Whether you’re describing a friend, a teacher or a famous person, the right adjectives make your English sound precise and natural. This page gives you over 40 positive adjectives to describe a person, grouped by personality type, each with its meaning and a real example sentence, plus better words for nice, polite ways to describe negative traits and a quick quiz.
They are especially useful for IELTS Speaking: “Describe a person…” is one of the most common Part 2 cue card types, and precise vocabulary is a quarter of your Speaking score (Lexical Resource).
Positive adjectives to describe a person#
Kind and caring#
| Adjective | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| considerate | thinks about other people’s feelings | She’s incredibly considerate. She always remembers my exams and texts me good luck. |
| compassionate | feels and shows sympathy for people who suffer | As a nurse, my aunt is compassionate without being sentimental. |
| generous | happy to give time, money or help | My grandfather was generous with his time. He’d spend hours helping me with maths. |
| thoughtful | does small things that show they care | It was a thoughtful gift: a book by an author I’d mentioned once. |
| warm-hearted | friendly and kind in a natural way | Our neighbours are warm-hearted people who welcomed us from day one. |
| supportive | encourages and helps you | My manager was very supportive when I went back to university. |
Hard-working and reliable#
| Adjective | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| diligent | works carefully and with effort | She’s a diligent student who rewrites her notes every evening. |
| dedicated | gives a lot of time and energy to something | He’s completely dedicated to his patients. |
| conscientious | wants to do a job well and correctly | My father is extremely conscientious. He double-checks everything. |
| reliable / dependable | you can trust them to do what they say | If you need someone to pick you up at 3am, Ahmed is the most dependable person I know. |
| determined | does not give up | She was determined to run a marathon, even after her injury. |
| self-disciplined | controls their own habits | You have to be self-disciplined to study for IELTS while working full time. |
Clever and creative#
| Adjective | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| bright | intelligent, quick to learn | My younger brother is very bright, but he hates homework. |
| perceptive | notices things others miss | My best friend is perceptive. She knows something’s wrong before I say a word. |
| resourceful | good at finding solutions with what is available | My grandmother was resourceful. She could make a meal out of almost nothing. |
| imaginative | has original, creative ideas | Our art teacher was imaginative and made every lesson different. |
| knowledgeable | knows a lot about a subject | He’s really knowledgeable about history, so museums with him are great fun. |
| open-minded | willing to accept new ideas | Living abroad made her more open-minded. |
Confident and strong#
| Adjective | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| self-assured | confident in a calm way | She comes across as self-assured, but she told me she still gets nervous. |
| resilient | recovers quickly from difficulties | He lost his job twice and still started his own business. He’s incredibly resilient. |
| ambitious | wants to be very successful | My cousin is ambitious and wants to be a partner at her firm by 35. |
| assertive | says what they want clearly, but politely | A good leader needs to be assertive without being aggressive. |
| courageous | brave in difficult situations | It was courageous of her to speak up in the meeting. |
| decisive | makes decisions quickly and firmly | In an emergency you need someone decisive. |
Friendly and fun#
| Adjective | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| outgoing | enjoys meeting and talking to people | I’m fairly outgoing, so I enjoy group projects. |
| easy-going | relaxed, not easily upset | My flatmate is so easy-going that we’ve never had an argument. |
| witty | clever and funny with words | My uncle is witty. He can make a joke out of anything. |
| down-to-earth | practical and modest, not arrogant | Even though she’s famous, she seems really down-to-earth. |
| approachable | easy to talk to | The best teachers are approachable, so students aren’t afraid to ask questions. |
| good company | enjoyable to spend time with | He’s quiet at first, but he’s great company once you get to know him. |
Calm and honest#
| Adjective | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| level-headed | stays calm and sensible | My mum is level-headed in a crisis. |
| patient | does not get annoyed when things take time | You have to be patient to teach young children. |
| sincere | means what they say | His apology was sincere, so I forgave him. |
| trustworthy | you can trust them with secrets or responsibility | A best friend has to be trustworthy above all. |
| modest / humble | does not talk about their own success | She’s very modest. I only found out she’d won an award from someone else. |
| principled | has strong moral values | He’s principled and would never cut corners at work. |
Better words for “nice”, “good” and “kind”#
Nice and good are fine in conversation, but in IELTS they don’t show range. Choose a word that says what kind of nice:
| Instead of… | Try… |
|---|---|
| nice (friendly) | warm, approachable, easy to get on with |
| nice (helps people) | considerate, thoughtful, generous |
| good (at work) | conscientious, dedicated, competent |
| good (morally) | principled, honest, decent |
| clever | bright, sharp, perceptive, gifted |
| funny | witty, hilarious, has a great sense of humour |
| strong | resilient, determined, tough |
| calm | level-headed, composed, laid-back |
Describing negative traits politely#
In IELTS Speaking (and in real life) it sounds more natural to soften negative words. Use a bit, can be, tends to or a positive opposite with not very:
| Direct (sounds harsh) | Softer and more natural |
|---|---|
| lazy | He’s not the most motivated person. |
| rude | She can be a bit blunt. |
| stubborn | He tends to stick to his opinions. |
| boring | He’s quite reserved until you get to know him. |
| bossy | She likes to take charge. |
| mean (with money) | He’s quite careful with money. |
Make adjectives stronger or weaker#
- Stronger: incredibly, extremely, really, remarkably + adjective: She’s incredibly resilient.
