Character Traits: 165 Positive, Negative and Neutral Examples

Character traits are the qualities that show in how a character acts: brave, petty, curious, blunt. Writers usually sort them into positive, negative and neutral traits, and a believable character needs some of each. Below are 165 character traits with a one-line meaning and an example of what each looks like on the page, followed by character flaws, motivation examples and sample character descriptions.

Jump to: What traits are · Positive traits · Negative traits · Neutral traits · Choosing traits · Character flaws · Motivation examples · Character description · Sample descriptions · FAQ

What are character traits?

A trait is a lasting part of who someone is. A feeling passes and a trait stays: a character can be angry for an afternoon without being hot-tempered. Traits matter because they predict behavior, so a reader who knows a character is stubborn can feel the argument coming before it starts.

The trick is to show a trait through action instead of naming it. Writing advice calls this "show, don't tell," and it's usually credited to Anton Chekhov, who wrote to his brother that a writer should "seize on small details, grouping them so that when the reader closes his eyes he gets a picture" (Wikipedia). That's why every trait below comes with an action.

Two traits you can see without a word of explanation: Polly Wickes is chatty, Tom Frost is quiet. Drawn in Bellsworth's art style.

Positive character traits

Positive traits are the ones other people value. A character made only of these is hard to believe, so pick two or three and let at least one of them cause trouble.

Trait	Means	On the page
Adaptable	Adjusts fast when plans change	Shrugs when the bridge is out and starts looking for a boat
Affectionate	Shows love openly	Fixes a friend's collar without asking
Appreciative	Notices and values what others do	Remembers who baked the bread and thanks them by name
Brave	Acts in spite of fear	Walks into the burning barn with shaking hands
Calm	Stays steady under pressure	Lowers their voice when everyone else raises theirs
Capable	Gets things done well	Fixes the wagon wheel while the others are still arguing
Caring	Looks after others	Sets aside the best portion for the one who came home late
Charming	Easy to like at first meeting	Has the guard laughing within a minute
Cheerful	Brightens a room	Hums while doing the worst job on the farm
Compassionate	Feels for other people's pain	Sits with the dying stranger so he isn't alone
Confident	Trusts their own judgment	Gives an answer without checking anyone's face first
Considerate	Thinks about others' comfort	Brings a second cloak because someone always forgets theirs
Courteous	Polite as a habit	Stands when an elder enters, even in an empty room
Creative	Comes up with new ideas	Turns the broken lute into a drum for the festival
Curious	Wants to know how things work	Opens the locked drawer just to see what's inside
Decisive	Makes choices quickly	Picks the left road before the map is even unrolled
Dependable	Can be counted on	Arrives at dawn, every single day, without being asked
Determined	Won't give up on a goal	Climbs the cliff a fourth time after falling three
Diplomatic	Smooths over conflict	Gives each side of a feud something to win
Disciplined	Keeps to a routine	Trains at first light even on festival mornings
Easygoing	Hard to upset	Laughs when the soup spills on them
Empathetic	Understands how others feel	Notices the quiet one leaving and follows to check
