List of Adjectives in English

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Adjectives are words that describe or modify what we know about a person or thing in the sentence. They come in many forms, from simple one-word adjectives to complex multi-word adjectives. Let's remember the different kinds of adjectives and see a list of adjectives in English.

Kinds of Adjectives

Kinds of Adjectives

Adjectives come in many forms, and there are different kinds of adjectives that you can use to describe people, places, and things. Here's a brief overview of the different kinds of adjectives:

Proper Adjectives

Proper adjectives are derived from proper nouns and used to describe specific people, places, or things. They are always capitalized. For instance, "She loves Italian cuisine," where “Italian” is a proper adjective referring to the country Italy.

Compound Adjectives

Compound adjectives are two or more words used together to modify a noun as one adjective. Examples of compound adjectives include words like well-known, high-level, and long-term.

We use compound adjectives to provide more detailed information. For example, in the sentence "She is a well-known dancer," the compound adjective "well-known" is used to give more information about the “dancer.”

Comparative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two people, places, or things by highlighting differences in degree or quality. Examples include taller, stronger, and brighter. For instance, in the sentence, "She is taller than her brother," the adjective “taller” compares two individuals.

Superlative Adjectives

Superlative adjectives help us compare three or more people, places, or things. These adjectives are used to describe the highest degree of something. Examples of superlative adjectives include words like tallest, strongest, and cleverest.

We use superlative adjectives to describe the best of something. For example, in the sentence "He is the brightest student," the superlative adjective "brightest" is used to describe how he is the best among all students.

Demonstrative Adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives are used to point out a specific noun or pronoun in a sentence. Examples of demonstrative adjectives include words like this, that, these, and those.

We use demonstrative adjectives to indicate which person, place, or thing we are talking about. For example, in the sentence "This house is for sale," the demonstrative adjective "this" is used to point out the specific house being referred to.

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives show ownership of something in a sentence. Examples of possessive adjectives include words like my, your, his, and her.

We use possessive adjectives to indicate who owns something. For example, in the sentence "My car is red," the possessive adjective "my" is used to show that the speaker owns the car.

Predicate Adjectives

Predicate adjectives are adjectives that follow a linking verb in a sentence. Examples of predicate adjectives include words like happy, sad, and excited.

We use predicate adjectives to describe the subject of the sentence. For example, in the sentence "The student is excited," the predicate adjective "excited" is used to describe the student.

Participial Adjectives

Participial adjectives are formed from participles and come from verbs but describe nouns. They typically end in “-ing” or “-ed.” For example, in the sentence, "The running water is cold," “running” is a participial adjective.

Limiting Adjectives

Limiting adjectives define the quantity, possession, or definiteness of a noun. Examples include few, every, my, this. In the sentence, "I have three books," “three” is a limiting adjective indicating the number of books.

Descriptive Adjectives

Descriptive adjectives describe the quality, state, or characteristic of a noun. For example, "She wore a red dress," where “red” is a descriptive adjective describing the dress. The majority of adjectives are descriptive.

Interrogative Adjectives

Interrogative adjectives are used in questions to modify a noun or a group of nouns. They include words like which, what, and whose. For example, in the sentence, “Which book is yours?” “which” is an interrogative adjective.

Attributive Adjectives

Attributive adjectives are adjectives that are placed before the noun they modify, describing the noun directly. For instance, in "I have a really fast car," “fast” is an attributive adjective.

Distributive Adjectives

Distributive adjectives refer to members of a group individually rather than collectively. Examples include each, every, either, neither. For example, in the sentence "Each student received a book," “each” is a distributive adjective.

Lists of Adjectives in English

Now, let's take a look at this useful list of adjectives in English for your reference.

