Character traits are the personal characteristics and attributes that comprise characters from books, stories, movies, plays, and all art forms that come to life for readers.

You can use the following list of character traits as a guide when writing book reports and papers about the different characters you’ve read. Don’t stop with this list; you can possibly think of many more terms to describe your characters.

Values, Morals, and Beliefs Character Traits

• Honest
• Brave
• Compassionate
• Leader
• Courageous
• Unselfish
• Loyal
• Hard-working
• Independent
• Selfish
• Responsible
• Considerate
• Self-confident
• Humble

Physical and Emotive Character Traits

• Poor
• Rich
• Strong
• Tall
• Dark
• Light
• Handsome
• Pretty
• Ugly
• Messy
• Gentle
• Wild
• Joyful
• Busy
• Patriotic
• Neat
• Popular
• Successful
• Short
• Prim
• Proper
• Dainty
• Able
• Fighter
• Tireless
• Plain
• Expert
• Imaginative
• Conceited
• Mischievous

Temperament Character Traits

• Demanding
• Thoughtful
• Keen
• Happy
• Disagreeable
• Simple
• Fancy
• Plain
• Excited
• Studious
• Inventive
• Creative
• Thrilling
• Intelligent
• Proud
• Fun-loving
• Daring
• Bright
• Serious
• Funny
• Humorous
• Sad
• Lazy
• Dreamer
• Helpful
• Simple-minded
• Friendly
• Adventurous
• Timid
• Shy
• Pitiful
• Cooperative
• Lovable
• Ambitious
• Quiet
• Curious
• Reserved
• Pleasing
• Bossy
• Witty
• Energetic
• Cheerful
• Smart
• Impulsive
• Humorous
• Sad
• Lazy
• Dreamer
• Helpful

Similar to ordinary people, literary characters have attributes and beliefs that give them a unique personality. These can be superficial characteristics, like personality or physical traits – or they can be deeply-held values and morals. Authors create characters with myriad traits to help readers build empathy or antipathy, connect to the narrative, create realism, and build various plot points and storylines.