Adjective and A List of Adjectives: EnchantedLearning.com
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Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes, identifies, modifies, or quantifies something (a noun or a pronoun). In the phrase, "the black cat" the word black is an adjective because it describes the cat.
In English, an adjective usually comes before the noun it pertains to (for example,
a red apple or a cute cat.).
Adjectives can be classified into many categories. In English, adjectives are generally used in the order: quantity-->opinion-->size-->age-->shape-->color-->origin-->material-->purpose.
Some of these categories are (roughly in the order in which adjectives are used in English):
quantity - few, no, one, two, three, four, little, several, many, all, some, every, each, ...
opinion - good, better, best, bad, worse, worst, wonderful, splendid, mediocre, awful, fantastic, pretty, ugly, clean, dirty, wasteful, difficult, comfortable, uncomfortable, valuable, worthy, worthless, useful, useless, important, evil, angelic, rare, scarce, poor, rich, lovely, disgusting, amazing, surprising, loathesome, unusual, usual, pointless, pertinent, ...
personality/emotion - happy, sad, excited, scared, frightened, outgoing, funny, sad, zany, grumpy, cheerful, jolly, carefree, quick-witted, blissful, lonely, elated, ...
sound - loud, soft, silent, vociferous, screaming, shouting, thunderous, blaring, quiet, noisy, talkative, rowdy, deafening, faint, muffled, mute, speechless, whispered, hushed, ...
taste - sweet, sour, acidic, bitter, salty, tasty, delicious, savory, delectable, yummy, bland, tasteless, palatable, yummy, luscious, appetizing, tasteless, spicy, watery, ...
touch - hard, soft, silky, velvety, bumpy, smooth, grainy, coarse, pitted, irregular, scaly, polished, glossy, lumpy, wiry, scratchy, rough, glassy, ...
size, weight - heavy, light, big, small, little, tiny, tall, short, fat, thin, slender, willowy, lean, svelte, scrawny, skeletal, underweight, lanky, wide, enormous, huge, vast, great, gigantic, monstrous, mountainous, jumbo, wee, dense, weighty, slim, trim, hulking, hefty, giant, plump, tubby, obese, portly, ...
smell - perfumed, acrid, putrid, burnt, smelly, reeking, noxious, pungent, aromatic, fragrant, scented, musty, sweet-smelling,...
speed - quick, fast, slow, speeding, rushing, bustling, rapid, snappy, whirlwind, swift, hasty, prompt, brief, ...
temperature - hot, cold, freezing, icy, frigid, sweltering, wintry, frosty, frozen, nippy, chilly, sizzling, scalding, burning, feverish, fiery, steaming, ...
age - young, old, baby, babyish, teenage, ancient, antique, old-fashioned, youthful, elderly, mature, adolescent, infantile, bygone, recent, modern, ...
distance - short, long, far, distant, nearby, close, faraway, outlying, remote, far-flung, neighboring, handy, ...
shape - round, circular, square, triangular, oval, sleek, blobby, flat, rotund, globular, spherical, wavy, straight, cylindrical, oblong, elliptical, zigzag, squiggly, crooked, winding, serpentine, warped, distorted, ...
miscellaneous qualities- full, empty, wet, dry, open, closed , ornate, ...
brightness - light, dark, bright, shadowy, drab, radiant, shining, pale, dull, glowing, shimmering, luminous, gleaming, ...
color - pink, red, orange, yellowish, dark-green, blue, purple, black, white, gray, brown, tanned, pastel, metallic, silver, colorless, transparent, translucent, ...
time - early, late, morning, night, evening, everlasting, initial, first, last, overdue, belated, long-term, delayed, punctual, ...
origin/location - lunar, northern, oceanic, polar, equatorial, Floridian, American, Spanish, Canadian, Mexican, French, Irish, English, Australian, ...
material - glass, wooden, cloth, concrete, fabric, cotton, plastic, leather, ceramic, china, metal, steel, silicon, ...
purpose - folding, swinging, work, racing, cooking, sleeping, dance, rolling, walking, ...
Using Hyphens for Compound Adjectives
Some adjectives are used as a group to p if the group of words form a single idea and are used before the noun, they should be connected by hyphens to make their meaning clear. Common examples of hyphenated adjectives include black-and-white, 6-foot-tall, 5-years-old, problem-solving, mother-in-law and fight-or-flight.
A wonderful example of hyphenated adjectives is George Orwell's description of being from the lower-upper-middle class.
