Vocabulary Bank

PERSONALITY Adjectives & Idioms

a cold fish /ə kəʊld fɪʃ/ My boss is a bit of a cold fish. He’s unfriendly
and unemotional.
a heart of gold /ə hɑːt əv gəʊld/ She’s so kind and generous. She’s got a
heart of gold.
a quick temper /ə kwɪk ˈtempə/ My sister has a quick temper. She gets
angry so easily.
a real pain in the neck /ə rɪəl peɪn ɪn də nek/ My brother’s a real pain in
the neck. He’s so annoying.
a soft touch /ə sɒft tʌtʃ/ My dad is a soft touch. I can always persuade
him to give me extra pocket money.
attention to detail /əˈtenʃn tə ˈdiːteɪl/ I’m sure your work will be perfect.
You’ve got great attention to detail.
bright adj /braɪt/ My daughter is a bright student and gets very good
marks.
change your mind /tʃeɪndʒ jɔː maɪnd/ I’m quite a stubborn person and I
never change my mind.
conscientious adj /kɒnʃiˈenʃəs/ You have to be conscientious and do
things carefully and correctly.
deep down /diːp daʊn/ Deep down he’s quite insecure.
determined adj /dɪˈtɜːmɪnd/ She’s a determined girl. Once she’s decided
to do something, nothing will stop her.
down to earth adj /daʊn tu ɜːθ/ My mum is very practical and down to
earth.
gentle adj /ˈdʒentl/ He is a calm and gentle boy.
insecure adj /ɪnsɪˈkjʊə/ She felt nervous and insecure.
on the surface /ɒn də ˈsɜːfɪs/ On the surface, he seems quite nice.
refuse to compromise /rɪˈfjuːz tə I tried to reach an agreement but he
refused to compromise

ˈkɒmprəmaɪz/
. resourceful adj /rɪˈzɔːsfl/ Louise is quite resourceful. She’s good at
solving problems.
sarcastic adj /sɑːˈkastɪk/ Don’t be so sarcastic! That comment was very
cruel.
seem self-confident /siːm self ˈkɒnfɪdənt/ He may seem self-confident,
but he’s actually quite insecure.
self-sufficient adj /self səˈfɪʃnt/ He’s very self-sufficient. He never needs
anyone’s help.
spontaneous adj /spɒnˈteɪniəs/ I’d love to be more spontaneous and not
plan things in advance.
steady adj /ˈstedi/ He’s a reliable and steady guy.
straightforward adj /streɪtˈfɔːwəd/ She’s honest and straightforward
and says just what she thinks.
sympathetic adj /sɪmpəˈθetɪk/ Our manager is not very sympathetic. He
never tries to understand our problems.
take advantage of /teɪk ədˈvɑːntɪdʒ əv/ She’s very generous and trusting
so some people take advantage of her.
take risks /teɪk rɪsks/ If you want to succeed, you have to take risks.
tend to avoid /tend tu əˈvɔɪd/ I don’t like arguing with people so I tend to
avoid conflict.
thorough adj /ˈθʌrə/ You have to be very thorough if you want to be a
.researcher