Personality & Character
Describe behaviour without turning one observation into a complete judgement of someone’s character. Distinguish quietness from distance, persistence from stubbornness, and justified confidence from complacency.
How people relate to others
enjoying company and actively seeking social contact
Common use: a gregarious personality; naturally gregarious
Our gregarious host introduced guests to one another before they had taken off their coats.
restrained in expressing feelings or speaking about oneself
Common use: a reserved manner; reserved with strangers
The reserved witness answered questions about her private life briefly and without elaboration.
avoiding attention or emphasis on one’s own importance
Common use: a self-effacing manner / sense of humour
The self-effacing designer thanked the whole team and barely mentioned her own contribution.
expressing needs or views confidently and directly without necessarily being aggressive
Common use: an assertive response / manner; assertive rather than aggressive
He was assertive about needing a quiet room, but listened to the receptionist’s explanation.
trying to control others in an unpleasantly forceful way
Common use: an overbearing manner / personality
Her overbearing cousin answered every question on her behalf.
distant or unapproachable in manner, often suggesting lack of interest
Common use: an aloof manner; remain aloof from others
The new owner remained aloof, watching the celebration without greeting anyone.
- Reserved concerns restraint; aloof more readily conveys distance. A quiet person can still be warm and approachable.
- Self-effacing downplays the self; it does not necessarily imply shyness or low confidence. Gregarious describes enjoyment of company, not automatic kindness.
- Assertive need not be aggressive. Overbearing negatively evaluates an attempt to dominate others, rather than merely a firm statement of needs.
Duty, integrity and reliability
careful and responsible about doing a task or duty well
Common use: a conscientious worker / student; conscientious about checking details
The conscientious archivist checked every label before opening the collection.
extremely careful about correctness or acting honestly and fairly
Common use: scrupulous attention / honesty; scrupulous about declaring interests
The organiser was scrupulous about declaring every gift received from sponsors.
guided by firmly held moral rules or beliefs
Common use: a principled objection / stance; a principled person
Defending an opponent’s right to speak was a principled commitment to open debate.
able to be relied on to act as expected or fulfil commitments
Common use: a dependable colleague / friend; dependable under pressure
When plans fell apart, Leo remained the most dependable person to call.
changing suddenly according to unpredictable wishes or moods
Common use: a capricious decision / mood / ruler
A capricious guest changed the dinner arrangements three times for no apparent reason.
deliberately deceptive, often presenting different faces to different people
Common use: duplicitous behaviour / dealings; a duplicitous negotiator
The manager’s duplicitous public praise concealed a private campaign to discredit her colleague.
- Conscientious foregrounds responsible care in duties; dependable foregrounds reliable fulfilment of expectations. The same person may be both.
- Scrupulous can emphasise meticulous accuracy or strict honesty. Principled concerns the moral basis of a stance; convictions alone do not guarantee meticulous work.
- Capricious concerns unpredictable changes of wish or mood. Duplicitous concerns deliberate deception, which may be carefully planned rather than erratic.
Responses to difficulty
able to find effective ways to manage difficulties with available means
Common use: a resourceful assistant / organiser; resourceful in a crisis
The resourceful stagehand turned spare fabric and wire into a convincing tree.
able to recover or adapt after difficulty, stress or setbacks
Common use: a resilient person / community; emotionally resilient
She was upset by the rejection but proved resilient, returning to the project with a revised approach.
persistent in holding to an aim or position despite difficulty
Common use: a tenacious competitor / campaigner; tenacious in pursuit of something
Her tenacious defence of the public footpath continued through three rounds of consultation.
determined to act as one wishes despite advice or warnings; often disapproving
Common use: a headstrong teenager / decision-maker
Headstrong and impatient, he set off without the map everyone urged him to take.
too satisfied with the current situation to recognise risks or the need for effort
Common use: become complacent; complacent about safety / success
We cannot be complacent about improvements in accessibility while so many visitors remain excluded.
able and willing to manage one’s affairs without depending heavily on others
Common use: become self-reliant; a self-reliant learner
Living alone made her more self-reliant, though she still welcomed advice.
- Resourceful concerns finding solutions; self-reliant concerns independence. An independent person may still need help with an unfamiliar problem.
- Resilient involves recovery or adaptation, not immunity to distress. Tenacious stresses persistence, which does not by itself guarantee a sensible aim.
- Headstrong often criticises determination that disregards advice. Complacent criticises unjustified satisfaction, rather than ordinary confidence after success.
Judgement and understanding
able to notice and judge relevant differences in quality or character
Common use: a discerning reader / audience / buyer
A discerning listener noticed how differently the two pianists shaped the same phrase.
willing to consider unfamiliar ideas or revise a view
Common use: an open-minded approach; open-minded about alternatives
The chef stayed open-minded about the unusual ingredient until she had tried it.
asserting opinions as unquestionable truths and resisting contrary views; disapproving
Common use: a dogmatic statement / approach; dogmatic about something
He took a dogmatic line on timetables, refusing to consider that flexible hours could work.
distrustful of people’s motives, often expecting self-interest rather than sincerity
Common use: cynical about promises / motives; a cynical view
She gave a cynical laugh at the claim that the merger was motivated purely by public service.
calm and sensible in judgement, especially under pressure
Common use: a level-headed response / person
The level-headed passenger checked the exit signs while others argued about the delay.
able to understand and respond to another person’s feelings or perspective
Common use: an empathetic listener / response; empathetic towards someone
The interviewer’s empathetic questions gave the nervous apprentice time to explain.
- Discerning concerns perceptive judgement; open-minded concerns willingness to consider alternatives. Neither requires accepting every new claim.
- Dogmatic criticises closed certainty. Cynical focuses on suspected motives; it is not simply another word for careful evidence-based doubt.
- Level-headed stresses composure and sensible judgement. Empathetic stresses understanding another person’s perspective, not necessarily agreeing with it.