Example of the Sequence of Multiple Adjectives in Chart Form:
five & huge young & black
& battered & old shapeless gray & cotton work pants
many magnificent & antique & & British & reference books
one studious & teenaged & & American & & boy
few shiny & &
blue Indian & & gems
many well-made tiny & elongated brown &
fishing boats
several cheap large & & purple &
sleeping bags
A comparative adjective is used to compare two things.
A superlative adjective is used when you compare three or more things.
For example, looking at apples you can compare their size, determining which is big, which is bigger, and which is biggest.
The comparative ending () for short, common adjectives is generally "-er"; the superlative suffix is generally "-est."
For most longer adjectives, the comparative is made by adding the word "more" (for example, more comfortable) and the superlative is made by adding the word "most" (for example, most comfortable).
If a 1-syllable adjective ends in "e", the endings are "-r" and "-st", for example: wise, wiser, wisest.
If a 1-syllable adjective ends in "y", the endings are "-er" and "-est", but the y is sometimes changed to an "i". For example: dry, drier, driest.
If a 1-syllable adjective ends in a consonant (with a single vowel preceding it), then the consonant is doubled and the endings "-er" and "-est" are used, for example: big, bigger, biggest.
If a 2-syllable adjective ends in "e", the endings are "-r" and "-st", for example: gentle, gentler, gentlest.
If a 2-syllable adjective ends in "y", the endings are "-ier" and "-iest", for example: happy, happier, happiest.
Some 2-syllable adjectives use the standard "-er" and "-est suffixes", including adjectives that end in "er", "le", or "ow". For example: narrow, narrower, narrowest.
For most adjectives with two or more syllables, the comparative is formed by adding the word "more," and you form the superlative by adding the word "most", for example: colorful, more colorful, most colorful.
Some comparative and superlative adjectives are irregular, including some very common ones such as good/better/best and bad/worse/worst.
Irregular and confusing adjectives
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
bad worse worst
good better best
far (place) farther farthest
far (place or time) further furthest
late (time) later latest
late (order) latter last
little (size) littler littlest
little (amount) less least
many/much/some more most
old (people) elder eldest
old (people or things) older oldest
Related Reference Pages, Activities and Worksheets:
A word bank of common adjectives.
A page of adjectives from the Little Explorers Picture Dictionary in English.
See if you can think of and write down words that describe a person, place or thing (a noun) for each letter of the alphabet.
Circle the adjective and underline the noun it describes in the sentences in this printable worksheet.
In this series of printable worksheets, the student writes adjectives describing a
picture in and around that picture.
Each adjective has a comparative and a superlative form.
In each row, write the two missing words.
Write the missing adjectives in each chart.
Adjectives: red, far, icy, bad, easy, friendly, funny, busy, smelly, pretty. Or
Adjectives: blue, old, sweet, happy, shiny, clean, fine, high, nasty, rich. Or
Adjectives: red, far, icy, bad, easy, friendly, funny, busy, smelly, pretty. Or
For each animal, underline the adjective that best describes it.
For each food, underline the adjective that best describes it.
For each picture, underline the adjective that best describes it.
For each picture, underline the adjective that best describes it.
For each picture, underline the adjective that best describes it.
For each picture, underline the adjective that best describes it.
On these printable worksheets, the student is given four related nouns. The student writes five adjectives describing each noun.
Write eight adjectives describing a cat and then use each adjective in a sentence.
Think of a fictional character or make up one of your own.
Write your character's name and draw a picture of your character in the center oval.
Write eight adjectives that describe the character.
Then use each adjective in a sentence.
Write eight adjectives describing a dog and then use each adjective in a sentence.
Write eight adjectives describing a hat and then use each adjective in a sentence.
Write eight adjectives describing an ice cream cone and then use each adjective in a sentence.
Write your name and draw a picture of yourself in the center oval.
Write eight adjectives describing yourself. Then use each adjective in a sentence.
Write your father's name and draw a picture of your father in the center oval.
Write eight adjectives describing your father. Then use each adjective in a sentence.
Write your mother's name and draw a picture of your mother in the center oval.
Write eight adjectives describing your mother. Then use each adjective in a sentence.
Think of and write eight hearing-related adjectives, describing how things sound.
Sample answers: loud, soft, quiet, noisy, raspy, high-pitched, low-pitched, rumblng.
Think of and write eight smell-related adjectives, describing odors, how things smell.
