Advanced Adjectives You Can Use to Describe Someone
Imagine your crush paying you a compliment. Which would you rather hear?
Chances are that you’d prefer that your romantic interest call you delightful rather than agreeable. But why is this the case if both have similar meanings?
It’s because words are much more than their literal definitions; they also carry different connotations and implications. To elaborate, agreeable is an apt adjective to describe a boss or colleague, but it’s not fitting for your spouse. On the other hand, delightful is the adjective you’d use to depict someone you’re fond of because it conveys a degree of closeness, whether romantic or platonic. That’s why adjectives matter—they help articulate your thoughts and feelings.
Below, we’ll review 35 unique adjectives you can use to describe someone, whether you’re offering them a compliment or for other purposes.
To explore new ways to accurately express your meaning, try our Paraphrasing Tool.
Unique Adjectives To Describe a Person
The list of adjectives you can use to describe someone is endless. They can be casual or formal, basic or advanced. Below, you’ll find adjectives that are somewhere in the middle ground—easy enough to incorporate into your vocabulary, but sophisticated enough to be deemed impressive.
The LanguageTool Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using these adjectives correctly.
Positive Adjectives
Appearance/Looks
1. Chiseled
When you hear the word chiseled, think of Hercules in the 1997 Disney movie, who has “strong and defined features as if formed with a chisel.” This adjective is mainly used to describe a man’s facial features or muscular physique.
2. Dapper
If a man gets a haircut, shaves his scruffy beard, puts on a neatly pressed tuxedo, and wears his fanciest and shiniest shoes, you can describe him as dapper, which is typically a masculine adjective that means “neat in looks and appearance.”
3. Graceful
Graceful is an adjective that describes someone as “elegant and moving in a smooth, attractive way.” It’s the perfect word to use to describe a woman with a long and elegant dress who seems to be floating rather than walking.
4. Radiant
Have you ever met someone who just radiates positive energy? You can call that person radiant, which literally means “glowing brightly,” but this word is often used to describe someone’s look or aura.
5. Ravishing
Someone who is ravishing might make your jaw drop because they are “strikingly attractive, entrancing, and out-of-this-world beautiful.”
6. Spiffy
When your date shows up wearing their best, most stylish clothes, they’re trying to make a good impression by appearing spiffy.
Personality
7. Bubbly
Bubbly is a fitting adjective to describe someone who is “enthusiastic and has a zest for life,” like your baby sister who gets excited at almost anything.
8. Jovial
Someone who is jovial is “good-humored, cheerful, and friendly.” This is one of the more advanced adjectives on this list, so you may turn some heads when you use it.
9. Quirky
Your middle school art teacher who loved wearing different colored shoes, had three cats, and seven goldfish in her room? Yeah, you can call her quirky, which describes someone as “having a lot of unexpected and unusual traits in an interesting or appealing way.”
10. Vivacious
A vivacious woman is one who is “attractively lively, spirited, and animated.”
11. Zesty
Zesty food is spicy and bold, but enjoyable. Someone with a zesty personality is the same—“spunky but agreeable.”
Intellect/Skills
12. Adept
You should be proud of yourself if someone says you’re adept because that means you’re “very skilled or thoroughly proficient at doing something.”
13. Astute
If you want to be a business person, make sure you’re astute or “good at reading the room, making observations, and using them to their advantage.”
14. Insightful
Someone who has clear perspectives on various subjects and enjoys sharing their wisdom and knowledge with others can be deemed insightful.
15. Perspicacious
Don’t be intimidated by this lengthy word. If you’re perspicacious, that means you’re “sharp, intelligent, and have a profound understanding of many things.”
16. Prudent
Someone who is prudent is “wise, thinks about the future, and is careful not to take unnecessary risks.”
17. Savvy
A savvy person has practical knowledge and common sense. Street smart can be considered an informal synonym of this word.
18. Witty
Witty describes a person as having a quick and clever sense of humor, like your best friend who always has the best comebacks.
Negative Adjectives
Why are you looking for negative adjectives to describe someone? We hope it’s because you’re working on a project that requires descriptive writing, and not because you’re about to unleash a storm of fury on someone. In any case, the adjectives below are suitable to describe someone’s appearance, personality, or intellect when they’re not at their best.
Appearance/Looks
19. Disheveled
Have you ever woken up in a panic because you’re late for class? You have no time to get ready, so you simply run out the door as you are, with your hair a mess and your clothes wrinkled. Yeah, that’s a disheveled look.
20. Grimy
When you place your hand on a table only to realize it’s sticky and full of dirt, you can describe that table as grimy. Therefore, someone with a grimy appearance looks, well, dirty and perhaps as if they haven’t showered in a few days.
21. Scrawny
Someone who is scrawny is “exceptionally thin, bony, and fragile-looking.” It’s what high-school boys sometimes call each other when they’re at the gym lifting weights.
22. Slovenly
If you have an important interview, the last thing you want to do is look slovenly, which means “untidy, careless, and dirty in appearance.”
Personality
23. Bitter
You may want to avoid bitter people because they’re “angry, resentful, and cynical” and often try to get you to be the same way.
24. Brash
Someone brash is overly assertive and aggressively confident, like that coworker who got fired for constantly telling the boss how things would improve if he were the one in charge.
25. Dull
Dull is another way to say boring. Hopefully, no one will ever call you this, as that would mean you’re uninteresting.
26. Lackadaisical
Someone who is lackadaisical is “carelessly lazy and never has any enthusiasm.”
27. Miserly
Someone who is miserly is “greedy and extremely stingy with money.” In other words, don’t expect your miserly coworker to pitch in to buy your boss a bouquet of get-well flowers.
28. Pompous
Pompous people are no fun because they think they’re better than everyone else.
29. Tactless
Tact is a noun that refers to one’s ability to say things in a way that doesn’t offend others. So, if you’re tactless, that means you often “say and do things that annoy and offend people.”
Intellect/Skills
30. Dense
Hanging around your friend with a high IQ might make you feel like you’re dense, which means “stupid or slow to understand things.” But don’t worry, you’re probably not.
31. Dogmatic
Good luck trying to change your dogmatic lab partner’s mind, as a person described like this is “certain that their beliefs are right and that others should accept them, while being dismissive of any evidence to the contrary.”
32. Gullible
Watch out! There’s a monster behind you.
Did you fall for that? If so, you may be gullible, which means you “believe everything you hear and are easily tricked.”
33. Inept
Gulp. This word describes “someone who has no skills and is generally incompetent.”
34. Rigid
Someone who is rigid is “not willing to change their ideas or behaviors,” which can sometimes be problematic.
35. Shortsighted
When you’re shortsighted, you can only see what’s close to you. But shortsighted has another meaning: “not thinking of the future or the possible effects of what might happen.”
Find the Right Words
Adjectives are more than mere words that describe someone or something. Think of them as magical vessels that help express the nuances of your mind, perspectives, feelings, and emotions. And now, with this list of thirty-five unique adjectives, you have the fuel you need to ensure your words land exactly as you intend them to.
Remember, when it comes to adjectives, less is more. Using one or two precise adjectives rather than several vague ones is better.
So, if you’re having trouble finding the right word, LanguageTool can help. Not only does this multilingual writing assistant help you quickly access synonyms for any word, but it can also help you rewrite entire sentences, so you can express yourself as clearly as possible. Go ahead and try this stupendous tool—you won’t regret it!