Negative Character Traits

Thoughtfully crafting distinctive positive character traits is essential for you to create strong characterization and compelling narratives. The traits assigned to characters reveal essential personality, inform relationships and drive conflict, motivate pivotal actions and decisions, generate reader empathy, and shape growth arcs.

Here we present you a list of over 100 positive character traits:

Note: Some character traits may be positive, negative, or neutral, depending on your point of view.

• Abhorrent

• Abrasive

• Abusive

• Addictive

• Aggressive

• Agitated

• Amateur

• Ambiguous

• Amoral

• Angry

• Angst-ridden

• Annoying

• Antagonistic

• Anti-social

• Anxious

• Arrogant

• Artificial

• Artless

• Asinine

• Aspersive

• Assailable

• Autocratic

• Avoidant

• Awful

• Babbler

• Backbiting

• Backstabbing

• Bad-mannered

• Banal

• Barbarous

• Barren

• Bawdy

• Belittling

• Belligerent

• Bigoted

• Bitter

• Bizarre

• Blase

• Blind

• Blundering

• Boastful

• Boorish

• Boring

• Bossy

• Braggart

• Brash

• Brutal

• Brutish

• Bullying

• Bumptious

• Burdensome

• Callous

• Cantankerous

• Careless

• Carnal

• Caustic

• Censorious

• Chauvinistic

• Clannish

• Closed-minded

• Clueless

• Clumsy

• Coarse

• Cold

• Cold-hearted

• Complacent

• Conceited

• Condescending

• Confused

• Conniving

• Contemptuous

• Contentious

• Contrary

• Cowardly

• Crabby

• Crass

• Crazed

• Crazy

• Criminal

• Critical

• Crude

• Cruel

• Curmudgeonly

• Daft

• Damaging

• Debauched

• Deceitful

• Defamatory

• Defensive

• Degenerate

• Degraded

• Demeaning

• Demoralizing

• Dense

• Dependent

• Derisive

• Desperate

• Despicable

• Despiteful

• Destructive

• Devious

• Difficult

• Dim

• Dimwitted

• Discompassionate

• Discontented

• Dishonest

• Disingenuous

• Disloyal

• Dismissive

• Disorderly

• Disorganized

• Disparaging

• Disrespectful

• Disruptive

• Dissolute

• Distasteful

• Distracted

• Distraught

• Disturbing

• Dogmatic

• Doltish

• Dominating

• Domineering

• Dramatic

• Dreadful

• Dreary

• Drudging

• Drunkard

• Dull

• Duplicitous

• Dysfunctional

• Egocentric

• Embarrassing

• Envious

• Erring

• Exacting

• Excitable

• Exhausting

• Extravagant

• Extremist

• Fanatical

• Feckless

• Feeble

• Fickle

• Fiendish

• Foolish

• Foppish

• Foul

• Fractious

• Frenetic

• Frenzied

• Frightened

• Frivolous

• Frothy

• Furtive

• Garrulous

• Gloomy

• Gluttonous

• Greedy

• Grim

• Gross

• Grumpy

• Gullible

• Gutless

• Halfwitted

• Harmful

• Harsh

• Hateful

• Haughty

• Hedonistic

• Hellish

• Horrible

• Hostile

• Hurtful

• Hypocritical

• Hysterical

• Iconoclast

• Idle

• Ignoble

• Ignorant

• Ill-bred

• Ill-mannered

• Ill-natured

• Immature

• Immoral

• Impatient

• Impertinent

• Impetuous

• Impious

• Impolite

• Impractical

• Improper

• Imprudent

• Impudent

• Impulsive

• Inadequate

• Inane

• Inappropriate

• Inconsiderate

• Inconsistent

• Incorrigible

• Indecorous

• Indiscreet

• Indolent

• Ineffectual

• Inefficient

• Inescapable

• Inhibited

• Insecure

• Insensitive

• Insidious

• Insincere

• Insipid

• Insolent

• Insufferable

• Insular

• Intemperate

• Intolerant

• Intransigent

• Intrusive

• Invidious

• Irascible

• Irksome

• Irreligious

• Irresolute

• Irresponsible

• Irritable

• Irritating

• Jealous

• Jittery

• Judgemental

• Judgmental

• Juvenile

• Knavish

• Know-it-all

• Labile

• Lackadaisical

• Lame

• Lascivious

• Lazy

• Lecherous

• Lewd

• Liar

• Libertine

