List of Words that Describe Behavior

List of Words that Describe Behavior

If you are making a list of words that describe behavior, you might sort them according to the different kinds of behavior. People behave differently at home than at work, and in the company of certain people. Let’s look at different types of behavior and some words that describe them.

List of Words That Describe Behavior in Social Situations

The term ‘habit’ is widely used to predict and explain behaviour. This paper examines use of the term in the context of health-related behaviour, and explores how the concept might be made more useful.

Many things can affect behavior:

·         Your mood

·         The people that you are around

·         Things that happen to you

Stress and your physical condition also have a bearing on your behavior. We are going to look at good, socially accepted behavior and bad or out of control behavior.

Here is a list of words that describe behavior that is good in social situations:

·         Caring: desire to help people

·         Charming: pleasant, delightful

·         Considerate: thinking of others

·         Enthusiastic: has strong feelings; ardent

·         Excitable: gets excited easily

·         Faithful: being loyal

·         Funny: causing people to laugh

·         Kind: thoughtful, caring

·         Pleasant: polite

·         Polite: exhibiting good manners

·         Sincere: being totally honest

·         Thoughtful: thinking things over 

For the opposite kind of behavior, here is a list of words that refer to bad social behavior:

·         Aggressive: verbally or physically threatening

·         Argumentative: often arguing with people

·         Bossy: always telling people what to do

·         Deceitful: doing or saying anything to get people to do what you want or to get what you want

·         Domineering: constantly trying to control others

·         Inconsiderate: not caring about others or their feelings

·         Irritating: bothering people

·         Manic: acting just a little crazy

·         Manipulative: always trying to influences other people

·         Moody: being unpredictable; changing moods often

·         Rude: treating people badly; breaking social rules

·         Spiteful: seeking revenge; hurting others because you didn’t get what you want

·         Thoughtless: not thinking about the effects of your actions or words

Words That Describe Personal Behavior

The following words describe behavior that is more personal in nature. The behavior is not affected very much by the company or situation.

·         Active: always busy with something

·         Ambitious: strongly wants to succeed

·         Assertive: being outgoing and confident

·         Careless: not being careful; rushing into things

·         Cautious: being very careful

·         Conceited: thinks he is better than others; arrogant

·         Conscientious: taking time to do things right

·         Creative: someone who can make up things easily or think of new things

·         Curious: always wanting to know things

·         Docile: submissive, does what he is told

·         Extroverted: very outgoing; confident

·         Impulsive: saying or doing things without thinking first

·         Introverted: keeps to himself, doesn’t share thoughts and feelings

·         Inventive: thinks of new ideas

·         Nervous: very uncomfortable

·         Passive: does not argue; does as he is told

·         Perfectionist: wants everything to be done right and perfectly

·         Pragmatic always sees the practical side of things

·         Reserved: keeps thoughts and feelings to himself

·         Serious: no-nonsense kind of behavior

·         Shy: quite and reserved; lacking in confidence

·         Trustworthy: simply worthy of someone’s trust

·         Volatile: changing moods very quickly

Miscellaneous Words

Here is a list of words that describe behavior in general. Following are some words that refer to good behavior: adaptable, brave, confident, cooperative, courageous, debonair, decisive, determined, generous, hilarious, honorable, kind, lively, pleasant, productive, protective, receptive, reflective, responsible, romantic, self-assured, sensitive, shrewd, unusual, witty, wonderful, zany, and zealous.

The next list of words represents unruly or unacceptable behavior.  They are: abrasive, abusive, angry, anxious, belligerent, boorish, cowardly, crazy, creepy, cruel, dangerous, defiant, erratic, finicky, flashy, flippant, foolish, furtive, guarded, jittery, malicious, mysterious, obnoxious, outrageous, panicky, secretive, strange, threatening, unsuitable, vengeful, and wary.  

