60 Negative Adjectives For Describing People.

Can you think of the last time you told someone how you really felt at that moment? What kinds of words did you use to express your feelings?

Chances are, you used a positive or a negative adjective to describe your feelings about that specific person, place, thing, or idea. Whenever you share your feelings with someone, you use describing words, also known as adjectives or words that describe nouns. These words play an important role in the English language and help describe things and communicate how you think and feel.

Without noun describers, it’s difficult to express how you feel about the people, places, and things around you. What’s great about descriptive words is that you can use them to describe your own unique feelings, and there are so many different ones to choose from depending on the topic or situation.

Two types of adjectives that help us do this are positive adjectives and negative adjectives. Let’s dive in to see how these types of words can help you better express yourself both in conversation and in your writing.

Every describing word has meaning. Some evoke “good” feelings, while others evoke “bad” feelings. By using positive adjectives and negative adjectives, you express your thoughts and help someone understand how you feel. These words can also potentially affect those you’re speaking about and speaking with. That’s why it’s always important to choose your words carefully.

Let’s look at an example: 

• He’s very competitive.

This sentence probably forms a good mental image in your mind. Being competitive means someone is focused, engaged, and self-determined. You can understand that the person has a desire to be successful, without endangering anyone.

Next, consider this sentence:

•  He’s very combative. 

Combative shares a similar meaning to the word competitive, yet the “bad” traits outweigh the good. The mental image you get from this sentence is perhaps someone who wants to fight and argue. The person is not only competitive, but they are also hostile and aggressive.

What are Negative Adjectives?

Not all noun modifiers have a happy connotation. Some make listeners and readers think about sad, unpleasant, or unhappy situations or emotions. Fortunately, though, there are just as many positive describing words as there are negative.

Let’s look at our examples again and change the sentences’ meaning by adding negative adjectives:

•     Steve is bossy today.
•     Her cruel words fired up the crowd.
•     Suzy’s always aggressive with her classmates.

Compared to the first example sentences, how do these make you feel? The kind words from before might have made you smile. Now, the images that likely appear in your head portray each situation in a more negative light.

As you can see, changing just one word in a sentence can alter the entire meaning of a sentence and make you feel a completely different way. If simply reading examples talking positively or negatively about hypothetical people can change the way you feel, just imagine how your amiable or unpleasant words can affect others in real life.

Here are more examples of how negative adjectives can be used to describe something in a harmful manner:

•     You’re a narrow-minded team captain.
•     Look at your lousy math test grade.
•     That outfit looks horrific on you.

These examples don’t carry the same good emotions, do they? In addition to impacting how others feel, these types of words can also express how you think. Do you want to be someone who has good things to say or someone who speaks poorly about things? Your vocabulary says a lot about who you are.

Are you an optimist who sees the best in people and situations? If so, you probably use more positive adjectives during day-to-day conversations. Or do you have more of a pessimistic view about things? If so, chances are you don’t use as many uplifting words to describe your world. Neither outlook is necessarily wrong, but either way, there are many reasons why you should increase your vocabulary of quality describing words.

For people who think they more important than you.

Arrogant — He thinks he’s the best.

Big-headed — The same as “arrogant.”
Self-centered — The world has to revolve around him!
Vain — He loves looking at himself in the mirror.
Boastful — He always talks about how brilliant he is and all the amazing things he does.
Pompous — Like “arrogant” but in a way that makes him look foolish, like this guy:

For people who try to make you feel small.

Callous — He doesn’t care about anyone, especially those who are weaker than him.

Cynical — He sees the bad side in everybody’s personality and actions.
Overcritical — He exaggerates the negative things you do.
Patronizing — Sometimes his words sound kind — but he’s really showing how much more important he is than you.

For people who don’t care how you feel.

Aloof — He’s unfriendly, cold and distant.

Impolite — He’s rude.
Inconsiderate — He does things that hurt or annoy you without thinking about your feelings.
Thoughtless — The same as “inconsiderate.”

Everything you need to know about adjectives.
https://englishforyoutheteachersvoice.blogspot.com/2020/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about.html

30 Positive Adjectives For Describing People.
https://englishforyoutheteachersvoice.blogspot.com/2020/07/30-positive-adjectives-for-describing.html

For people who are aggressive.

