One of the challenges of teaching character traits is helping students expand their vocabulary so that they’re able to best express a character’s attributes.
That’s where a character traits list comes in.
Providing students with a character traits list offers the support that many learners need as they journey towards widening their character traits vocabulary base.
To get the most out of this character traits list, place some of the words on an anchor chart, use the terms naturally during instruction, and explicitly discuss them when needed.
What Are Character Traits?
Character traits are words that describe a person’s qualities, beliefs, attributes, behaviors, attitude, and personality.
These traits can be negative or positive.
Characteristic traits make people who they are. When someone describes a person, he or she is telling the individual’s character traits.
To discover a person’s character traits, observe the person’s dialogue, gestures, actions, feelings, and interactions with others.
Related: mentor texts that teach character traits
Character Traits List
Here you will find a big list of character traits that students may use as they work on character traits activities and lessons.
This list of character traits provides positive and negative examples.
The terms are provided in a character traits chart, and you may download a list of these positive and negative character traits in PDF form towards the end of this post.
A-D
| A | B | C | D |
| active | bashful | calm | daring |
| adorable | bewildered | capable | decisive |
| adventurous | bold | caring | dedicated |
| affectionate | boring | cautious | delighted |
| afraid | bossy | charismatic | demanding |
| agreeable | brainy | charming | detailed |
| alarmed | brave | chatty | dependable |
| alert | bright | cheerful | determined |
| ambitious | brilliant | childish | discouraged |
| amusing | busy | clever | dishonest |
| angry | beautiful | clumsy | disgusted |
| annoyed | belligerent | cold-hearted | disrespectful |
| anxious | compassionate | dreamer | |
| appreciative | competitive | dainty | |
| argumentative | conceited | ||
| athletic | confident | ||
| attentive | considerate | ||
| awkward | cooperative | ||
| courageous | |||
| courteous | |||
| cowardly | |||
| cruel | |||
| curious |
E-H
| E | F | G | H |
| eager | fair | generous | happy |
| easygoing | faithful | gentle | hardworking |
| efficient | fearless | giving | hateful |
| enchanting | fidgety | glamorous | healthy |
| energetic | fierce | gloomy | helpful |
| enthusiastic | flexible | good | heroic |
| exasperated | foolish | graceful | hilarious |
| excited | forgetful | grateful | honest |
| exemplary | forgiving | greedy | honorable |
| extraordinary | fortunate | gr0uchy | hopeful |
| friendly | grumpy | humble | |
| frightened | gullible | humorous | |
| fun | |||
| funny | |||
| furious |
I-L
| I | J | K | L |
| ignorant | jealous | kind | lazy |
| imaginative | jolly | knowledgeable | likeable |
| immaculate | jovial | lively | |
| immature | joyful | logical | |
| impatient | lonely | ||
| impolite | loud | ||
| impulsive | lovable | ||
| independent | loving | ||
| insistent | loyal | ||
| intelligent | lucky | ||
| interesting | |||
| inventive | |||
| irritated |
M-P
| M | N | O | P |
| mature | nature lover | obedient | panicked |
| mean | naughty | obnoxious | patient |
| messy | neat | observant | patriotic |
| mischievous | nervous | opinionated | peaceful |
| miserable | nice | optimistic | persistent |
| moody | noble | organized | pessimistic |
| mysterious | noisy | original | petrified |
| nurturing | outgoing | picky | |
| outraged | playful | ||
| outspoken | pleasant | ||
| pleased | |||
| polite | |||
| popular | |||
| powerful | |||
| productive | |||
| proud | |||
| punctual | |||
| puzzled |
Q-T
| Q | R | S | T |
| quarrelsome | rambunctious | sad | talented |
| quick | rational | sarcastic | talkative |
| quiet | relaxed | satisfied | terrified |
| quirky | reliable | secretive | thankful |
| respectful | selfish | thoughtful | |
| responsible | self-reliant | thoughtless | |
| restless | sensible | timid | |
| rowdy | sensitive | tired | |
| serious | tolerant | ||
| shy | tough | ||
| silly | trusting | ||
| sincere | trustworthy | ||
| skillful | terrible | ||
| sly | |||
| smart | |||
| sneaky | |||
| snobbish | |||
| sociable | |||
| sorrowful | |||
| stingy | |||
| strict | |||
| stubborn | |||
| studious | |||
| successful | |||
| sweet |
U-Z
| U | V | W | Y | Z |
| uncoordinated | valuable | warm | young | zany |
| understanding | versatile | warm-hearted | youthful | zealous |
| unfriendly | victorious | wicked | ||
| unhappy | virtuous | willing | ||
| unusual | vivacious | warm | ||
| upbeat | vocal | witty | ||
| upset | worried | |||
| useful |
Final Thoughts
In order for students to have success with understanding character traits, they must first have a strong character traits vocabulary.
That’s half the battle!
Using this character traits list, students will now have a great reference to use as they expand their vocabulary of attributes and characteristics.
Grab a copy of these two lists: character traits list for kids and list of positive and negative character traits PDF.