Proper Adjectives List

Here is a list of proper adjectives that you can use to refer to unique proper nouns:

  • American
  • Japanese
  • Chinese
  • French
  • Mexican
  • European
  • African
  • Victorian
  • Shakespearean
  • Elizabethan
  • Napoleonic
  • Kafkaesque
  • Christian

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Compound Adjectives List

Below is a list of compound adjectives that you can use to describe people, places, and things:

  • Above-average
  • Aforementioned
  • After-mentioned
  • Age-old
  • All-inclusive
  • All-important
  • All-purpose
  • All-round
  • Already-known
  • Always-ready
  • Any-time
  • Anywhere-available
  • At-issue
  • Back-to-back
  • Bad-tempered
  • Best-known
  • Better-off
  • Bottom-line
  • Brain-dead
  • Breath-taking
  • Business-related
  • Carefree-spirited
  • Carefully-chosen
  • City-based
  • Cost-effective
  • Deep-rooted
  • Easily-accessible
  • Easily-available
  • Easy-to-use
  • Everyday-living
  • Far-reaching
  • Far-sighted
  • Few-and-far-between
  • Fifty-fifty
  • First-class
  • First-ever
  • First-hand
  • Five-star
  • Forthcoming
  • Fully-equipped
  • Fully-grown
  • Fully-fledged
  • Fully-functional
  • Fully-grown
  • Fully-trained
  • Fun-filled
  • Good-for-nothing
  • Good-hearted
  • Good-natured
  • Government-run
  • Hard-working
  • Highly-educated
  • Highly-skilled
  • Highly-trained
  • In-depth
  • In-house
  • In-time
  • Less-than-perfect
  • Light-hearted
  • Long-distance
  • Long-term
  • Lower-class
  • Near-perfect
  • Nearby-located
  • Never-ending
  • New-born
  • Newly-developed
  • Open-ended
  • Out-of-date
  • Outside-the-box
  • Over-the-top
  • Pet-friendly
  • Right-minded
  • Second-class
  • Self-employed
  • Self-explanatory
  • Self-taught
  • Short-term
  • Small-scale
  • State-of-the-art
  • Straight-forward
  • Third-party
  • Time-consuming
  • Time-honored
  • Time-saving
  • Well-balanced
  • Well-behaved
  • Well-defined
  • Well-organized
  • Well-rounded
  • Well-thought-out
  • Wide-ranging
  • World-famous

Comparative Adjectives Word List

Here is a list of comparative adjectives that you can use to describe how one thing is compared to the other:

  • Smarter
  • Faster
  • Happier
  • Colder
  • Hotter
  • Longer
  • Better
  • Worse
  • Less
  • More
  • More beautiful

Superlative Adjectives Word List

Here is a list of superlative adjectives that you can use to compare three or more people, places, or things:

  • Biggest
  • Best
  • Bravest
  • Brightest
  • Busiest
  • Cheapest
  • Cleanest
  • Cleverest
  • Cutest
  • Deepest
  • Farthest
  • Finest
  • Firmest
  • First
  • Fittest
  • Greatest
  • Hardest
  • Highest
  • Latest
  • Longest
  • Lowest
  • Largest
  • Most
  • Nearest
  • Oldest
  • Poorest
  • Quietest
  • Rarest
  • Richest
  • Shallowest
  • Shortest
  • Simplest
  • Smallest
  • Softest
  • Strongest
  • Tallest
  • Tastiest
  • Thinnest
  • Wettest
  • Widest
  • Worst

Demonstrative Adjectives List

Here is a list of demonstrative adjectives in English that you can use to point out a specific noun or pronoun in sentences:

  • This
  • That
  • These
  • Those

Possessive Adjectives List

Here is a list of possessive adjectives in English that you can use to show ownership or possession of something:

  • My
  • Your
  • His
  • Her
  • Its
  • Our
  • Their

Participial Adjectives List

Below is a list of participial adjectives in English that you can use to describe nouns based on a verb’s participle form:

  • Tiring
  • Bored
  • Exciting
  • Shocked
  • Frightening
  • Amused
  • Surprised
  • Annoyed
  • Confusing
  • Amazing

Limiting Adjectives List

Here is a list of limiting adjectives in English that you can use to define the quantity, possession, or definiteness of something:

  • Few
  • Many
  • Several
  • This
  • That
  • Each
  • Every
  • My
  • Their
  • Some

Descriptive Adjectives List

There is a list of descriptive adjectives in English that you can use to describe the quality, state, or characteristic of a noun:

  • Beautiful
  • Happy
  • Tall
  • Green
  • Soft
  • Cold
  • Bright
  • Rough
  • Delicious
  • Quiet

Interrogative Adjectives List

Here is a list of interrogative adjectives in English that you can use to ask questions about nouns:

