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1. Personal identification
Personality

1. What makes you different from somebody else?

- the qualities of a person: personality, character, nature to have an attractive/interesting/complex
personality Even though they're twins, they have very different characters. It's in her nature to be
kind to people.
- a person's personality, especially as it affects the way they behave and feel: temperament an
excitable/artistic temperament
- a particular quality that is typical of sb: characteristic Bossiness is one of his less appealing
characteristics
- to have a particular characteristic because your mother, father or other member of your family
has it: get sth from sb He's very open and friendly - he gets it from his father.
- (used about a characteristic or talent) particular to a family: in the family They're all very musical -
it's in the family.
- to ask about sb's personality, you can say: What is he/she like? or What sort of a person is
he/she?
- to appear to be a particular type of person (even if you are not): come across (as sth) She came
across as quite a shy person when we met her, but apparently she's not like that at all.
- the effect that a person produces on sb else: impression He made a bad impression on everyone

2. Particular difference
nice or unpleasant

- pleasant and good: nice, sweet; opposites: nasty, unpleasant I like her - she's a really nice person.
A sweet child. A thoroughly nasty individual
- easily liked by other people: charming You'll find him absolutely charming.
- kind and pleasant: friendly; opposite: unfriendly friendly neighbours/colleagues
- generally happy: cheerful; cheerful or friendly: good-natured

kind or unkind

- caring about how other people feel and doing things to help them: kind, kind-hearted; opposite:
unkind
- happy to help people: helpful, cooperative; opposites: unhelpful, uncooperative The staff are very
helpful. The police were completely unhelpful. His secretary was uncooperative, and she refused to
let me see him.
- giving sb support: supportive
- if you are in a very bad situation and need help from sb else, you are helpless
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- if you need sb/sth to support or help you, you depend on sb/sth, you are dependent
- if you can do things yourself and do not want or need help, you are independent, self-reliant
- understanding other people's feelings and problems: sympathetic; not sympathetic:
unsympathetic, hard-hearted
- happy to give money and help freely: generous; opposite: mean, tight-fisted, (informal) stingy
- thinking only about your own needs or wishes and not about other people's needs and wishes:
selfish, self-centred; opposites: unselfish, selfless Think about other people for a change and don't
be so selfish. An unselfish act
- if you think about how other people feel before you do or say things, you are considerate,
thoughtful How thoughtful of you to come round and see me.
- having skill in dealing with people; careful not to cause embarrassment: tactful, diplomatic;
opposite: tactless, blunt
- very kind and thoughtful: good, (informal) sweet It was so good of you to come. How sweet of you
to remember my birthday!
- If you behave in a careful way so that you do not hurt things or people, you are gentle
- a person who is always gentle and loving is tender-hearted - if you are friendly and welcoming to
visitors, you are hospitable a really hospitable couple
- if you act and speak in a way that is helpful and thoughtful towards other people, you are polite,
(formal) courteous; not polite: rude, impolite, discourteous
- a person who has good manners and behaves in a polite way is well-behaved, (rather formal)
well-mannered well-behaved children
- a person who has bad manners and behaves in a rude way is badly behaved, (rather formal) ill-
mannered I've never seen such badly behaved children.
- rude, not showing proper respect to sb/sth: cheeky
- rude and unpleasant: insolent - rude and unfriendly, not interested in sb/sth: offhand She was
very offhand with us - she was obviously thinking about something else.
- ready or likely to fight or argue: aggressive
- a person who uses his or her greater strength or power to hurt or frighten sb who is weaker: bully
Leave her alone! Don't be such a bully.
- liking to give orders to other people, often in an annoying way: bossy
- if you do not think about how other people feel, you are inconsiderate, thoughtless, insensitive
I'm sorry. It was very thoughtless of me.
- if you are not friendly and welcoming to visitors, you are inhospitable - if you want to hurt other
people, you are malicious
- deliberately causing physical or mental pain to sb: cruel
- a thing or person that shows great cruelty with violence is brutal
- having or showing no pity: cold-blooded a cold-blooded murderer
- a person who gets pleasure from being cruel: sadist

