A compound adjective is a hyphenated phrase that consists of 2 or more words. For example, French-speaking (country), ill-famed (person), one-hour (class), and way-too-long-to-be-taken-seriously (speech). Compound adjectives that are 3 or more words long, such as way-too-long-to-be-taken-seriously, are typically found in informal language.

In this article, we’ll explore compound adjectives that describe people’s character.

Good Character Traits

Compound adjective	Meaning	Example
Open-minded	willing to consider new ideas	Doctors these days tend to be more open-minded about alternative medicine.
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	A strong-willed woman is one who knows what she wants and goes after it.
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 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, 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	She’s a down-to-earth woman with no pretensions.
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	Despite the chaos around him, John remained cool-headed and efficiently guided his team through the unexpected challenges.

Bad Character Traits

Compound adjective	Meaning	Example
Bad-tempered	becoming angry and annoyed very easily	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 (British English)	very determined and refusing to give up, to change your mind, or to do what others want you to do	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	I’m so high-strung because of the stressful work I do.
Thin-skinned	easily hurt by criticism or easily made unhappy	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-willed	not having the determination that is needed to continue with a difficult course of action	My diets are never successful – I’m just too weak-willed.
Weak-kneed	easily frightened or lacking determination; lacking courage or resolve	She felt weak-kneed when faced with the daunting task of public speaking.
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.

Practice

Exercise 1. Click the link here and match the pictures with the adjectives you associate with them.

Exercise 2. Click the link here and choose the right adjective to complete the sentences.

Do you want a little more practice? Choose 2 compound adjectives from this post that describe your character and let us know your choices in the comments below. Why do you think those adjectives describe you?