Encouraging	Builds other people up	Tells the nervous singer exactly what she did well
Energetic	Full of drive	Has walked to the next town and back before breakfast
Fair	Treats everyone by the same rules	Punishes his own brother the same as anyone else
Faithful	Keeps their commitments	Writes every week to a friend who never writes back
Forgiving	Lets go of wrongs	Shares her table with the man who once robbed her
Friendly	Warm with strangers	Learns the new stable boy's name on his first day
Funny	Makes people laugh	Turns a disaster into a story everyone retells
Generous	Gives freely	Pays for the whole table and leaves before anyone notices
Gentle	Careful and soft in manner	Lifts a fallen bird nest back into the tree
Grateful	Thankful for what they have	Keeps every letter anyone has ever sent her
Hardworking	Puts in real effort	Is still at the forge when the lamps go out
Honest	Tells the truth	Admits she broke the vase before anyone asks
Hopeful	Expects things can get better	Plants a garden in the ruined yard
Humble	Doesn't put themselves first	Gives the credit to the apprentice
Imaginative	Sees what isn't there yet	Describes the shop she'll own, down to the color of the door
Independent	Relies on themselves	Fixes her own roof rather than ask a neighbor
Insightful	Understands people and situations	Knows why the mayor is lying before he finishes talking
Kind	Good to others for its own sake	Gives her coat to the beggar and walks home cold
Level-headed	Thinks clearly in a crisis	Counts the exits before anyone else has stopped screaming
Loyal	Sticks with their people	Takes the blame for his friend without a word
Mature	Acts with good sense for their age	Apologizes first, even when she was only half wrong
Modest	Plays down their own success	Hides the medal in a drawer
Observant	Notices small details	Spots the mud on the stranger's boots that doesn't match the road
Open-minded	Willing to consider new ideas	Tries the foreign dish everyone else refuses
Optimistic	Looks for the bright side	Calls the shipwreck "a chance to see a new island"
Organized	Keeps things in order	Labels every jar in the pantry
Passionate	Cares intensely	Argues about poetry until the candles burn down
Patient	Can wait without frustration	Teaches the same knot for the tenth time, smiling
Perceptive	Picks up on what isn't said	Hears the fear behind the joke
Persistent	Keeps going over time	Asks the librarian for the forbidden book every day for a year
Playful	Brings fun into things	Turns the chore of hanging laundry into a race
Practical	Focuses on what works	Packs bandages instead of a sword
Protective	Guards others from harm	Steps between his sister and the drunk without thinking
Resilient	Recovers from setbacks	Is back at her stall the morning after the fire
Resourceful	Finds a way with what's at hand	Picks the lock with a hairpin and a fishbone
Responsible	Owns their duties	Stays behind to close the shop when the others leave early
Selfless	Puts others before themselves	Gives up her seat on the last boat out
Sincere	Means what they say	Never once says "I'm fine" when he isn't
Supportive	Backs people up	Is in the front row at every one of his friend's bad shows
Thoughtful	Thinks before acting	Writes the hard letter three times before sending it
Trustworthy	Can be relied on to keep faith	Is the one everyone gives their secrets to
Wise	Has good judgment from experience	Tells the angry young knight to sleep on it, and is right
Witty	Quick with clever words	Wins the argument with one line and leaves