tolerant or intolerant

- able or willing to accept things that you do not like or agree with: broad-minded, tolerant;
opposites: narrow-minded, intolerant I like to think I'm fairly broad-minded but this sort of
behaviour is quite unacceptable.
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- tolerant; not easily worried or annoyed: easygoing You can ask her anything - she's very
easygoing.
- a dislike of a group in society that is not based on reason or experience: prejudice (noun C/U); a
person who has this kind of feeling is prejudiced (against sb/sth) racial prejudice. He's prejudiced
against foreigners.
- a person who believes that people of other races are not as good as people of their own race:
racist
- the belief that either men or women are better than the other sex: sexism (noun U); adjective:
sexist
- the belief that men are better than women: male chauvinism (noun U); a man who has this belief:
male chauvinist
- the belief that women should have the same power, rights and opportunities as men: feminism
(noun U); adjective: feminist; a person who has such a belief: feminist the feminist movement
- a person who thinks they are better than sb of a lower class and who admires people of a higher
class: snob Don't be such a snob!
- a person who is or feels different from other people: misfit a social misfit
- a person who is not accepted as a member of a particular group: outsider
- not willing to change your mind or say that you are wrong: stubborn, obstinate (pig-headed
informal) He's stubborn - he won't do anything he doesn't want to.
- not willing to consider other people: unreasonable
- not allowing people to break rules and behave badly: strict
- treating each person or side equally: fair He's quite strict with people but very fair
- not easily made angry: calm, relaxed; easily made angry: irritable She's getting rather irritable in
her old age.
- not easily annoyed by people or things that seem slow: patient; opposite: impatient
- if you easily become angry and impatient, you have a bad/short/quick temper
- if you are calm and you have your feelings under control, you are composed, cool
- if you are not worried, you are relaxed, (informal) laid-back

Not being calm

- if you are worried or not feeling comfortable you are uneasy, nervous, tense, anxious Hannah
hated flying and was feeling a bit uneasy about her trip to Hong Kong. Do you get nervous before
exams?
- if you are rather angry about sth, you are irritated (about sth) He gets irritated if you keep him
waiting.
- feeling very happy because you are looking forward to sth happening; not calm: excited The
children are getting too excited - tell them to calm down. - if you are unable to relax because you
are bored, nervous or impatient you are restless

Sociable or shy

- enjoying the company of other people: sociable; opposite: anti-social He's a bit anti-social
- he doesn't really go out very often.
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- friendly and talkative; likes meeting new people: outgoing; opposites: shy, reserved She's the
outgoing type - she gets invited to lots of parties and makes friends very easily. I've always been
shy.
- liked by many people: popular; opposite: unpopular She's popular with both staff and students
- fond of talking (in a friendly way): chatty; opposite: quiet I liked him - he was really friendly and
chatty. Tim is very quiet, but don't think he's not interested.
- a person who talks too much is talkative, (informal) a chatterbox He's such a chatterbox!
- full of life and energy; very active: lively
- a person who is cheerful and lively and enjoys being with other people: extrovert; opposite:
introvert Ann's a complete extrovert and loves parties, but Jim's a bit of an introvert and prefers a
quiet evening at home.
- able to express your feelings freely or naturally: uninhibited She's quite uninhibited - you never
know what she's going to do next

Fun or boring

- able to make other people laugh or have a good time: funny, amusing, (informal) a good laugh,
(informal) (good/great) fun; opposite: serious Such a funny man! 'What's she like?' 'You'll like her.
She's a really good laugh.' 'I'm going to stay with the Hendersons.' 'Oh, you'll have a wonderful
time - they're great fun.' I suppose he's quite nice but I found him a bit serious.
- if you see what is funny in life, can make jokes, etc, you have a (good) sense of humour; opposite:
no sense of humour
- enjoyable to be with; having interesting things to say: interesting; opposites: dull, boring - using
words in a clever and amusing way: witty (adverb wittily) a witty speaker a witty remark
- very interesting: fascinating a fascinating story/woman
- interesting and enjoyable: amusing, entertaining an amusing film an entertaining evening/speaker
full of enthusiasm: enthusiastic (about sth) She's very enthusiastic about her new job.