  • Which
  • What
  • Whose

Attributive Adjectives List

Below is a list of attributive adjectives in English that you can use to describe a noun directly before it in a sentence:

  • Big
  • Old
  • Fast
  • Blue
  • Happy
  • Young
  • Bright
  • Funny
  • Strong

Distributive Adjectives List

Here is a list of distributive adjectives in English that you can use to refer to members of a group individually:

  • Each
  • Every
  • Either
  • Neither
  • Any
  • Both

Adjective Suffixes List

Here is a list of common adjective suffixes in English that you can use to create new adjectives from existing words:

  • -able
  • -al
  • -ful
  • -ic
  • -ive
  • -less
  • -ous

Examples of words with adjective suffixes:

  • Comfortable
  • Natural
  • Beautiful
  • Exotic
  • Creative
  • Useless
  • Gorgeous

Adjective Phrase Examples

Adjective phrases are groups of words that modify a noun or pronoun in a sentence. Here are some examples of 10 adjective phrases:

  • The old, red car
  • A pretty little girl
  • A huge, fluffy dog
  • A bright yellow flower
  • An incredibly delicious meal
  • A brand new laptop
  • A loud, obnoxious noise
  • A soft, comfy pillow
  • An extremely expensive necklace
  • A small, fast car

Sentences With Adjectives Examples List

Here are some examples of sentences with adjectives:

  • He was wearing a bright yellow shirt.
  • She has the most beautiful eyes.
  • I have a long-term goal of becoming a doctor.
  • These shoes are too big for me.
  • They bought the cheapest car in the lot.
  • I found the nicest cafe in town.
  • That was the most amazing cake I've ever eaten.
  • This dress is the most elegant one in the store.
  • She is the smartest student in the class.
  • He is the strongest man I know.
  • I'm looking for the most comfortable shoes.

50 Useful Adjectives for Practice

  1. Amazing
  2. Beautiful
  3. Colorful
  4. Delightful
  5. Elegant
  6. Fabulous
  7. Gorgeous
  8. Handsome
  9. Incredible
  10. Joyful
  11. Kind
  12. Lovely
  13. Magnificent
  14. Nice
  15. Outstanding
  16. Perfect
  17. Quality
  18. Radiant
  19. Splendid
  20. Terrific
  21. Unique
  22. Vibrant
  23. Wonderful
  24. Adorable
  25. Attractive
  26. Bright
  27. Charming
  28. Cheerful
  29. Classy
  30. Comfortable
  31. Cool
  32. Cute
  33. Dazzling
  34. Exquisite
  35. Fantastic
  36. Glamorous
  37. Glorious
  38. Graceful
  39. Grand
  40. Impressive
  41. Jolly
  42. Marvelous
  43. Modern
  44. Pleasant
  45. Powerful
  46. Refined
  47. Shiny
  48. Smooth
  49. Powerful
  50. Handy

Summary

Adjectives are used to describe or modify nouns and pronouns in a sentence. There are many kinds of adjectives, from simple one-word to complex multi-word adjectives.

We explored the different kinds of adjectives and provided a list of adjectives in English. We hope this list of adjectives will be helpful to you as a reference! Find more information about Parts of Speech in English or Adjectives.

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Gradable and non-gradable adjectivesStrong Adjectives and IntensifiersTypes of Adjectives in EnglishPossessive Adjectives EnglishPredicate AdjectiveDemonstrative Adjective EnglishDescriptive Adjectives in EnglishDegrees of Comparison of AdjectivesComparative Adjectives in EnglishSuperlative Adjectives in EnglishOrder of Adjectives in EnglishCompound Adjectives in EnglishAdjectives Ending With ED and ING RulesAdjective Suffixes in EnglishAdjective clauses in EnglishAdjective PhraseRun-on SentencesSubject-Verb Agreement in EnglishSubordinate Clause

Comentários

PromovaNov 21st, 2023
Superlative adjectives are used to compare three or more people, places, or things and describe the highest degree of something. They describe the best of something. For example, in the sentence "He is the brightest student," the superlative adjective "brightest" describes how he is the best among all students.
Wesley RiggsNov 21st, 2023
how do superlative adjectives work and when are they used?