Negative character traits

Negative traits make characters harder to be around and much easier to write. A negative trait gives the story something to push against, and the strongest are usually a good trait taken too far.

Trait	Means	On the page
Aggressive	Meets problems with force	Shoves first and asks questions later
Aloof	Distant and hard to reach	Answers a heartfelt speech with a nod
Arrogant	Thinks they're better than others	Corrects the master swordsman's grip
Bitter	Holds on to old hurts	Brings up the broken engagement at every wedding
Bossy	Tells everyone what to do	Reassigns the whole camp's chores on the first night
Callous	Doesn't care about others' pain	Steps over the injured man to reach the door
Careless	Doesn't think about consequences	Leaves the gate open, again
Clingy	Can't stand to be apart	Follows her friend to the privy
Closed-minded	Won't consider other views	Leaves the room when the new idea comes up
Cold	Shows no warmth	Says "noted" when told his father has died
Controlling	Needs to run everything	Rewrites her sister's wedding vows
Cowardly	Avoids danger at others' expense	Bolts the door with his friends still outside
Cruel	Enjoys hurting others	Kicks the dog when no one's looking
Cynical	Expects the worst from people	Assumes the gift is a bribe
Deceitful	Lies to get what they want	Tells three people three different versions
Defensive	Takes any comment as an attack	Hears "nice hat" as an insult
Demanding	Expects a lot from others	Sends the soup back twice
Dishonest	Doesn't tell the truth	Swears he was home all night, with mud on his boots
Disloyal	Switches sides easily	Sells the hideout's location for a warm bed
Envious	Wants what others have	Smiles at her friend's good news and goes home to cry
Fickle	Changes their mind constantly	Has loved three different people this week
Greedy	Always wants more	Pockets the extra coin the merchant miscounted
Gullible	Believes anything	Buys a second "magic" bean from the same seller
Hostile	Unfriendly on purpose	Meets every greeting with a glare
Hot-tempered	Quick to anger	Breaks a chair over a lost card game
Hypocritical	Doesn't follow their own rules	Lectures about honesty with a stolen ring on her finger
Impatient	Can't stand waiting	Leaves before the healer finishes explaining
Impulsive	Acts without thinking	Jumps into the river to save a hat
Indecisive	Can't make up their mind	Stands at the crossroads until nightfall
Insecure	Doubts their own worth	Asks if the meal was fine five times
Irresponsible	Avoids their duties	Spends the rent money at the fair
Jealous	Afraid of losing someone to a rival	Reads his partner's letters at night
Lazy	Avoids effort	Pays a child to do his chores
Manipulative	Steers people with tricks	Makes her rival think the plan was his idea
Melodramatic	Overreacts	Declares her life over because of a rained-out picnic
Moody	Mood swings without warning	Laughing at noon, slamming doors by supper
Nosy	Pries into others' business	Reads the letter over the courier's shoulder
Obsessive	Can't let go of one thing	Has drawn the same stranger's face a hundred times
Paranoid	Suspects everyone	Checks the lock four times and sleeps with a knife
Pessimistic	Expects things to go wrong	Packs for the funeral before the duel
Petty	Holds on to tiny grudges	Still won't pass the salt to the man who beat her at chess
Possessive	Treats people as theirs	Introduces his friend as "mine"
Prejudiced	Judges groups unfairly	Refuses to sell bread to anyone from the hill villages
Reckless	Takes needless risks	Races the storm home across the frozen lake
Resentful	Nurses grudges in silence	Smiles at her brother's promotion and never forgets it
Rude	Ignores basic manners	Eats before the host has sat down
Self-centered	Thinks mostly of themselves	Turns every conversation back to her own day
Self-righteous	Sure they're morally better	Prays loudly for the sinners at the next table
Selfish	Puts their wants first	Takes the last blanket on the coldest night
Spiteful	Hurts people to get back at them	Burns the letter she was supposed to deliver
Stubborn	Won't change course	Keeps rowing upstream after the oar breaks
Superficial	Cares only about appearances	Judges the inn by its sign
Suspicious	Doesn't trust easily	Tastes the wine only after his host does
Tactless	Says hurtful things without thinking	Tells the bride the dress looked better on her sister
Timid	Afraid to speak up	Lets the merchant cheat her rather than argue
Vain	Obsessed with their looks or image	Checks her reflection in every shop window
Vengeful	Wants payback	Keeps a list of names, and crosses one off
Volatile	Explodes without warning	Throws the cup before anyone knows he's upset
Whiny	Complains constantly	Narrates every blister on the march
Withdrawn	Pulls away from people	Eats alone in the stables

Neutral character traits

Neutral traits can help or hurt depending on the moment. They're the most useful for writers, because the same trait can save a character in chapter two and doom them in chapter ten.

