Average Process
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using situations for own benefit
opportunistic
systematic, careful
methodical
too patriotic
chauvinistic
to get carried away
become too excited and lose control
ready to help
obliging
not caring about serious things
superficial
not confident, uncertain about your own abilities
insecure
someone who is not satisfied if things are not 100% perfect
perfectionist
inclined to say things that upset or offend people
tactless
understanding instinctively
intuitive
hard-working
diligent
calm, does not easily become excited or angry
placid
personality that attracts people to you
magnetic personality
not trusting, suspicious of others
distrustful
having good judgement
shrewd
gives help or encouragement
supportive
spends too much money or uses too much of something
extravagant
practical and sensible
down-to-earth
sensible (vernünftig)
thinking of others rather than yourself
altruistic
gloomy (düster)
morose
inclined to speak in a severe and critical way
sharp-tongued
without enough experience of life, trusting too easily
naive
positive: generous, unstinting (unermüdlich) / negative: ?
extravagant, immoderate (maßlos)
positive: resolute, dogged (hartnäckig) / negative: ?
stubborn (stur), obstinate (hartnäckig)
positive: thrifty (sparsam), frugal (sparsam) / negative: ?
stingy (geizig), parsimonious (geizig, karg)
positive: diligent (fleißig), industrious (arbeitsam) / negative: ?
work-obsessed, (a) workaholic (noun)
positive: idealistic, principled (prinzipientreu) / negative: ?
dogmatic, inflexible
positive: shrewd, astute (schlau, scharfsinnig) / negative: ?
cunning (gerissen, hinterlistig), sly (listig, verschlagen)
positive: sober, serious / negative: ?
morose (mürrisch, verdrießlich), sullen (mürrisch, verdrossen)
positive: witty (geistreich, originell), pithy (pointiert) / negative: ?
brusque (schroff), terse (knapp, kurzangebunden)
positive: tolerant, open-minded / negative: ?
unprincipled, unscrupulous
positive: chatty, talkative / negative: ?
verbose (ausführlich, weitschweifig), garrulous (geschwätzig)
I wish Tatyana would calm down and not get so over-excited about things.
she gets carried away
Tom thinks his country is better than any other country and doesn’t listen to reason.
he is chauvinistic
Alice can always be relied upon to make the right decision.
She is shrewd
Harry is such a practical and sensible person.
He is down-to-earth
Sophie is always so calm.
She is placid
Andrey has a tendency to say things that upset people.
He is tactless
conscientious
careful, methodical, you want to do things right, dutiful
conscious
present, bewusst, absichtlich
He’s rather o____________ . He always tries to use situations to his own advantage. (devious)
opportunistic
She has an i___________ approach to life rather than a rational one. (instinctive)
intuitive
My father was a somewhat quick-tempered and m__________ sort of person. (gloomy)
morose
He was a very altruistic person, almost to the point of being n____ . (too trusting)
naive
Aisha has a m___________ personality. Everyone is drawn to her. (attractive)
magnetic
Rob is a very conscientious and m___________ worker. (careful, systematic)
methodical
I find Eva a bit b________ and rude. (speaks in a quick and rude way)
brusque
She’s fun-loving but she can be a bit s________ at times. (doesn’t care about serious things)
superficial
I think Max is i___________ . (doesn’t have much confidence, not really sure of himself)
insecure
I’m always happy to go out for a meal with Kerstin. She’s such g______ c_________ .
(pleasant and entertaining to spend time with)
good company
She was very c__________ in speaking out against corruption. (brave, unafraid to speak or act)
courageous
Owen’s a p____________ . He’s never happy if he doesn’t get an A-grade in every test.
perfectionist
Adjectives: altruism
altruistic
Adjectives: parsimony
parsimonious
Adjectives: diligence
diligent
Adjectives: placidity
placid
Adjectives: industriousness
industrious
Adjectives: rebellion
rebellious
Adjectives: distrust
distrustful
Adjectives: terseness
terse
Adjectives: naivety
naive
Adjectives: unscrupulousness
unscrupulous
formal: altruistic // informal:
unselfish
formal: parsimonious // informal:
thrifty
formal: diligent // informal:
hard-working
formal: placid// informal:
calm, easy-going
formal: industrious // informal:
hard-working, energetic
formal: rebellious // informal:
disobedient, defiant, unruly
formal: distrustful // informal:
suspicious, wary
formal: terse // informal:
abrupt, short
formal: naive // informal:
green, trusting
formal: unscrupulous // informal:
dishonest, dodgy
impetuous
acts on a sudden idea without thinking first (often negative)
She’s so impetuous; I wish she would consider things before acting.
