A compound adjective is a hyphenated adjective, which contains 2 or more words. For example, French-speaking (country), ill-famed (person), one-hour (class), way-too-long-to-be-taken-seriously (speech), etc. Compound adjectives which are 3 or more words long (such as way-too-long-to-be-taken-seriously) are usually typical of informal language.
In this article we’ll look at compound adjectives describing people’c character.
GOOD CHARACTER TRAITS
| Compound adjective | Meaning | Example |
| Open-minded | willing to consider new ideas | It’s especially important to be open-minded when relocating. |
| Broad-minded | tolerant or liberal in one’s views and reactions | We should be broad-minded toward minorities. |
| Strong-willed
Iron-willed |
determined on a course of action, resolute | A strong-willed woman is one who knows what she wants and goes after it (tries to get something that other people are also competing for). |
| Well-balanced | emotionally stable | A good teacher is a well-balanced person. |
| Even-tempered | not easily annoyed or made angry | She is even-tempered and that’s why perfect for this job. |
| Family-oriented | putting family first | Becoming-family oriented often involves a change in both mindset (way of thinking) and behavior. |
| Clear-headed | thinking logically, sensibly | He’ll be clear-headed and able to testify. |
| Self-assured
Self-confident |
confident in one’s own abilities or character | The most important asset an attorney has is his ability to always be self-assured. |
| Good-natured
Warm-hearted |
kind, friendly | He is abrupt (brief to the point of rudeness), but is, in fact, a good-natured person. |
| Open-handed
Free-handed |
generous | He is one of the most open-handed art collectors in the whole of America. |
| Big-hearted | kind and generous | I appreciate big-hearted people, not big-headed. |
| Down-to-earth | practical and realistic | You have your own way of seeing the world, and it’s fun and down-to-earth. |
| Quick-witted
Quick-thinking Sharp-witted |
quick to notice and understand things | He’s quick-witted and energetic. |
| Thick-skinned | insensitive to criticism or insults | In order to settle this well, we’ll have to be thick-skinned about it. |
| Cool-headed | not easily worried or excited | From now on, you make your own, cool-headed decisions. |
BAD CHARACTER TRAITS
| Compound adjective | Meaning | Example |
| Bad-tempered | becoming angry and annoyed very easily; crabby, grumpy | I’m always bad-tempered in the morning. |
| Big-headed | behaving in a way that shows that you think you are very important or intelligent | I just hate bog-headed people! |
| Bloody-minded | deliberately refusing to accept that you are not completely right about something, in a way that is not helpful to other people and annoys them; deliberately uncooperative | He knows that he’s not right, but he’s just being bloody-minded. |
| Narrow-minded
Close-minded |
not willing to accept ideas or ways of behaving that are different from your own | You can’t be happy in a new environment if you are narrow-minded. |
| Self-conscious | nervous or uncomfortable because you are worried about what people think about you or your actions | I always feel a bit self-conscious in a hat. |
| Self-centered
Self-regarding Self-absorbed Self-obsessed |
caring only about yourself | Kelly is a good kid who is also, at times, self-centered. |
| High-strung | very nervous and easily upset; edgy | I’m so high-strung because of the stressful work I do. |
| Thin-skinned | easily hurt by criticism or easily made unhappy; touchy | You have to be careful what you say to Mark – he’s rather thin-skinned. |
| Dim-witted | stupid | Sam was portrayed as some sort of dim-witted blonde. |
| Tight-fisted
Close-fisted Scrooge-like |
unwilling to spend money | Don’t wait for Kim to buy you a drink – she’s so tight-fisted. |
| Lily-livered (literary) | not brave | People have become weak-willed and lily-livered. |
| Weak-kneed
Weak-willed |
not brave or determined enough to defend your beliefs against others | Instead of defending traditional values, the church often seems weak-kneed. |
| Wishy-washy | having no firm ideas, principles, or noticeable qualities of any type | I’m sick and tired of wishy-washy applicants. |
| Work-shy | disliking work and trying to avoid it when possible | Most of the unemployed are not work-shy and genuinely want jobs. |
| Absent-minded | forgetful, inattentive | He’s the most absent-minded man, but he has a heart of gold. |
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