Honest or dishonest

- telling the truth; not stealing or deceiving people: honest; opposite: dishonest an honest and loyal
friend
- not meaning or believing what you say: insincere
- if you can be sure that sb will do what they ought to do or what they have said they will do, they
are reliable, dependable, trustworthy; opposite: unreliable, untrustworthy I wouldn't lend her
money; she's not very trustworthy. He'll probably be late - he's hopelessly unreliable.
- not changing in your friendship or beliefs; faithful: loyal; opposite: disloyal a loyal friend
- if sb deceives other people or is generally dishonest, they are deceitful a deceitful child
- saying what you think, without embarrassment: outspoken

Sensible or irresponsible

- able to think or act in a reasonable way; showing good judgement: sensible She's a sensible girl
and I'm sure she wouldn't do anything stupid.
- that you can trust to behave well and sensibly: responsible; opposite: irresponsible 'Shall we send
Robert?' 'Yes, he's very responsible. He won't let us down.
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- careful to do sth correctly and well: conscientious; opposite: careless

- able to act in a sensible and adult way: mature; opposite: immature You can trust him - he's very
mature for his age.
- making sensible decisions and good at dealing with problems: practical We must be practical and
find out how much it costs first.
- able to plan and carry out work well: organized; opposite: disorganized
- making sensible decisions and good at dealing with problems: practical He's clever, but not very
practical.
- liking to keep things in good order: tidy, neat; opposite: untidy

hardworking or lazy

- having a lot of energy to do things: active, energetic She's very active - always running around,
seeing people, doing lots of sport.
- working with effort and energy: hard-working, industrious
- not wanting to work: lazy, idle
- a lazy person who avoids work: (informal): layabout
- a lazy, rude or untidy person: (informal): slob - having a lot of skill in a particular area: skilled;
opposite: unskilled skilled/unskilled workers
- if you have studied for and passed all the necessary examinations and conditions for sth, you are
qualified; opposite: unqualified a qualified accountant Is he sufficiently qualified for this position?
- a person who is good at what they do is competent; opposite: incompetent Though lacking
experience, he soon became very competent at his job.
- a person who is able to do their job quickly, without making mistakes and wasting time, is efficient
(adverb efficiently); opposite: inefficient (adverb inefficiently)
- a person who does things carefully, paying attention to detail to make sure that it is right, is
thorough
- if you are not careful about what you are doing, you are careless a careless driver
- if you are very careless and do not think about the possible danger or bad results of what you are
doing, you are reckless
- if you are physically awkward and often drop or break things, you are clumsy
- a person who takes care to do things well is conscientious
- a person who does voluntary work: volunteer - a person who is not able to stop working:
workaholic

brave or cowardly

- a person's inner strength: character (noun U) to have strength of character

- not wanting or needing to take help from other people: independent
- ready to do things that are dangerous or difficult without showing fear: brave, courageous
(adverb courageously) a brave soldier a courageous person
- courage and determination: (informal) guts to have a lot of guts You need guts to disagree with
your boss.
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- to be brave enough to do sth: have the courage/nerve (to do sth) We didn't have the courage to
admit what really happened. - courageous and willing to do dangerous things: daring a daring
fighter pilot
- a person who feels no fear is fearless (adverb fearlessly) - a person who likes to try new things and
have adventures is adventurous
- a person who has no courage and is afraid in unpleasant or dangerous situations: coward Don't be
such a coward! It won't hurt.
- showing no courage: cowardly; noun (U): cowardice cowardly behaviour a cowardly lie He was
accused of cowardice.
- a weak person who is not very brave: (informal) wimp Don't be a wimp! - if sb is brave enough to
do what they think is right, they have the courage of their convictions Have the courage of your
convictions and join the demonstration!