Sample answers: rotten, flowery, burnt, delicious, putrid, bad, good, sweaty.
Think of and write eight sight-related adjectives, describing how things look.
Sample answers: bright, dark, shiny, dull, colorful, purple, clear, twinkling.
Write your teacher's name and draw a picture of your teacher in the center oval.
Write eight adjectives describing your teacher. Then use each adjective in a sentence.
Think of and write eight taste-related adjectives, describing how things feel.
Sample answers: sweet, sour, bitter, gooey, salty, syrupy, lemony, tart.
Think of and write eight touch-related adjectives, describing how things feel.
Sample answers: hard, soft, hot, cold, rough, smooth, grainy, sharp.
Write 5 adjectives for each category.
The categories include: quantity, opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, and material. Or .
Write 10 adjectives for each category.
The categories include: quantity, opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, and material. Or .
Write a few adjectives for each noun.
Then pick other nouns and write some adjectives describing them.
The chart includes room for adjectives describing a noun's: quantity, opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, and material.
See if you can think of and write down a substitute or synonym for "good" for each letter of the alphabet. These words can be useful for less repetitive writing. Or .
Students use these printable worksheets to write which senses they use to examine objects, with charts to fill in.
The students describe how they sense various everyday objects.
See if you can think of and write down a phrase with an adjective and an animal word for each letter of the alphabet (for example, "angry ape").
See if you can think of and write down a phrase with an adjective and an astronomy word for each letter of the alphabet (for example, "alarming asteroid").
See if you can think of and write down a phrase with an adjective and a bird-related word for each letter of the alphabet (for example, "amazing archaeopteryx").
See if you can think of and write down a phrase with an adjective and a body-related word for each letter of the alphabet (for example, "aching ankle").
See if you can think of and write down a phrase with an adjective and a clothing word for each letter of the alphabet (for example, "awful apple").
See if you can think of and write down a phrase with an adjective and a fish-related word for each letter of the alphabet (for example, "adorable anchovy").
See if you can think of and write down a phrase with an adjective and a food word for each letter of the alphabet (for example, "awful apple").
See if you can think of and write down a phrase with an adjective and a insect-related word for each letter of the alphabet (for example, "angry ant").
See if you can think of and write down a phrase with an adjective and a mammal-related word for each letter of the alphabet (for example, "apt antelope").
See if you can think of and write down a phrase with an adjective and a plant word for each letter of the alphabet (for example, "average acorn").
See if you can think of and write down a phrase with an adjective and a sports word for each letter of the alphabet (for example, "avid archer").
See if you can think of and write down a phrase with an adjective and a vehicle word for each letter of the alphabet (for example, "ancient auto").
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Advertisement.Adjective - Definition for English-Language Learners from Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary
1 ENTRIES FOUND:
/'ae??kt?v/
adjectives
/'ae??kt?v/
adjectives
Learner's definition of ADJECTIVE
a word that describes a noun or a pronoun
The words blue in “the blue car,” deep in “the water is deep,” and tired in “I'm very tired” are adjectives.
— abbreviation adj
— adjectival
/?ae??k'ta?v?l/
an adjectival phrase
— adjectivally
Use the word adjectivally.
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Other Merriam-Webster Dictionariesad·jec·tive
'a-jik-tiv
: a word belonging to one of the major form classes in any of numerous languages and typically serving as a modifier of a noun to denote a quality of the thing named, to indicate its quantity or extent, or to specify a thing as distinct from something else
The word red in &the red car& is an adjective.
Examples of adjective in a Sentence
The words blue in “the blue car,” deep in “the water is deep,” and tired in “I'm very tired” are adjectives.
Recent Examples of adjective from the Web
That’s the adjective that best describes the two-time Olympian’s attitude and personal style.
Noyes added that there is nothing wrong with calling a conservative a conservative, but pointed out that liberal nominees don’t typically receive fancy adjectives when being described.
Fraudulent stories tend to differ in subtle ways, including their heavy use of adverbs and adjectives as well as slang, simple sentence structures, and relatively few commas and quotations.
The adjectives often used to describe him are clinical, lethal, precise.
Cordero had, for a week, struggled to find the right adjectives to convey what had happened to them.
Spurs’ taste for self-destruction was such a cliché that an adjective — Spursy — had been coined to encapsulate it.
Over the years, adjectives such as controversial and expensive have been used to describe Lockheed Martin's F-35 program.
