20 English Adjectives to Describe People Clearly and Naturally [479]

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In this episode, you’ll learn 20 useful English adjectives for describing physical appearance in a clear, natural way.

I explain each adjective with simple examples and real situations, so you understand how native speakers actually use these words in everyday conversation. This is not exam English or dictionary language — these are practical words you can use when talking about people in real life.

This episode will help you:

• describe people more clearly and accurately
• expand your everyday English vocabulary
• sound more natural and confident when you speak

Perfect for intermediate and upper-intermediate learners who want to move beyond basic descriptions and use more precise, natural English.

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Transcript

Speaker: 0:09

Hi there. This is Harry. Welcome back to Advanced English to help you to get a better language, to help you with your business English skills, goals are, we're here to help. Okay, so as I said, this is an And in this particular lesson we're looking at twenty. Yeah twenty adjectives to Now when we're describing people's physical appearance we usually in general terms use words like short, short, tall of average height. For skinny, they're the sort of general words we use and they're fine for that particular purpose. But if you want something a Or if you want to describe people you know or people you see, then you might want to have a look at these more advanced adjectives. So when we want to be a little description, and you'll find often in the written format. Okay. So you can use them quite easily Now as I go through the list of know if one or two of them. You have to be careful who you people could take offense with And in the modern world of being PC or non-pc, that means to be politically correct or not politically correct, where people might be offended or take offense at some of the words, you just have to be a little bit more careful. So I'll give you a warning in You still have to know these quite freely and quite openly. Okay, so let's start with people And again, just be careful here in relation to people's size or actual body of the person. So when we talk about people who are lighter, we can talk about lanky, lanky. Now, a lanky person is somebody And it usually describes there when they were fourteen or or early teens. And, you know, they didn't put And we all know somebody we went describe as lanky. In fact, we used to call them a Yeah. Somebody tall and skinny like a Another word for skinny is and You'll see the written format of So the pronunciation spindly and often we use it in relation to somebody's legs. They had spindly legs, a bit like a spider, long and skinny and all over the place spindly legs. Feeble. Feeble is a word we use to describe somebody who's quite weak. Yeah, a feeble body or a feeble But if we're talking about feeble is somebody who's many muscles, or they haven't So as they've got older, their are not so strong. And we might say the good wind Yeah. So somebody feeble, delicate is the delicate doesn't really have It has everything to do with body mass that you have. So if somebody is delicate, it just means they're not very strong. Okay. Now it can be permanent in the sense that somebody just didn't develop or they didn't take care of themselves. And they have a delicate body and they're always sick or they're always breaking something. So they're quite delicate. But you could always have it when they've been enjoying a the night before, and they wake describe themselves as I'm a won't last more than a few hours But delicate in a permanent situation means that the body isn't so strong, frail now, frail very definitely has to do with age. And generally, as people get and more frail. They lose body mass. They lose muscle definition. Their bones may appear to be They may have a calcium deficiency or something like that. And yet they are frail. And if they fall over, age, and they're likely to break or some particular bone, so they The frail old lady or my granny You have to be very careful when actually bruise her arm because Slight is again a word referring Very slight means skinny or not necessarily based on their frame or a slight build. So there's not a lot of muscle They could obviously be healthy, they're one of those people who they don't put on weight. So their frame or their body is Gaunt is the next word. And gaunt relates to our particularly around the face. So if somebody has been sick for a period of time and they've spent time in hospital, perhaps they haven't eaten because they've had a really bad illness. So when they come out of hospital, somebody might look at them and say, wow, he's really gone. So his cheeks are sunken and his So he's rather gaunt and he rehabilitation, lots of good fresh sea air. So gaunt, bony generally typically is bony. They don't have a lot of muscle Yeah, you know, they look like a And they've got, you can see the bones sticking out in their, particularly in their prominent bones, like on their shoulder or on their elbows or even on their legs. And they say, oh, he's really there's not much muscle on him. Bony. And then skinny. Skinny just means somebody who put on weight. And they, you know, they they jeans and slim fitting shirts. I really hate those people. And they, they, they have no So they are just skinny. And then we have decrepit. Yeah decrepit. Now be careful with the And the spelling of this decrepit refers to old people, particularly things that have got old over a period of time and have depreciated or have gone downhill. So the decrepit old man a big heavy coat. His walk was slow and ponderous, and he shuffled