Adjectives for Describing the People in Your Stories
Here’s a brief list of adjectives you can use to describe all of the characters involved in your story. They are listed alphabetically with a brief dictionary definition of the word.Overcome writer’s block with this online course, and keep the words flowing.
articulate: the ability to speak fluently and coherently; synonyms include eloquent, fluent, persuasive, and expressive.
bossy: enjoys giving out orders to others, domineering; synonyms include pushy, overbearing and controlling.
careful: avoiding danger, or doing things with thought and attention; synonyms include cautious, alert, wary, diligent, scrupulous, deliberate, and attentive.
defiant: showing resistance and disobedience; synonyms include resistant, obstinate, uncooperative, and noncompliant.
energetic: showing an excessive amount of activity or vitality; synonyms include spirited, animated, bouncy, bubbly, and active.
frustrated: expressing distress or annoyance especially because of a character’s inability to change or complete something; synonyms include defeated, disappointed, and crushed.
giving: being of a generous nature; synonyms include generous.
honest: free of deceit and untruthfulness, sincere; synonyms include truthful, sincere, frank, open, and straight.
imaginative: having or showing creativity or inventiveness; synonyms include creative, inspired, inventive, and resourceful.
joyful: feeling, expressing, or causing great pleasure and happiness; synonyms include happy, cheerful, jolly, and joyous.
kind: having or showing a friendly, generous, and considerate nature; synonyms include loving, affectionate, caring, and good-natured.
lazy: unwilling to work or use energy; synonyms include inactive, sluggish, idle, and lethargic.
messy: untidy or dirty; synonyms include dirty, grubby, and grimy.
nervous: a person who is easily agitated or alarmed, tends to be anxious or high strung; synonyms include anxious, edgy, and neurotic.
obnoxious: a person who is annoying to others around him; synonyms include unpleasant, nasty, repugnant, and insufferable.
prim: someone who acts stiffly formal and respectable, someone who shows disapproval of anything seen as improper; synonyms include proper, formal, stuffy, and prudish.
quiet: a person who makes little or no noise; synonyms include silent, hushed, and shy.
reliable: someone who can be trusted and consistently performs well; synonyms include dependable, genuine, and trustworthy.
stubborn: someone unwilling to change their attitude or position on something especially when shown good arguments or reasons against their position; synonyms include obstinate, strong-willed, and inflexible.
tricky: someone who is crafty, deceitful, or sly; synonyms include sharp, calculating, slick, and slippery.
unique: a person who is unlike any other or goes against the grain of society; synonyms include individual, special, and distinctive.
vain: a person who has a high opinion of their appearance, abilities, or worth; synonyms include conceited, narcissistic, egotistic, and self-obsessed.
wild: a person who is uncontrolled or unrestrained in their actions; synonyms include unrestrained, unruly, disorderly, and rowdy.