Vocabulary/ A2 Vocabulary lessons and / Describing people’s personality – A2 English Vocabulary
Describing People’s Personality
Learn how to describe different types of people using simple personality adjectives
About This Lesson
In this A2 vocabulary lesson on Describing People’s Personality, you’ll learn how to describe people using common adjectives—both positive and negative. Check the illustrations and definitions below to build your descriptive vocabulary.
Personality Adjectives
Chart with pictures and labels featuring adjectives like friendly, kind, lazy, optimistic, shy, etc.
Personality Adjectives
friendly — Positive Adjectives
Anna was friendly and welcomed me to the class.
kind — Positive Adjectives
The kind lady offered to drive me home.
generous — Positive Adjectives
The generous old man left the waiter a $20 tip.
optimistic — Positive Adjectives
Tom is so optimistic; he always sees the bright side of things.
reliable — Positive Adjectives
Sue is a reliable person; she always keeps her promises.
responsible — Positive Adjectives
Sam is very responsible, so I trust him with my children.
cheerful — Positive Adjectives
Harry is always cheerful, even when things go wrong.
outgoing — Positive Adjectives
Mary is so outgoing; she loves going to parties and meeting up with friends.
easygoing — Positive Adjectives
Joe is so easygoing. Nothing ever seems to bother him.
hardworking — Positive Adjectives
Tony is one of the most hardworking people that I have ever met.
pessimistic — Negative or Neutral Adjectives
Peter is so pessimistic; he makes me see the negative side of everything.
unfriendly — Negative or Neutral Adjectives
Ken was unfriendly and did not make me feel welcome at all.
rude — Negative or Neutral Adjectives
The rude shop assistant took my money without speaking or even looking at me.
mean (unkind) — Negative or Neutral Adjectives
Little Henry started to cry when the mean boys took away his ball.
mean (stingy) — Negative or Neutral Adjectives
Gary is so mean; he didn’t even buy his wife a birthday present.
unreliable — Negative or Neutral Adjectives
Sally lost her job because she was unreliable and kept calling in sick.
irresponsible — Negative or Neutral Adjectives
I don’t trust Tim to stay alone at home all weekend. He’s too irresponsible.
miserable — Negative or Neutral Adjectives
I wish Dan would smile more. He always looks so miserable.
shy — Negative or Neutral Adjectives
Jerry is a shy boy and rarely speaks in class.
lazy — Negative or Neutral Adjectives
Sara’s lazy husband sits on the sofa all day.
Learning Tip
When describing someone’s personality, use the adjective after the verb “be”:
❌ Avoid: “She has friendly.” (We don’t use “have” for personality!)