Trait	Means	On the page
Ambitious	Wants to rise	Has already planned the next promotion on the day of this one
Analytical	Breaks problems into parts	Draws a diagram of the argument on a napkin
Blunt	Says exactly what they think	"Your plan is bad. Here's why."
Cautious	Avoids risk	Tests the ice with a stick before every step
Competitive	Needs to win	Turns walking home into a race
Conventional	Sticks to the usual way	Wears what her mother wore to every wedding
Daring	Drawn to risk	Volunteers for the night watch on the haunted road
Dreamy	Lives partly in their head	Misses her stop because she was inventing a story
Eccentric	Odd in harmless ways	Names every chicken after a dead king
Emotional	Feels things strongly and shows it	Cries at the play, at the bakery and at a nice sunset
Extroverted	Recharges around people	Invites the whole tavern to the picnic
Formal	Prefers proper manners	Addresses his own brother as "sir" in public
Frugal	Spends little	Mends the same coat for ten years
Idealistic	Believes in how things should be	Quits the job rather than sign a dishonest ledger
Intense	Brings full force to everything	Stares at the chessboard like it owes him money
Introverted	Recharges alone	Slips out of the party to sit with the horses
Literal	Takes words at face value	Actually waits "just a second," counting to one
Methodical	Works step by step	Cleans the sword in the same order every night
Mysterious	Reveals little	Answers "where are you from?" with "south"
Nostalgic	Longs for the past	Keeps her childhood bedroom exactly as it was
Obedient	Follows orders	Holds the door because he was told to, even as it floods
Private	Keeps personal things to themselves	Has worked here five years and no one knows her birthday
Proud	Takes great pride in self or work	Won't sell a blade he isn't happy with, at any price
Quiet	Speaks little	Says one sentence at dinner and it settles the argument
Reserved	Holds back their feelings	Hugs her returning brother for exactly one second
Restless	Can't stay still or settled	Has lived in six towns in four years
Sarcastic	Uses irony to make a point	"Oh good, more rain. My favorite."
Sentimental	Attached to memories and keepsakes	Won't throw out a single pressed flower
Serious	Rarely jokes	Takes the children's game of knights very seriously
Skeptical	Wants proof	Asks the fortune teller for her sources
Solitary	Prefers being alone	Built his cabin a day's walk from anyone
Spontaneous	Acts on a whim	Buys a boat on the way to buy bread
Stoic	Endures without complaint	Sets her own broken finger and keeps working
Strict	Holds firm to rules	Fines his best friend for being late
Talkative	Talks a lot	Has told the ferryman her whole life story by midstream
Traditional	Values old customs	Leaves a bowl of milk out for the house spirits
Unpredictable	Hard to anticipate	Laughs off the insult, then storms out over a compliment
Whimsical	Playfully fanciful	Holds tea parties for the scarecrows
Wry	Dryly amused	Raises one eyebrow at the prophecy
Zealous	Fervent about a cause	Hands out pamphlets at his own sister's funeral

How to choose character traits

Three to five traits are plenty for a main character. More than that and none of them stand out. A simple mix that works:

1. Two strengths the plot will test.
2. One flaw that costs them something. See character flaws below.
3. One contradiction that surprises the reader, like a cruel man who is gentle with animals.
4. One neutral trait that cuts both ways.

To check the mix, run it past the Big Five, a model psychologists use to describe personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism, sometimes remembered as OCEAN (Wikipedia). If all of your character's traits sit on one of those five, they'll feel flat. Spread them out.

Here's the mix in practice for Polly Wickes, who sells flowers in Bellsworth Yard in the Mythx world of Bellsworth:

• Strength: chatty. She knows which doors buy their posies with gossip and which buy them in silence.
• Flaw: nosy, in a friendly way. She keeps a mental map of everyone's routines.
• Contradiction: she feels a little guilty about how much she notices.
• Neutral: fearless. It makes her first after a pickpocket, and first into trouble.
• Want: to save her flower money for a proper barrow of her own.

Her best friend is Tom Frost, the lamplighter, described in the game as the only person who can out-quiet her out-talking.

Fearless, shown instead of told: Polly chasing a pickpocket into the fog.

If you're building the character from scratch, start with an archetype first. Our character archetypes guide gives each type's want and fear, and the traits on this page fill in the rest.

Character flaws

A character flaw is a trait that hurts the character or the people around them and that the story makes them face. Writers often reach for the idea of a "fatal flaw," which comes from hamartia, a term Aristotle used in the Poetics. Scholars still argue about whether he meant a flaw of character or simply a mistake, and the Greek root means "to miss the mark" (Wikipedia). For writing purposes, both readings work: a flaw is what makes your character miss.