Of course there are many more words that can describe the way someone is acting. Behavior changes as we get older, too, as priorities change and we gain wisdom. Hopefully the words that you are looking for were included on these lists.

examples of Metaphor in English literature

Metaphoris a form of figurative language that can be used as a literary technique. A metaphor is a way to compare two different things to make an interesting connection in the reader’s mind. For more information on how to identify and use metaphor in writing, please check out our Metaphor worksheets. Read on for 30 examples of metaphor, including many metaphor examples from literature.

Metaphor Examples

1. Time is a rushing river.
2. Love is the dessert of life.
3. A family is a wolf pack in the wild forest.
4. My cat is a furry alien that has come to study our ways.
5. She is a delicate orchid blooming in the shade.
6. He is a gentle breeze that calms me down.
7. My parents are the sturdy branches from which all of us flowers grow.
8. The lawn is a beautiful green blanket we spread out every summer.
9. Snow drifts cover the city in sparkling diamonds.
10. Her eyes are two emeralds.
11. His cheeks are red apples.
12. The boys are puppies chasing their favorite toy.
13. The classroom is a magic box full of tricks to discover.
14. You are the sky and the stars, and I am the earth and the sea.
15. Her necklace is a constellation of stars against her skin.

Metaphor Examples From Literature

The following examples are all quoted from various works of literature, including poems, plays, stories and novels.

1. “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.” – William Shakespeare
2. “Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky.” – Kahlil Gibran
3. ““I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.” – Mother Teresa
4. “Books are the mirrors of the soul.” – Virginia Woolf
5. “’Life’ wrote a friend of mine, ‘is a public performance on the violin, in which you must learn the instrument as you go along.’” – E.M. Forster
6. “But it is just two lovers, holding hands and in a hurry to reach their car, their locked hands a starfish leaping through the dark.” – John Updike
7. “Time rises and rises, and when it reaches the level of your eyes you drown.” – Margaret Atwood
8. “All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.” – Albert Einstein
9. “A good conscience is a continual Christmas.” – Benjamin Franklin
10. “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso
11. “The hours here are flat and round, disks of gray layered one on top of the other…they move slowly, at a grind, until it seems as though they are not moving at all.” – Lauren Oliver
12. “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust
13. “She was a mind floating in an ocean of confusion.” – Caroline B. Cooney
14. “Life is a hurricane, and we board up to save what we can and bow low to the earth to crouch in that small space above the dirt where the wind will not reach.” – Jesmyn Ward
15. “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers.” – Emily Dickinson

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juxtaposition technique in literature

Explore the literary technique of juxtaposition as it uses comparison and contrast to spark meaning. Read a thorough definition, as well as example poems,

What Is Juxtaposition?

If you've ever been on a successful first date, it may have been successful because the person surprised you. For instance, if your first impression of a girl was that she was shy and reserved, but then she started cracking hilarious jokes when she felt at ease with you, you might have felt intrigued because your assumptions or expectations were turned upside down.

Similarly, juxtaposition in literature, or the side-by-side placement of two seemingly unrelated concepts, can ignite interest and keep a reader up all night just to see what happens next. Juxtaposition is a literary technique that relies on comparison and contrast for its resonance with an audience.

Take a look at the first paragraph from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities:

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way...'

The novel is set in France, in the years leading up to the revolution, and continues throughout to use juxtaposition to show the discord that sparked the popular uprising that overthrew the French monarchy. In the book, when the peasantry and the aristocracy are placed side by side, a reader can truly dive into the atmosphere of the time and understand that revolution was all but inevitable.

Examples in Poetry

We can see another perfect example of juxtaposition in Dylan Thomas' villanelle that you might remember from the 2014 sci-fi epic Interstellar, 'Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night:'

'Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.'

We often think of weakness and frailty when we think of someone who is close to death, yet the speaker in this poem calls upon his father's manhood and virility even to fight for life and put off death as long as possible. This is a juxtaposition because it places the action of rage and struggle against the action of lying down for death