Vocabulary - Dealing with Difficult Personalities

Study the vocabulary list and complete the activities below.

Have you ever had to work with someone who was hard to get along with? We all meet difficult people in our lives, whether at work, in school, or in our social circles. Today, we are going to learn 6 advanced adjectives to describe these challenging personality types in English. Let’s expand your vocabulary so you can express your frustrations like a pro!

• Argumentative Someone who is argumentative often disagrees with others and likes to start arguments or debates, even over small things.
  • Try not to talk about politics with my uncle; he becomes very argumentative and won't let anyone else speak.
• Cynical Believing that people are only motivated by selfish reasons; distrustful of human sincerity and goodness.
  • After working in sales for ten years, he became quite cynical about people's true intentions.
• Domineering Trying to control other people strongly without considering their opinions, feelings, or ideas.
  • Our new manager is so domineering that nobody feels comfortable sharing their own ideas in meetings anymore.
• Stubborn Refusing to change your mind, ideas, or actions, even when other people try to persuade you or when it is the logical thing to do.
  • She is too stubborn to ask for directions, so we have been driving in circles for an hour!
• Touchy Easily offended, upset, or angered by things people say or do; overly sensitive.
  • Be careful what you say about his new haircut; he is very touchy about his appearance today.
• Vindictive Having or showing a strong desire to get revenge on someone who hurt you or disagreed with you.
  • When she didn't get the promotion, she was vindictive and deleted important files from the company's shared drive.

ACTIVITIES

Activity 1: Definition Matching

Drag and drop the adjectives from the word bank to their correct definitions. There is one word you will not use.

Argumentative

Cynical

Domineering

Touchy

Vindictive

Stubborn

1. Someone who easily gets upset or offended by small comments.

2. Someone who always wants to control others and ignores their feelings.

3. Someone who enjoys disagreeing and fighting with words.

4. Someone who wants to get revenge on others for past actions.

5. Someone who believes people only do things for selfish reasons.

Activity 2: Gap Fill

Complete the sentences below using the correct word from the dropdown options.

1. Please don't be so --- argumentative cynical domineering stubborn touchy vindictive ; just admit that you made a mistake for once!

2. I know you've been hurt before, but you shouldn't be so --- argumentative cynical domineering stubborn touchy vindictive about finding love again. Not everyone is selfish.

3. After the breakup, she sent terrible emails to his boss to get him fired; it was a very --- argumentative cynical domineering stubborn touchy vindictive thing to do.

4. Be careful how you give feedback to Mark today. He is feeling a bit --- argumentative cynical domineering stubborn touchy vindictive and might take it personally.

5. My brother is so --- argumentative cynical domineering stubborn touchy vindictive that it is impossible to have a peaceful discussion with him; he turns everything into a debate.

Activity 3: Reading Comprehension

Read the short dialogue below and answer the questions by choosing the correct option.

Alice: I can't stand working with Robert anymore. He is so domineering in our weekly meetings!

Ben: I know exactly what you mean. He always tells everyone what to do. And if you suggest a different idea, he gets extremely argumentative.

Alice: Exactly! Yesterday, I gently pointed out a small mistake in his report, and he got so touchy about it. He acted like I had insulted his entire family.

Ben: It's best not to upset him. He can be quite vindictive when he feels challenged.

Alice: Really? Why do you say that?

Ben: Well, I heard he gave Sarah a terrible holiday schedule just because she disagreed with his project timeline last month.

Alice: That's awful. Working in this environment makes me feel really cynical about teamwork in this company.

1. Why does Alice dislike working with Robert? a) Because he is lazy and doesn't do his work. b) Because he tries to control everyone in meetings. c) Because he is always late for their weekly meetings.

2. How does Robert react when someone suggests a different idea? a) He starts to argue with them. b) He listens carefully and takes notes. c) He ignores the person completely.

3. What did Robert do to Sarah that shows he is vindictive? a) He complained to the boss and got her fired. b) He yelled at her during a weekly meeting. c) He gave her a bad schedule as revenge for disagreeing with him.