impulsive
similar to impetuous, but can be used in a more positive way
His impulsive generosity led him to give money to anyone who asked for help
effusive
gives exaggerated expression of pleasure, praise or gratitude
She always gives me such an effusive welcome when I visit her.
excitable
easily excited by things
He’s a very excitable child; he needs to calm down.
pushy
always selfishly promoting your own position or interests; informal
She’s so pushy; it’s typical of her to demand a pay rise for herself and not care about the rest of us.
self-conscious
nervous or uncomfortable because you know what people think about you or your actions
Freddie seemed self-conscious and uncomfortable when he had to make the announcement at the party.
well-balanced
calm and reasonable and showing good judgement
The teacher said Maddy was a well-balanced child who got on well at school.
taciturn
reserved or says very little (generally negative)
/ˈtæsɪtɜːn/
He was a bit taciturn when I first met him. He hardly said a word.
Chloe’s such an introvert.
inward-looking and quiet
Her brother Mark is so outgoing and is such an extrovert
[energetic and friendly, finds it easy to be with others]
[outward-looking, energetic and sociable]
Mr Rogers is such a diffident man.
lacks confidence
He seems to have quite low self-esteem.
has a low opinion of himself
English people are traditionally thought of as rather reserved.
[not immediately sociable]
Eva tends to be rather aloof. I don’t know if she’s just shy.
[unfriendly and not sociable]
My aunt Annie can be very haughty and disdainful at times, but she’s lovely really.
[unfriendly and thinks herself better than others]
[does not believe others deserve respect]
I’ve always found Professor Mactoft very unapproachable, but his colleague Dr O’Daly is very approachable.
[not easy to be sociable with or start a conversation with]
[the opposite]
Natasha is very conceited and self-important, but Rachel is such a modest person.
[thinks herself wonderful]
[has an exaggerated sense of her importance]
[prefers not to exaggerate her own qualities]
Joe is always so polite and respectful. I wish he would be more informal and just treat me as his equal.
[treating someone well and politely, often with admiration]
Arjen is a somewhat naive person; he thinks love can solve all the world’s problems.
[/naɪˈiːv/ willing to believe simple things, perhaps because of inexperience]
Telephone salespeople often take advantage of gullible people.
[easily deceived (deceive: betrügen)]
My father was a very conscientious man; he never took time off work unless he was really sick.
[/ˌkɒntʃiˈentʃəs/ always took his work very seriously]
She’s a restless individual. I don’t think she’ll ever settle down in a job.
[not satisfied with what she is doing now and wanting something new]
You are so obstinate and pig-headed! Why don’t you listen when people give you advice?
[unwilling to change, despite persuasion]
[similar to obstinate but stronger; informal]
When Tom met Lily, it was love at first sight.
[love began the first time they saw each other]
She fell head over heels in love with him.
[fell deeply and madly in love]
Nick only has eyes for Sophie. He’s not interested in other girls.
[is only attracted to]
Lauren was more than infatuated with Dave; she was completely besotted with him.
[romantically obsessed with]
[almost stupidly or blindly in love with]
I’ve often seen Matt and Ellie at the cinema together, but it’s purely a platonic relationship.
[affectionate relationship between people of the opposite sex that is not sexual]
Anona and I hit it off immediately; we’re true soulmates.
[liked each other the moment we met]
[people who feel close in spirit and understand each other deeply]
The moment I met Rob, I could see he was a man after my own heart.
[someone you admire because they do or think the same as you; also woman after your own heart]
Charlie and I get on like a house on fire.
[have a very good, enjoyable relationship]
Rob and Jamie have been bosom friends/buddies/pals for years.
[very close, good friends]
Marta and Carmen are inseparable.
[always want to be together, very close]
There’s a close bond between Rushda and her aunt.
[relationship or feeling of togetherness]
A: You seem to be very similar to Ben – the way you think and look at life.
B: Yes, we’ve always been____________
kindred spirits.
A: What a nice wedding! Nathan and Amelia seem to be perfect for each other.
B: Yes, such a __________ couple!
well-matched
A: Our Spanish friends are always phoning their brothers and sisters.
B: Yes, well, I think __________ in Spain are much stronger than here.
family ties
A: I’ve never met Rosie, but I know several people she knows.
B: Yes, she said you have a number of____________.
mutual acquaintances
A: Gareth has a lot of respect for Clare.
B: Yes, he ___________ .
holds her in high regard
A: Sarah and Anna are very close these days. I’m sure they share all their secrets.