Flaw	How it hurts them	Where an arc can take it
Pride	Won't ask for help, even when it's fatal	Learns to say "I can't do this alone"
Arrogance	Underestimates enemies	Loses once, badly, and has to rebuild
Cowardice	Runs at the moment that counts	Stands still once, for someone else
Stubbornness	Won't change a plan that's failing	Finally turns back, and saves everyone
Impulsiveness	Starts fights they can't finish	Learns to count to ten, mostly
Recklessness	Gets the people around them hurt	Stops to count who's behind them
Jealousy	Sabotages the people closest to them	Admits what they're afraid of losing
Greed	Trades people for profit	Gives away the thing they wanted most
Distrust	Pushes away anyone who gets close	Lets one person in
Need for control	Can't delegate, burns out	Hands over the reins and the sky doesn't fall
People-pleasing	Can't say no, loses themselves	Says no and survives the silence
Perfectionism	Never finishes anything	Ships something flawed and it's loved
Self-righteousness	Judges others harshly	Does the thing they condemned
Vengefulness	Destroys their own life for payback	Lets the enemy live, or doesn't, and pays
Dishonesty	Lies until the lies collapse	Tells the truth when it costs everything
Insecurity	Needs constant approval	Acts without waiting for permission
Cynicism	Refuses to hope	Is proven wrong by someone kind
Naivety	Trusts the wrong people	Learns caution without losing warmth
Vanity	Cares more about image than people	Looks ridiculous in public to help a friend
Holding grudges	Can't let go of old wrongs	Forgives, and is surprised how light it feels
Secretiveness	Hides what others need to know	The secret comes out and the relationship survives
Martyr complex	Sacrifices too much and resents it	Asks for what they need
Indecision	Lets chances slip away	Makes a choice and lives with it
Laziness	Lets others carry the load	Finds something worth working for
Workaholism	Neglects everyone for the job	Misses one thing that matters and changes
Fear of commitment	Leaves before anyone can leave them	Stays
Hot temper	Says what can't be unsaid	Walks away instead of swinging
Prejudice	Misjudges a whole group	Owes their life to someone from it
Selfishness	Takes and never gives	Gives when no one is watching
Envy	Can't enjoy anyone else's success	Celebrates a rival, and means it

How to make a flaw work in a story:

1. Make it the dark side of a strength. Loyalty becomes blindness to a friend's crimes. Confidence becomes arrogance.
2. Root it in the past. A flaw usually grows from an old wound. Our backstory guide covers the wound, the want and the mask.
3. Make it cost something on the page. The flaw should lose them a fight, a friend or a chance at least once.
4. Decide what happens to it. The character can overcome it, be destroyed by it, or keep it while the world around them changes.
5. Don't confuse flaws with quirks. Biting nails or always being late adds texture, but it can't carry a story.

Character motivation examples

A motivation is the reason a character acts. It has two parts: what they want (the goal you could photograph) and why they want it (the need underneath). "She wants to win" isn't a motivation yet. "She wants to win the tournament because the prize money pays her father's debt" is.

Motivation	Example
Survival	He wants to reach the coast before winter because the plague towns have closed their gates to outsiders
Protection	She wants to keep her little brother out of the army because their older brother never came back
Revenge	She wants the man who burned her mill punished because the town called it an accident and kept him on the council
Redemption	He wants to guard the village he once raided, because the people he hurt are the only ones who'd recognize who he's become
Belonging	She wants a seat at the guild table because she has never been part of anything that chose her
Love	He wants to cross the border to find her because she wrote "come if you still can"
Freedom	She wants to leave the convent because she was put there at six and never asked
Recognition	He wants his name on the cathedral because his master took credit for his windows
Proving someone wrong	She wants to pass the knight's trial because her father said girls only break swords
Duty	He wants to deliver the king's letter because he swore an oath, even though the king is dead
Truth	She wants to know what's in the sealed archive room because her mother's name is on the door
Justice	He wants the judge exposed because an innocent man hangs on Friday
Security	She wants enough coin to buy the farm because she has been evicted three times
Power	He wants the throne because he's the only one who knows how bad the next king would be
Escape	She wants a new name in a new city because the old one is on a wanted poster
A promise	He wants to plant the orchard because he promised his dying wife he would
Home	She wants to find the island on her grandmother's map because she has never belonged anywhere else
Saving a place	He wants to keep the inn open because it's the last thing in the valley the lord doesn't own
Forgiveness	She wants her sister to speak to her again because she was the one who left
Creation	He wants to finish the clock because no one has ever built one that runs backward
Legacy	She wants an apprentice because she's the last person who knows the old songs
Faith	He wants to reach the mountain shrine because the god there answered him once
Fear of failure	She wants to be first in every class because second place once meant no supper
Guilt	He wants to find the boy who went missing on his watch because he fell asleep
A cause	She wants the factory closed because the river it poisons runs past the school
Thrill	He wants to sail past the edge of the map because staying home feels like dying slowly
Knowledge	She wants to read the forbidden book because no one will tell her why it's forbidden
Approval	He wants his father to see him fight because his father has never once watched
Rest	She wants one quiet year because she has been at war since she was fifteen
Making amends	He wants to rebuild the bridge because he's the one who burned it

Want more starting points? The backstory generator writes a character's motivation, flaw, secret and story hooks from a one-line idea.