Confrontational — He tries to challenge you, even when it’s not necessary.

Defensive — He behaves as if you’re attacking him, even if you aren’t.
Hostile — He behaves like your enemy.
Belligerent — He’s aggressive and hostile.
Bitchy — He makes small, sarcastic comments about you. They seem small, but they’re designed to hurt you.
Nasty — He’s not nice.
Bossy — He likes telling you what to do — like a boss.
Cruel — He actually enjoys seeing other people in pain and sometimes creates that pain.

For people who are untrustworthy.

Deceitful — She pretends to be your friend, then she’ll stab you in the back (do something bad to you after you’ve started trusting her).

Dishonest — She’s not honest.
Machiavellian — She intelligently uses different people against each other to get what she wants.
Sneaky — She does things that you don’t know about that affect you negatively.
Untrustworthy — You can’t trust her. She lies!

For people who hate change.

Dogmatic — She has strong beliefs and doesn’t accept any view outside those beliefs.

Inflexible — When she’s made plans, NOTHING can change them.
Intolerant — She doesn’t like certain types of people and will never accept them. Sometimes this can be extreme, like racism, sexism or homophobia.
Narrow-minded — She has a small view of the world and doesn’t accept ideas outside that view.
Stubborn — You will never be able to change her opinion on anything.
Obstinate — Like “stubborn,” but a little stronger.
Pig-headed — Like “obstinate.” But with a pig.
Fussy — She likes everything to be a certain way. If there’s a change, she gets very upset or angry.

For people who are difficult to work with.  

Indiscreet — Sometimes you don’t want somebody shouting your bank balance out across a crowded office. Or you don’t want someone to walk in the room with a bottle of whiskey when your Saudi client is visiting. But Amber will do these things.

Tactless — It’s like “indiscreet” but with words. It means she sometimes says something stupid that might hurt someone, usually without realising it.
Unpredictable — You don’t know what she’s going to do next!
Vague — She doesn’t explain things clearly.
Impatient — If she has to wait too long for anything, she gets angry. Maybe she’ll walk away.
Unreliable — If she tells you that she’s going to meet you at 7 o’clock, she probably won’t. You can’t trust her to keep her promises.

For people who behave badly in relationships.

Jealous — She hates seeing you with other people.

Possessive — She only wants you to spend time with her. You have no other friends now.
Resentful — She still gets angry about things that happened a long time ago.
Secretive — She regularly keeps secrets from you.

For people who are lazy. 

Idle — “Lazy” describes someone who doesn’t want to do anything. “Idle” describes the situation of not doing anything.

Careless — He doesn’t care enough about things, so he can often lose or break them.
Irresponsible — If you give him a task to do, he will mess it up (do it very badly).
Untidy — He doesn’t tidy up and leaves a mess everywhere. He’s probably got some food on his shirt, too.

For people who have a weak character.

Cowardly — He’s afraid of everything.

Foolish — He doesn’t have the brains to make the right decisions — so he makes bad decisions.
Gullible – If you told him that you’d just been invited to Tom Cruise’s space station party on the moon, he’d believe you.
Indecisive — He finds it difficult to make decisions — so he often sticks with “no decision.”
Weak-willed — You can easily convince him to do what he doesn’t want to do. He’s also probably addicted to something (alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, cheese — something).

For people who are always in a bad mood.

Quick-tempered — She gets angry very easily.

Grumpy — She’s always in a bad mood and doesn’t want to speak with you.
Moody — Her moods are unpredictable. Sometimes she seems fine, and then suddenly she’s in a bad mood.
Pessimistic — She always sees the negative side of things.
Sullen — Like “grumpy.”
Touchy — You can make her angry or upset very easily.

For people who are annoying.

Overemotional — When she’s unhappy or angry, she’s very unhappy or very angry.

Clingy — She wants to be with you all the time, and you just can’t lose her. — unless you run away really fast when she’s not looking.
Finicky — She’s very fussy and wants everything to be the way she wants. She gets upset if you do something the “wrong” way.
Silly — She’s not serious and can behave a bit like a child sometimes.
Vulgar — She’s not sophisticated. Her jokes are often sexual and rude.

I hope that you enjoyed this article, and are able to use it in your classes.

Good luck and good teaching.