Character and conduct

Learn the distinctions

Judge conduct through observable choices

Character words are easiest to remember when attached to behavior rather than a general positive or negative feeling. An amiable colleague is pleasantly friendly; an abrasive one repeatedly irritates others. A prudent person anticipates consequences, while a complacent person feels so satisfied that they stop noticing risk. Tenacious behavior persists despite difficulty.

Several words describe how people respond to status, authority, or wrongdoing. An imperious person expects obedience; an obsequious person flatters or submits too eagerly. To abase someone is to lower their dignity. A contrite person shows sincere remorse, while someone who abjures a belief formally rejects it. To abhor a practice is to regard it with intense disgust, not merely to disagree with it.