B: Yes, they’re ___________________________.
as thick as thieves
The parents gazed at their new-born baby with a look of tender ________.
adoration - adoring
He never shows much _____________ for his children.
affection - affectionate
She always treats us with great ____________.
amiability - amiable
‘Have some ________________ for the other students!’ she said angrily.
consideration - considerate
__________________ is the key to a good marriage.
Faithfulness - faithful
Over the years she developed a ___________ for Mario that went beyond a purely business relationship.
fondness - fond
He was a great team captain who inspired _____________ in the players.
loyalty _ loyal
people you know, but not very well
casual acquaintances
support in good or bad times
loyalty
when they are not there
behind their backs
opposite of: loyal (adj.), loyalty (noun)
disloyal (adj.), disloyalty (noun)
opposite of: supportive [always supports you]
unsupportive, critical
opposite of: honest, truthful
dishonest, untruthful
opposite of: respectful (adj.), respect (noun)
disrespectful (adj.), disrespect (noun)
I used to think of Kate as a friend but I now realise she has been two-faced towards me
insincere; pleasant with someone and then unpleasant about them behind their back
Russia and America were allies in the war.
countries or people who join together to fight for a common cause
We were business partners but now we’re bitter/arch rivals.
[people who own a business together]
[people in competition with each other in a negative, aggressive way]
Indeed, I could say we are now sworn enemies.
[people who will always hate each other]
Fergus has been disloyal ___ me on a number of occasions.
disloyal to
OK, I was dishonest ___ you. I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to hurt you.
dishonest with
Sam has been very distant _______ me recently.
distant towards
[not friendly, cold]
Jamie has always been ________honest in his dealings with us.
scrupulously honest
I would expect ___________ loyalty from a true friend.
complete and unswerving loyalty
Monica has always been my ___________ally at work. I can always rely on her to support me.
staunchest ally
I was amazed that someone who called herself my friend could be so _______critical of me.
deeply critical
Unfortunately, relationships sometimes break down because of genuine misunderstandings.
[collapse] [not understanding something correctly]
A rift can develop between two people or groups.
[serious disagreement that divides people]
There’s been a lot of discord in the office lately.
[disagreement and discontent]
My father and I don’t see eye to eye on most things.
[have different opinions]
Jack and his sister have been on bad terms for a long time.
[have a poor relationship]
His love affair with Anna has turned sour. I think they’ll split up.
[become bad] [separate]
Our marriage has had its ups and downs, but basically we’re OK.
[had good and bad times]
a bumpy relationship
[up and down like a car on a road with bumps]
a broken home
[family split up by divorce]
a family feud /fjuːd/
[ quarrel in a family causing bad feeling for many years]
Pregnant women crave / have a craving for strange things like tuna and banana pizza!
[want very
strongly]
Young children often seem to thirst / have a thirst for knowledge.
[feel very strongly that you want]
Sometimes my cousin just yearns to be on her own with no family responsibilities.
[if you yearn to do / yearn for / have a yearning for something, it means that you want something that you do not have and, often, can never have]
An Olympic gold medal is probably the most coveted sporting prize.
[to covet something means to want to possess it very much]
Lottie tried to defuse the tension by changing the subject.
[make a dangerous or tense situation calmer]
Tim was very angry with his daughter and it took her a long time to placate him.
[stop someone feeling angry]
An independent advisor has been brought in to conciliate between the unions and the employer.
[end a disagreement between two people or groups by acting in a friendly way towards both sides; formal]
Although appeasing the enemy postponed the war for another year, it did not ultimately prevent it from happening.
[end a disagreement by giving the other side an advantage that they are demanding (normally used in a disapproving way); formal]
I cannot understand the implacable hatred that he still feels for his old rival. (Note: placable doesn’t exist.)
A useful adjective from placate is ____________.
It is used about someone’s opinions and feelings and means that they cannot be changed
Sarah was in an exultant mood / was ecstatic after her great exam results.
feeling great pleasure and happiness, usually because of a success (more formal than ecstatic)
Everyone rejoiced at the news of her recovery.
be extremely happy; formal
There were jubilant shouts as the results of the referendum were announced.
expressing great happiness, especially at a victory; formal
noun: bliss
adjective = blissful;
the adverb blissfully often collocates with happy, ignorant
and unaware)
We had a fabulous holiday on a beautiful island – seven days of utter/sheer bliss.
They are blissfully happy even though they’re poor.
perfect happiness
(often collocates with utter and sheer;
(1) You look full of the joys of spring today. Why are you smiling all the time?
(2) My daughter’s just had a baby girl. We’re thrilled to bits at the news.
(3) I feel on top of the world. It’s great to have a job again.
(4) I’ve been floating/walking on air ever since I heard I got into drama school.
(5) A: How did you feel when you scored the winning goal?
B: I was over the moon!
There are a number of informal expressions (5) which mean to be very happy