ambitious and confident

- having a strong desire to be successful, to have power, etc: ambitious She'll probably go far, she's
a very ambitious woman.
- likely to succeed in a profession: promising a promising young musician
- feeling or showing that you are sure about your own abilities, opinions, etc: confident, self-
confident He's got no confidence in his own ability.
- expressing your opinions clearly and confidently so that people listen and take notice of you:
assertive If you were a bit more assertive, you would find it easier to say no.
- somebody who usually believes that the future will be good: optimist; opposite: pessimist
- not successful: unsuccessful (adverb unsuccessfully) an unsuccessful businessman an unsuccessful
journey Edward tried, unsuccessfully, to offer the policeman a bribe. - a person or thing that has
failed, or that often fails: failure Everything in my life has gone wrong. I feel like a complete failure
- liked by many people or by most people in a group: popular; the state of being popular:
popularity (noun U) a popular writer/singer/tourist resort
- to be known by many people as being good: have a good reputation 'Is he a good dentist?' 'Well
I've never been to him myself, but he's got a good reputation.
- to be as good as people say: live up to your reputation -'Well, did the hotel live up to its
reputation?' 'Oh, absolutely.'

clever and talented

- good at learning and doing things: clever She's clever at maths. He's actually a lot cleverer than he
looks.
- having a number of different skills and abilities: talented a talented child/musician
- good at studying or thinking: intelligent, (informal) brainy
- (used especially about children) intelligent: bright the brightest boy in the class
- very intelligent: brilliant; noun (U): brilliance She's brilliant at maths.
- a person who is unusually intelligent: genius; this kind of intelligence: genius (noun U) Einstein
was a genius;. a writer of genius; this work shows real genius.
- quick at thinking and understanding: sharp, quick-witted a sharp lawyer, a quick-witted
interviewer
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- using words in a clever and amusing way: witty; noun (U): wit a witty speaker, a witty remark; She
spoke with wit and wisdom.
- using experience and knowledge to make good decisions: wise; noun (U): wisdom a wise old
person, a wise choice
- able to think or act in a reasonable way; showing good judgement: sensible; noun (U): sense
sensible parents, a sensible suggestion; There's a lot of sense in that suggestion
- having a natural ability to do sth particularly well: talented; noun (C/U): talent a talented
musician; She has a talent for design. He shows great talent.
- generally good at doing things: able; noun (U): ability an able worker, a player with great natural
ability
- (used about a person, an idea, etc) showing an ability to make things work: practical a practical
mind, a very practical person
- good at finding ways of doing things: resourceful; noun (U): resourcefulness a resourceful teacher
- showing an ability to find answers to problems or thinking of new things: ingenious; noun (U):
ingenuity an ingenious designer, an ingenious solution to a problem; he showed great ingenuity in
solving his money problems
- interested in or good at sports: (informal) sporty good at running and other athletic sports;
physically strong: athletic
- interested in or good at music: musical
- interested in or good at drawing, painting, etc: artistic
- having little experience of the world, especially of sexual matters, or of evil or unpleasant things:
innocent (positive). Too willing to believe or accept what other people tell you and therefore
easily tricked: gullible, nave (negative). I cant believe you were so nave as to trust him!

Proud or modest

- too proud of yourself, your abilities, etc: conceited, (informal) big-headed

- too proud of your appearance or of what you can do, etc: vain
- thinking that you are better and more important than other people, and not caring about their
feelings: arrogant
- not having or expressing a high opinion of your own qualities or abilities: modest That's not true,
he's just being modest - he's actually very intelligent.
- not thinking that you are better or more important than other people: humble