How to write a character description

A good character description gives the reader one strong picture and a hint of personality, then gets out of the way. These rules cover most of it:

1. Lead with one telling detail. One detail the reader will remember beats a list of five they'll forget.
2. Use details that say something. Chewed fingernails say more than "brown eyes." A detail should hint at a trait, a job or a past.
3. Describe through someone's eyes. A pickpocket notices purses. A mother notices thin wrists. Let the viewer's priorities pick the details.
4. Mix in movement. Show the character doing something while you describe them, instead of freezing them for an inventory.
5. Skip the mirror. A character studying their own reflection is the most common way to describe a narrator, and readers have seen it too many times.
6. Stop early. Two or three details are enough on first appearance. Add more later, when they matter.

Sample character descriptions

Ten short examples you can use as models. Each one is built around a single trait.

Genre	Sample description
Fantasy	The innkeeper wipes the same clean mug while she listens, and her eyes go to the door every time it opens. She's been expecting someone for eleven years.
Fantasy	He carries his sword like a man carrying a sleeping child: carefully, and as if he'd rather put it down.
Sci-fi	Captain Oyelaran has a voice built for bad news. She delivers the casualty count the same way she reads the weather, and only her hands, locked behind her back, give her away.
Romance	He laughs before the joke is finished, every time, and then apologizes for it, which makes it worse and somehow better.
Mystery	The professor's tweed jacket is older than most of his students, but the watch on his wrist is new and costs more than his house.
Horror	The new neighbor waves every morning at seven. She waves at the house, at the car, and at the empty swing, for exactly the same length of time.
Anime	She has pink hair, a broom she insists is a weapon, and a laugh you can hear from the next class over. Nobody has ever seen her lose her temper, and nobody wants to.
Victorian	Polly Wickes sells flowers in Bellsworth Yard and knows everyone's business by noon. She talks fast, laughs louder, and will chase a pickpocket into the fog before anyone else has looked up.
Victorian	Tom Frost, the lamplighter, says about one sentence an hour. He also notices the glove on the cobbles that the rest of the street walked past.
Villain	The duke is never rude. He remembers your children's names, asks after your mother, and has never once in his life been told no.

Observant: Tom Frost and the glove nobody else noticed. Same lamplighter, same look, a different evening.

The Polly and Tom descriptions come from the cast of Bellsworth, a Victorian London world in Mythx, the AI roleplay game we make. Each character there has a few set traits (Polly's are chatty, fearless and nosy in a friendly way), and the game draws them the same way from picture to picture. You arrive as a newcomer, design your own hero's look, and your hero's traits come from what you say and do. It's free to start in your browser with no sign-up, and your first scenes come illustrated.

Play in Bellsworth →

Character traits FAQ

How many character traits should a character have? Three to five that matter: a couple of strengths, a flaw and something surprising. Minor characters can get by on one strong trait.

What's the difference between a character trait and a character flaw? A trait is any lasting quality. A flaw is a trait that causes harm and that the story makes the character face. Stubbornness is a trait until it gets someone killed, and then it's a flaw.

What are the five main personality traits? Psychologists' Big Five model uses openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism (Wikipedia). They're a handy check that a character's traits aren't all variations of one thing.

What is a fatal flaw? The flaw that brings a character down. The idea comes from Aristotle's hamartia, though scholars debate whether he meant a flaw or a mistake (Wikipedia).

What are good character traits for a main character? Traits that make them act. Curious, stubborn, protective and ambitious characters go places and cause trouble, and that's what moves a plot. Pair them with a flaw from the list above.

What is a neutral character trait? A trait that's neither good nor bad on its own, like cautious, blunt or competitive. Whether it helps or hurts depends on the situation.

How do you show a character trait instead of telling it? Put the character in a situation where the trait changes what they do, then describe the action. "Brave" is telling. Walking into a burning barn with shaking hands is showing.