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English Vocabulary in Use Advance (Unit 10: Describing people: personality and character traits)


A. Adjectives to describe people’s personality or behaviour

Word Meaning Example
impetuous acts on a sudden idea without thinking first (often negative) She’s so impetuous I wish she would consider things before acting.
impulsive similar to impetuous, but can be used in a more positive way His impulsive generosity led him to give money to anyone who asked for help.
effusive gives exaggerated expression of pleasure, praise or gratitude She always gives me such an effusive welcome when I visit her.
excitable easily excited by things He’s a very excitable child; he needs to calm down.
pushy always selfishly promoting your own position or interests; informal She’s so pushy; it’s typical of her to demand a pay rise for herself and not care about the rest of us.
self-conscious nervous or uncomfortable because you know what people think about you or your actions Freddie seemed self-conscious and uncomfortable when he had to make the announcement at the party.
well-balanced calm and reasonable and showing good judgement The teacher said Maddy was a well-balanced child who got on well at school.
taciturn reserved or says very little (generally negative) He was a bit taciturn when I first met him. He hardly said a word.

B. Sociability

Chloe’s such an introvert. Her brother Mark is so outgoing and is such an extrovert. Strange, isn’t it? [inward-looking and quiet / energetic and friendly]
Mr Rogers is such a diffident man. He seems to have quite low self-esteem. [lacks confidence / has a low opinion of himself]
English people are traditionally thought of as rather reserved. [not immediately sociable]
Eva tends to be rather aloof. I don’t know if she’s just shy. [unfriendly and not sociable]
My aunt Annie can be very haughty and disdainful at times, but she’s lovely really. [unfriendly and thinks herself better than others]
I’ve always found Professor Mactott very unapproachable, but his colleague Dr O’Daly is very approachable. [not easy to be sociable with / the opposite]
Natasha is very conceited and self-important, but Rachel is such a modest person. [thinks herself wonderful / prefers not to exaggerate her own qualities]
Joe is always so polite and respectful. I wish he would be more informal and just treat me as his equal. [treating someone well and politely, often with admiration]

C. Character traits

  • Arjen is a somewhat naive person; he thinks love can solve all the world’s problems. [/ˌnaɪˈiːv/ willing to believe simple things, perhaps because of inexperience]
  • Telephone salespeople often take advantage of gullible people. [easily deceived]
  • My father was a very conscientious man; he never took time off work unless he was really sick. [/ˌkɒnʃɪˈenʃəs/ always took his work very seriously]
  • She’s a restless individual. I don’t think she’ll ever settle down in a job. [not satisfied with what she is doing now and wanting something new]
  • You are so obstinate and pig-headed! Why don’t you listen when people give you advice? [unwilling to change, despite persuasion] [similar to obstinate but stronger; informal]
Exercise-10.1


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