Think of the adjectives used to describe him: freak of nature, alien, monster, lab creation.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adjective.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. .
What is an adjective?
Adjectives describe or modify—that is, they limit or restrict the meaning of—nouns and pronouns. They may name qualities of all kinds: huge, red, angry, tremendous, unique, rare, etc.
An adjective usually comes right before a noun: "a red dress," "fifteen people." When an adjective follows a
such as be or seem, it is called a
adjective: "That building is huge," "The workers seem happy." Most adjectives can be used as predicate adjectives, although some are always used before a noun. Similarly, a few adjectives can only be used as predicate adjectives and are never used before a noun.
Some adjectives describe qualities that can exist in different amounts or degrees. To do this, the adjective will either change in form (usually by adding -er or -est) or will be used with words like more, most, very, slightly, etc.: "the older girls," "the longest day of the year," "a very strong feeling," "more expensive than that one." Other adjectives describe qualities that do not vary—"nuclear energy," "a medical doctor"—and do not change form.
adjectives—this, that, these, and those—are identical to the demonstrative . They are used to distinguish the person or thing being described from others of the same category or class. This and these describe people or things that are nearby, or in the present. That and those are used to describe people or things that are not here, not nearby, or in the past or future. These adjectives, like the
(a, an, and the), always come before any other adjectives that modify a noun.
adjective describes a whole group or class of people or things, or a person or thing that is not identified or familiar. The most common indefinite adjectives are: all, another, any, both, each, either, enough, every, few, half, least, less, little, many, more, most, much, neither, one (and two, three, etc.), other, several, some, such, whole.
adjectives—primarily which, what, and whose—are used to begin questions. They can also be used as interrogative .
Which horse did you bet on? = Which did you bet on?
What songs did they sing? = What did they sing?
Whose coat is this? = Whose is this?
The —my, your, his, her, its, our, their—tell you who has, owns, or has experienced something, as in "I admired her candor, "Our cat is 14 years old," and "They said their trip was wonderful."
often function like adjectives. When they do, they are called .
When two or more adjectives are used before a noun, they should be put in proper order. Any article (a, an, the), demonstrative adjective (that, these, etc.), indefinite adjective (another, both, etc.), or possessive adjective (her, our, etc.) always comes first. If there is a number, it comes first or second. True adjectives always come before attributive nouns. The ordering of true adjectives will vary, but the following order is the most common: opinion word&size&age&shape&color&nationality&material.
are often used like ordinary adjectives. They may come before a noun or after a . A
(an -ing word) describes the person or thing t for example, a boring conversation is one that bores you. A
(usually an -ed word) describes the person or thing who has been a for example, a bored person is one who has been affected by boredom.
They had just watched an exciting soccer game.
The instructions were confusing.
She's excited about the trip to North Africa.
Several confused students were asking questions about the test.
The lake was frozen.
Origin and Etymology of adjective
Middle English adjectif, borrowed from Anglo-French & Late L Anglo-French adjectyf, borrowed from Late Latin adjectīvum, from neuter of adjectivus
(as translation of Greek epítheton)
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 14th century
in the meaning defined
Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms
, , , , , , , , ,
ad·jec·tive
'a-jik-tiv
: of, relating to, or functioning as an
an adjective clause
: not standing by itself :
: requiring or employing a
adjective dyes
adjective law
adjectively
Recent Examples of adjective from the Web
Whatever adjective people want to use, Musk’s comments on the call had a measurable effect on the company’s share price in after-hours trading.
Interesting This map depicts the most common adjective people use when Googling each state.
Often the best strategy here is to think of action verbs, then modify them into adjective form.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adjective.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. .
Origin and Etymology of adjective
Middle English adjectif, borrowed from Anglo-French & Late L Anglo-French adjectyf, borrowed from Late Latin adjectīvus, from Latin adjectus (past participle of adjicere &to throw at, attach, contribute, add to (in speech or writing),& from ad-
+ jacere &to throw&) + -īvus
— more at
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 15th century
in the meaning defined at
Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms
, , , , , , , , ,
ADJECTIVE Defined for English Language Learners
: a word that describes a noun or a pronoun
ADJECTIVE Defined for Kids
ad·jec·tive
'a-jik-tiv
: a word that says something about a noun or pronoun
In the phrases “good people,” “someone good,” “it's good to be here,” and “they seem very good” the word “good” is an adjective.
Learn More about adjective
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