• Loathsome

• Long-winded

• Loquacious

• Loud

• Loutish

• Low

• Lukewarm

• Lurid

• Mad

• Maladroit

• Malcontented

• Malevolent

• Malicious

• Malignant

• Malingering

• Mandatory

• Maniacal

• Manipulative

• Maudlin

• Meek

• Megalomaniacal

• Melancholic

• Mendacious

• Merciless

• Messy

• Mischievous

• Miserable

• Misguided

• Mocking

• Monotonous

• Moody

• Morbid

• Morose

• Mundane

• Murky

• Naive

• Narcissistic

• Narrow

• Narrow-minded

• Nasty

• Needy

• Negative

• Nervous

• Neurotic

• Nihilistic

• Nitpicky

• Noisome

• Noxious

• Oblivious

• Obnoxious

• Obsessive

• Obstinate

• Obstreperous

• Obtuse

• Odd

• Odious

• Offensive

• Ominous

• Oppressive

• Overbearing

• Overblown

• Overemotional

• Overwhelmed

• Overwrought

• Painful

• Paranoid

• Passive

• Passive-aggressive

• Pathetic

• Pathological

• Patronizing

• Pedantic

• Peevish

• Perfidious

• Perverse

• Pessimistic

• Petty

• Petulant

• Pharisaic

• Phony

• Pitiful

• Poisonous

• Pouty

• Pretentious

• Prideful

• Procrastinator

• Profane

• Punitive

• Quarrelsome

• Queasy

• Querulous

• Questionable

• Racist

• Rambunctious

• Rancid

• Rancorous

• Reckless

• Remiss

• Remorseless

• Repellant

• Reprehensible

• Repressed

• Repressive

• Reprobate

• Repugnant

• Repulsive

• Resentful

• Restless

• Retaliatory

• Reticent

• Revolting

• Ridiculous

• Risible

• Rude

• Ruthless

• Sadistic

• Salacious

• Sanctimonious

• Sappy

• Sarcastic

• Scandalous

• Scornful

• Screechy

• Secretive

• Self-centered

• Self-conscious

• Self-destructive

• Selfish

• Sensationalist

• Senseless

• Shallow

• Shameful

• Shiftless

• Shifty

• Short-tempered

• Shy

• Silly

• Simplistic

• Sinful

• Single-minded

• Skittish

• Slanderous

• Sleazy

• Slimy

• Sloppy

• Slow

• Slow-witted

• Sluggish

• Sly

• Small-minded

• Smug

• Sneaky

• Snide

• Snobby

• Sordid

• Spineless

• Spiteful

• Stagnant

• Stern

• Sticky

• Stiff

• Stingy

• Strange

• Strife-ridden

• Stupefying

• Stupid

• Stuttering

• Sublunary

• Sulky

• Superficial

• Surly

• Suspicious

• Tactless

• Tasteless

• Tawdry

• Teasing

• Tedious

• Tense

• Terrible

• Testy

• Thin-skinned

• Thoughtless

• Threatening

• Timid

• Tired

• Tiresome

• Tone-deaf

• Totalitarian

• Touchy

• Toxic

• Tremulous

• Tricky

• Trite

• Truculent

• Unappreciative

• Unapproachable

• Uncaring

• Uncharitable

• Uncivil

• Unclean

• Uncommunicative

• Uncompetitive

• Unconcerned

• Unconfident

• Uncooperative

• Uncreative

• Unctuous

• Uncultured

• Undermining

• Undisciplined

• Uneducated

• Unethical

• Unfriendly

• Ungoverned

• Ungrateful

• Unhealthy

• Unhelpful

• Unimaginative

• Unintelligent

• Uninteresting

• Unjust

• Unkind

• Unknowledgeable

• Unlikable

• Unmannerly

• Unpalatable

• Unpleasant

• Unprincipled

• Unproductive

• Unrealistic

• Unrefined

• Unreflective

• Unreliable

• Unreserved

• Unruly

• Unscrupulous

• Unseemly

• Unsightly

• Unsuitable

• Unsympathetic

• Untactful

• Unteachable

• Untoward

• Untrustworthy

• Unvirtuous

• Unwise

• Unwitting

• Unworthy

• Unyielding

• Vain

• Venal

• Vengeful

• Venomous

• Vicious

• Victimized

• Vile

• Villainous

• Vindictive

• Violent

• Virulent

• Vulgar

• Wanton

• Wasteful

• Weak

• Wearisome

• Whiny

• Wicked

• Woeful

• Worrier

• Worthless

• Wretched

• Wrongheaded

• Xenophobic

• Zealot

Conclusion

All people exhibit an intricate blend of light and dark; effective writers reflect this. See our full list of character traits for more inspiration.