Describing People: Character

                     When talking about one's character we should take into consideration different aspects. According to English Vocabulary in Use by Michael McCarthy Felicity O'Dell you may be tempted to tell about
Intellectual ability

Ability: intelligent, bright (synonym of intelligent), clever, sharp (intelligent or quick to notice things), shrewd, able, gifted, talented, brainy

Lacking Ability: stupid, foolish, half-witted, simple (A simple person does not have a normal level of intelligence), silly, brainless, daft, dumb, dim (not very clever)

Clever, in a negative way, using brains to trick or deceive: cunning, crafty, sly

Attitudes towards life

pessimistic, optimistic, tense (nervous), wound-up, stressed-out, relaxed, sensible, down-to-earth, sensitive, upset, worked-up

Attitude towards other people

Enjoying others'  company: sociable, gregarious

Disagreeing with others: quarrelsome, argumentative

Taking pleasure in others' pain: cruel, sadistic

Relaxed in attitude to self and others: easy-going, even-tempered, laid-back

Not polite to others: impolite, rude, ill-mannered, discourteous

Telling the truth to others: honest, trustworthy, reliable, sincere

Unhappy if others have what one does not have oneself: jealous, envious

One person's meat is another person's poison 

Some characteristics can be either positive or negative depending on  your point of view. The words in the right-hand column mean roughly the same as the words in the left-hand column except that they have negative rather than positive connotations.

determined                                              - obstinate, stubborn, pig-headed

thrifty / economical                                -  stingy, mean ( not generous), tight-fisted, miserly

self-assured/ confident                           - self-important, arrogant, full of yourself

unconventional/ original (different)      - eccentric, odd, peculiar, weird

frank/ direct/ open                                  - blunt (rude), abrupt, brusque, curt

broad-minded                                          - unprincipled, permissive

inquiring                                                  - inquisitive, nosy

generous                                                  - extravagant

innocent                                                   - naive

ambitious                                                 - pushy

assertive                                                  - aggressive, bossy

There is no need to look each word up in the dictionary but only ones you don't know. The important thing is not to look up the translations  of the words but the explanations, of course, in English. Also, it is useful to see example sentences. The dictionary gives you this opportunity!