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Description

Hi, I'm looking for an adjective that can be used to describe someone who is skilled at easily identifying the thoughts, abilities, and perspectives of another. The first sample sentence provided effectively captures the effect that I'm trying to convey.

Sample Sentences

e.g. Chloe is a _____ manager, she always appoints each individual, the tasks that fit them best.

e.g. Mothers are typically _____ when it comes to their children; they always know what they need.

e.g. Peter is a _____ friend. I never have to worry that he won't understand me.

Potential Words

Words that come to mind, include "perceptive", "intuitive", and perhaps even "keen" too.

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  • As the single-word-request tag states "please be specific about the intended use of the word. INCLUDE A SAMPLE SENTENCE demonstrating how the word would be used."
    – KillingTime
    Sep 17 at 9:36
  • 2
    What does "introspective of others" actually mean? I'm not sure that introspective means what you think it means.
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    Sep 17 at 9:36
  • 2
    With what motivation? Helpful, or just nosy? Psychiatrist? Busybody?
    – FumbleFingers
    Sep 17 at 10:13
  • empathetic comes to mind. An empathetic person is one who understands another person's situation and feelings.
    – TimR
    Sep 17 at 13:53
  • Empathetic and intuitive suggest the person can "feel"/"intuit" emotions in a subconscious, non-rational, almost-telepathic way; while other people may be able to deduce someone's inner state using logic (the great autistic detectives).
    – Stuart F
    Sep 18 at 9:19

3 Answers 3

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Chloe is a perspicacious manager; she always assigns each individual the tasks that fit them best.

Perspicacious (adj.)

Quick in noticing, understanding, or judging things accurately:

His perspicacious grandfather had bought the land as an investment, guessing that there might be gold underground.
Cambridge

Having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning: to exhibit perspicacious judgment.
dictionary.com

A perspicacious person is one who discerns or who understands something without needing an explanation: 'He was a perspicacious student of human nature and knew how we would react.'
Adrian Room; Dictionary of Confusable Words (2013)

"I thought I was a very perspicacious person and understood people. But now I am beginning to think I'm really a fool and don't understand anyone at all."
Taylor Caldwell; A Prologue to Love (1961)

If the mind is a book inscribed with thoughts, then a perspicacious individual may, at least in theory, bypass the face and directly discern the psyche, ensuring the accuracy of one's knowledge: this constitutes mind reading.
Frederick Kiefer; Writing on the Renaissance Stage (1996)

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I favour empathetic:

Cambridge
empathetic
having the ability to imagine how someone else feels

The word fits well in your examples:

Chloe is an empathetic manager, she always appoints each individual, the tasks that fit them best.

Mothers are typically empathetic when it comes to their children; they always know what they need.

Peter is an empathetic friend. I never have to worry that he won't understand me.

Also see Merriam Webster on the related noun, empathy

Merriam Webster
empathy
the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another

The word does not only deal with feeling but also has connotations of experience, making it apt for your sentence about Chloe, who as a manager must take account of experience as well as feelings.

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The above suggestions are excellent, but I suggest that astute and discerning also work well.

Astute: adjective, having insight or acumen; perceptive; shrewd [C17: from > Latin > astūtus, cunning, from astus (n), cleverness]1

While astute can also describe a kind of shrewdness, which can be a negative characteristic when the shrewd person is taking advantage of another person, shrewdness need not have a negative connotation.

Discerning: Exhibiting keen insight and good judgment; perceptive. Having or showing good taste or judgment; discriminating]2

  • Chloe is an astute [or a discerning] manager; she always appoints each individual . . . [to] the tasks that fit them best.

  • Mothers are typically astute and discerning with their children; they always know what they need.

  • Peter is an astute [or a discerning] friend. I never have to worry that he won't understand me.

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