarily thinks about themselves and rarely thinks about

other people's needs or feelings. It's similar to "self-absorbed". He's completely self-centred

and is never interested in hearing about my problems. Now we have self-important.

Self-important. A self-important person thinks that they are more important than other people.

She was a self-important administrator who clearly enjoyed the small amount of power that she had.

The next word is sneaky. Sneaky. This is an informal word and it's similar to "devious".

A sneaky person does things in a secret and often dishonest way.

He's manipulative and sneaky, and would do anything to get a promotion. Next we have "thick". You probably

know this word already - it actually has several meanings. Usually it means the opposite of "thin".

For example, this is a thin book and this is a thick book. But when it's used to describe a person,

it's an informal way to say that the person is not very smart or perhaps slow to understand things.

My colleague is so thick I had to show her how to use the coffee machine

five times. But yeah, obviously that's not a very nice thing to say about somebody. The last one for

the negative adjectives is timid. Timid is similar to shy. It's not exactly the same, but it's similar.

A timid person lacks courage or self-confidence. They often get nervous easily

and are scared to do certain things. He was a timid child, but now he runs his own company.

Before we continue, I just want to point out that all of these adjectives

(the negative, the neutral and the positive ones) can all be used to describe behaviour as well.

Let's look at the word "abrasive" again. You could describe a person's personality as abrasive. For

example: He's an abrasive person. Which means that generally speaking or very often he's abrasive.

But you could also say something like: I don't know why he's being so abrasive. Which means

that in that moment or period of time, he is behaving in an abrasive way. Okay, let's continue.

We're now going to look at several words which I consider fairly neutral. In other words, they're

not really positive or negative. Or they can be used in a positive or negative way depending on

the context. You'll see what I mean. The first word is carefree. A carefree person is someone

who doesn't worry too much about things. Normally it's used in a positive way, but not always.

For example: Some of my colleagues are so carefree and they never seem concerned about anything.

As you can see, that might be considered a good thing or it might be considered a bad thing.

Next we have chatty. "Chatty" is informal. A chatty person talks a lot, normally in a friendly way.

It's very similar to "talkative". She's very chatty and makes new friends easily.

Usually this is used positively, but well, some people find chatty people annoying. Now we have competitive.

A competitive person has a strong desire to win, or be better or more successful than other people.

I don't like playing games with him because he's so competitive.

I'd say normally people use this disapprovingly, but for some people being competitive is a good

thing. The next word is inquisitive. This is similar to "nosy", but unlike "nosy" it can be used positively

as well. Another synonym is "curious". An inquisitive person either wants to know and learn about lots

of things or tries hard to find out things that don't concern them about other people.

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50 Advanced Adjectives to Describe Personality | English vocabulary

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