along the street so we can refer to him as decrepit. Buildings can also be described A row of decrepit houses that So people who are decrepit are a Okay, so those are the words describing people who are a little bit lighter than average, a little bit lighter than normal. So let's switch to the other a little bit heavier. Now this is certainly where you People don't mind being called skinny or frail or delicate, but if you're referring to them being a bit heavier than normal or heavier than usual, then you really do have to be careful and make sure these are friends that you're talking about so we can be plump. Okay? Plump can often describe young children that haven't developed yet Okay. So they they are plump for a few fed a lot. They haven't had a lot of Maybe they were sick as a child and they've put on a little bit of weight. So as soon as they get to school and start running around and cycling around, they lose that baby fat and they the plumpness disappears. So plump is an overweight child, This is quite a formal word. Corpulent. Corpulent usually describes the heavy businessman who's had one too many corporate lunches and has enjoyed lots of rich food and wine to go with it, and the rolls of fat are underneath the the collar of his shirt, and he's got a a large double chin and fat around every part of his body. That would certainly be somebody fat, like the old religious that you would see in museums painted and depicted as very So those bodies would be Stout usually refers to a man, but not always, but usually to a man. Stout means heavy fat. Okay, perhaps somebody who's been drinking more beer than they should and they get a rounded or what we call a beer belly. And that can be described as So you'd know and describe him He's not skinny, he's not lean, He's got a beer belly and looks a little bit too fat or overweight. Hefty. Hefty is a little bit more corpulent and hefty can relate Yeah, so. But it does mean that the person they're carrying a lot of excess little bit hefty during the means I eat a little bit more I maybe have one glass of wine more than I should, and I don't have so much exercise because it's cold. I just don't like going out in be a little bit hefty over the shed those extra kilos. Spring and summer. Hefty husky. Now Husky, I have to confess describe the shape or the form You can use it and I'll explain do with somebody's voice. When somebody has a husky voice, described as sexy and masculine. Yeah, a husky voice. But when we describe somebody as It's usually very well built, Yeah. Women in particular would like to look at somebody with a husky frame. Burly. Well, burly, it's not for and it's not corpulent, but it is bigger than you should normally be. Yeah. So you know, if you're looking at the front row or the what they call the, the pack of a rugby fifteen. So if you don't know rugby well British teams the Scotland, it happens to be. And you look at the guys with the numbers on the back one, two, three, those guys you would be burly. Yeah. So very round, quite heavy. Now they're very fit. But wow you wouldn't want to be So they're burly big strong Sturdy. Sturdy has a lot to do with When somebody is sturdy, they're They're not easily knocked over. Yeah, so he's a sturdy young Okay, so he's very solid. He might be getting a little bit heavy, but he's not fat and he's not stout, but he's certainly sturdy. He's got strong, thick legs and arms and shoulders so very strong. And you know, it could describe grown very tall. But instead of growing tall, So he's got a, you know, a bit be described as sturdy, robust. Well, a person who's robust can again, a bit like sturdy, robust with a bit of meat on them. You wouldn't like to bounce off them because it could be quite painful. So they are robust, strong, but but very very heavy. The next word is voluptuous. Now here we have to be really careful because this is a word that some people might see as offensive. So we have to be careful who we But if you're been watching If you're my age, you'll know But if you're younger than me, then you might have seen the movie recently about Marilyn Monroe. She is what I would describe as to do with their body shape. Women of a certain with a certain shape body look like Marilyn Monroe. You could describe that as a Okay, so I don't have to say careful, because some people you're being more than caustic, that you shouldn't or you're personal, so you have to be And then finally the word Again, people can be a little bit insulted if you call them chubby. Usually the word chubby has to So babies who have a lot of milk So the mother feeds them to keep They end up getting lots of fat around the the wrists and the legs and the thighs, and particularly the cheeks of the face. So we can say, oh, chubby So a little bit of fat. And of course they grow out of They stretch and everything will But when they're young babies, was a chubby baby. So describing that type of baby fat that the babies generally have. Okay. So there we have twenty particular adjectives to do with body shape. Okay. Now as I said, they're all to do And you can use these. You'll see them written down. You'll see them in books. You can use them to describe have to be really careful that That's insulting, but you'll the words I've given you and the give you the general description If you need to contact me, if you need some additional help with the words or explanation, then get in touch with me and I'll certainly try to help you out. So you need to practise those Pick out a few of them in somebody who's lighter, or one's heavier, and just see. Have a look through the internet, pictures that you can use to describe those type of people. Okay. Well, this is Harry thanking you for watching this particular video and join me for the next lesson.