Descriptive Adjectives – List of Adjectives to Describe a Person

An adjective that is used to describe the quality of a noun or a pronoun is called a Descriptive Adjective. It will modify a noun by describing or expressing its quality. 

Example
I met an undercover cop. 
She was very angry. 

In the above examples, the word “undercover” and “angry” are describing the quality of the pronouns they are referring to. 

All adjectives are not descriptive adjectives. Adjectives that do not describe the quality of a noun are known as limiting adjectives. 

Example
Pass me that cup. 

In the above example, the word “that” is modifying the noun “cup”, but it is not describing the quality of the noun. Hence, it is known as a limiting adjective. 

Most of the adjectives are descriptive adjectives. In a sentence, you can identify a descriptive adjective if it is placed right between the article and the noun, or used as a subject complement with the linking verb. 

Example
I met an angry man. 
The man was angry. 

In the first example, the descriptive adjective is used directly before the noun it modifies. However, in the second example, it is used with the linking verb as a subject complement. 

List of Descriptive Adjectives


List of all common English adjectives to describe a person

Positive Adjectives Negative Adjectives

  • Adorable
  • Adventurous
  • Agreeable
  • Alive
  • Aloof
  • Amused
  • Angry
  • Annoying
  • Anxious
  • Arrogant
  • Ashamed
  • Attractive
  • Auspicious
  • Awful
  • Bad
  • Beautiful
  • Black
  • Blue
  • Blushing
  • Bored
  • Brave
  • Bright
  • Brown
  • Busy
  • Calm
  • Careful
  • Cautious
  • Charming
  • Cheerful
  • Clean
  • Clear
  • Clever
  • Clumsy
  • Colorful
  • Comfortable
  • Concerning
  • Condemned
  • Confusing
  • Cooperative
  • Courageous
  • Creepy
  • Crowded
  • Cruel
  • Curios
  • Cute
  • Dangerous
  • Dark
  • Defiant
  • Delightful
  • Difficult
  • Disgusting
  • Distinct
  • Disturbed
  • Dizzying
  • Drab
  • Dull
  • Eager
  • Easy
  • Elated
  • Elegant
  • Embarrassed
  • Enchanted
  • Encouraging
  • Energetic
  • Enthusiastic
  • Envious
  • Evil
  • Exciting
  • Expensive
  • Exuberant
  • Faithful
  • Famous
  • Fancy
  • Fantastic
  • Fierce
  • Filthy
  • Fine
  • Foolish
  • Fragile
  • Frail
  • Frantic
  • Friendly
  • Frightening
  • Funny
  • Gentle
  • Gifted
  • Glamorous
  • Gleaming
  • Glorious
  • Good
  • Gorgeous
  • Graceful
  • Green
  • Grieving
  • Grumpy
  • Handsome
  • Happy
  • Healthy
  • Helpful
  • Helpless
  • Hilarious
  • Homeless
  • Horrible
  • Hungry
  • Hurt
  • Ill
  • Important
  • Impossible
  • Impromptu
  • Improvised
  • Inexpensive
  • Innocent
  • Inquiring
  • Itchy
  • Jealous
  • Jittery
  • Joyous
  • Kind
  • Knightly
  • Lazy
  • Lemony
  • Light
  • Lingering
  • Lively
  • Lonely
  • Long
  • Lovely
  • Lucky
  • Magnificent
  • Modern
  • Motionless
  • Muddy
  • Mushy
  • Mysterious
  • Naughty
  • Nervous
  • Nice
  • Niche
  • Nutty
  • Obedient
  • Obnoxious
  • Odd
  • Open
  • Orange
  • Outrageous
  • Outstanding
  • Panicked
  • Perfect
  • Pink
  • Plain
  • Pleasant
  • Poised
  • Poor
  • Powerless
  • Precious
  • Prickling
  • Proud
  • Purple
  • Puzzled
  • Quaint
  • Queer
  • Quizzical
  • Realistic
  • Red
  • Relieved
  • Repelling
  • Repulsive
  • Rich
  • Scary
  • Scenic
  • Selfish
  • Shiny
  • Shy
  • Silly
  • Sleepy
  • Smiling
  • Smoggy
  • Sore
  • Sparkly
  • Splendid
  • Spotted
  • Stormy
  • Strange
  • Stupid
  • Successful
  • Super
  • Talented
  • Tame
  • Tasty
  • Tender
  • Tense
  • Terrible
  • Terse
  • Thankful
  • Thoughtful
  • Tired
  • Tough
  • Troubling
  • Ugly
  • Uninterested
  • Unusual
  • Upset
  • Uptight
  • Varied
  • Vast
  • Victorious
  • Wandering
  • Weary
  • White
  • Wicked
  • Wide
  • Wild
  • Witty
  • Worrisome
  • Wrong
  • Yellow
  • Young
  • Zealous