- Weaker: fairly, quite, a little + adjective: I’m fairly outgoing.
- Extreme adjectives (hilarious, brilliant, fascinating) go with absolutely or really, not very: He’s absolutely hilarious, not
very hilarious.
Show it, don’t just say it#
Examiners hear “he is kind, honest and hard-working” all day. A list of adjectives is not a description. One adjective plus a short example is far more convincing:
List: “My aunt is kind and generous and very hard-working.”
Show it: “My aunt is incredibly generous. When I moved to the city, she lent me her car for three months and refused to take any money for petrol.”
Try it with the cue cards Describe a person you admire, Describe a teacher who influenced you, Describe a friend you have known for a long time and Describe a creative person. Each has a sample answer and a recorder.
Describing appearance (briefly)#
In IELTS, appearance matters less than personality, but one sentence helps the listener picture the person. Order: build, age, then a detail.
- Build: slim, well-built, of medium height, tall and lanky, petite
- Age: in his early twenties, in her mid-forties, in his late sixties
- Details: curly / shoulder-length hair, a warm smile, always smartly dressed
She’s in her mid-fifties, petite, with short grey hair and the warmest smile I know.
Quick quiz#
Choose the best adjective for each sentence, then check your answers below.
- She never gives up, even after failing. She’s very ______.
(resilient / reserved / easy-going) - He always remembers birthdays and asks how you are. He’s really ______.
(considerate / assertive / ambitious) - Our teacher was easy to talk to, so we asked lots of questions. She was ______.
(approachable / principled / decisive) - My uncle makes clever jokes all the time. He’s very ______.
(witty / diligent / humble) - Even though he’s rich, he’s ______ and talks to everyone.
(down-to-earth / self-disciplined / perceptive) - Which is the most polite way to say someone is rude?
(She can be a bit blunt. / She is very rude. / She is extremely rude.) - My best friend is absolutely ______.
(hilarious / funny / nice) - She stays calm and sensible in a crisis. She’s ______.
(level-headed / outgoing / imaginative)
Check your answers
Enter your answers and press Check. Spelling counts, but capitals and punctuation don’t.
Try checking your answers first. You’ll see your score and exactly which questions you missed. It takes 10 seconds.
Answer key with explanationsShowHide
- 1resilient“Resilient” = recovers quickly from difficulties.
- 2considerate“Considerate” = thinks about other people’s feelings.
- 3approachable“Approachable” = easy to talk to.
- 4witty“Witty” = clever and funny with words.
- 5down-to-earth“Down-to-earth” = practical and modest.
- 6She can be a bit blunt.Soften negative traits with “can be a bit” and a milder word.
- 7hilarious“Absolutely” goes with extreme adjectives like hilarious, not with funny or nice.
- 8level-headed“Level-headed” = calm and sensible.
Keep going#
- Use your new adjectives in a Part 2 cue card and record yourself.
- Add a natural idiom or two: see idioms for IELTS Speaking (a heart of gold, down-to-earth, the life and soul of the party).
- Learn how vocabulary is scored in our Lexical Resource guide.