List of Adjectives

The list of adjectives is something of wonder. Behold the modest adjective. It can leap tall buildings in a single bound. It makes the average citizen smarter and kinder. It keeps you in the cleanest car on the block. Such potent words should be used wisely. Read on and learn how to use your adjective powers for good.

An adjective’s job is to modify a noun or pronoun. They are always near the noun or pronoun they are describing. Be careful how you use adjectives such as interesting, beautiful, great, wonderful, or exciting. Many adjectives like these are overused and add little definition to a sentence. Instead, show your reader or listener what you are talking about by using verbs and nouns creatively. Sprinkle fewer well-chosen adjectives for interest.

Adjectives are often used to describe the degree of modification.

The adjective forms are positive, comparative, and superlative.

This tree is tall. (positive)
That tree is taller. (comparative)
The last tree in the row is the tallest. (superlative)
 

A handful of adjectives have irregular forms of positive, comparative, and superlative usage.

These include good/better/best, bad/worse/worst, little/less/least, much-many-some/more/most, far/further/furthest.

My lunch was good, hers was better, and yours was the best.

Proper adjectives are derived from proper nouns. They commonly describe something in terms of nationality, religious affiliation, or culture. Like proper nouns, proper adjectives have their first letter capitalized. Some examples of proper adjectives include:

American
French
Japanese
Latino
Asian
Australian
Catholic
Lutheran
Jewish
 

The following lists are just a sampling of adjectives in the English language. They are categorized by the type of attribute they describe. Use your dictionary or thesaurus to add to each list.

Appearance Adjectives

adorable
beautiful
clean
drab
elegant
fancy
glamorous
handsome
long
magnificent
old-fashioned
plain
quaint
sparkling
ugliest
unsightly
wide-eyed

Color Adjectives

red
orange
yellow
green
blue
purple
gray
black
white

Condition Adjectives

alive
better
careful
clever
dead
easy
famous
gifted
helpful
important
inexpensive
mushy
odd
powerful
rich
shy
tender
uninterested
vast
wrong.

Feelings (Bad) Adjectives

angry
bewildered
clumsy
defeated
embarrassed
fierce
grumpy
helpless
itchy
jealous
lazy
mysterious
nervous
obnoxious
panicky
repulsive
scary
thoughtless
uptight
worried

Feelings (Good) Adjectives

agreeable
brave
calm
delightful
eager
faithful
gentle
happy
jolly
kind
lively
nice
obedient
proud
relieved
silly
thankful
victorious
witty
zealous

Shape Adjectives

broad
chubby
crooked
curved
deep
flat
high
hollow
low
narrow
round
shallow
skinny
square
steep
straight
wide.

Size Adjectives

big
colossal
fat
gigantic
great
huge
immense
large
little
mammoth
massive
miniature
petite
puny
scrawny
short
small
tall
teeny
teeny-tiny
tiny

Sound Adjectives

cooing
deafening
faint
hissing
loud
melodic
noisy
purring
quiet
raspy
screeching
thundering
voiceless
whispering

Time Adjectives

ancient
brief
early
fast
late
long
modern
old
old-fashioned
quick
rapid
short
slow
swift
young

Taste/Touch Adjectives

bitter
delicious
fresh
greasy
juicy
hot
icy
loose
melted
nutritious
prickly
rainy
rotten
salty
sticky
strong
sweet
tart
tasteless
uneven
weak
wet
wooden
yummy

Touch Adjectives

boiling
breeze
broken
bumpy
chilly
cold
cool
creepy
crooked
cuddly
curly
damaged
damp
dirty
dry
dusty
filthy
flaky
fluffy
freezing
hot
warm
wet

Quantity Adjectives

abundant
empty
few
full
heavy
light
many
numerous
sparse
substantial

Why do you need a list of adjectives? Adjectives can turn the ordinary in to the extraordinary. When used properly, they can add vivid interest to your conversation or written communication. However, there can be too much of a good thing. Please keep your adjectives effective by choosing them wisely.