List of Descriptive Adjectives

What are Descriptive Adjectives?

Adjectives are words that function to describe nouns. Specifically, adjectives describe the action, state, or quality that nouns refer to. Descriptive adjectives are the largest class of the four types of adjectives, the others being adjectives of quantity, demonstrative adjectives, and pronominal adjectives.

An Organized List of Descriptive Adjectives

A list of descriptive adjectives can be organized into three categories to help writers and speakers better manage and understand this large class of words.

Simple Adjectives

Simple adjectives, as their name suggests, are the most basic type of descriptive adjectives. They function to express quality. Aspects such as feelings, time, sound, quantity, taste, appearance, size, age, color, shape, and material are expressed through simple adjectives. The following table highlights some common examples:

swiftancientmodernbittersweettanbeigechestnutalertattractivestickyfuzzygiantteenymassivecarefulcheapexpensivegoodbadbumpycoolfewrainysolidcottoncrystalroundsquaretriangularsoredangeroussafecombativewearydulldrabdimaggressivemellowfancyexcitedscaredfilthysuperiorlazyexcitedhungrycrazysanenewfreshyellowredblueaveragegracefulplainunusuallightpurplegreenwoodenplasticwoolensofthardharshmelodicwhisperingpunyharshnoisyquietshrillhollowlowwidenarrowcrookedovaloctagonalteakoakgranitepinkorangebrownblackwhitewrongrightpoorrichbusyhappysadtiredalertanxioussteepshallowfatskinnypetitecoldsharpwetdrydustylongshortstrongweakshybigsmalllargetinyminisculesaltysourtartdelicioushotbetterterribledeadalivewildhugetremendousyoungoldelderlyhandsomeuglybeautifulclearshiny

Compound Adjectives

Compound adjectives are created when two words are combined to create a descriptive adjective. The two words are typically connected with a hyphen. The following table provides some common examples of compound adjectives:

self-centeredice-coldnext-doorlife-givingbow-leggedlong-leggedfour-sidedthree-headedpigeon-toedhigh-heeledcandy-strippedleft-handedfreckle-facedshort-temperedheavy-handedred-bloodedtight-fistedhard-nosedthin-skinnedlong-windedbull-headedbroken-heartedbaby-facedsure-footedhard-hearted

Proper Adjectives

The following table lists a number of these descriptive adjectives that are derived from proper nouns. Nations, regions, and religions are common qualities described by proper adjectives. Because they are derived from proper nouns, proper adjectives are always capitalized. For example:

ItalianFrenchEnglishIndonesianMayanMexicanCanadianRomanChristianChineseGermanAmericanBuddhistHinduSpanishGreekTurkishRomanianCalifornianCubanAtlanticPacificAntarcticEcuadorianPeruvian

Using Descriptive Adjectives

When using multiple descriptive adjectives in a sentence, there is an order in which they should be arranged. Adjectives that describe opinion typically preceded adjectives that describe color, size, shape, etc. For example, the sentence The ugly red chair sat in the corner is preferable to The red ugly chair sat in the corner.

In addition, adjectives are usually arranged in a sentence from those that are more general in scope to those that are more specific. For example, The big Egyptian mask hanging on the wall is preferable to The Egyptian big mask hanging on the wall and The blue silken curtains hanging in the bedroom is preferable to The silken blue curtains hanging in the bedroom.

Writers and speakers can refer to a list of descriptive adjectives for ideas on how to better explain the action, state, or quality that a noun in a sentence refers to. Understanding that there are three main types of descriptive adjectives can provide further insight on how these important words can be used. With a good descriptive adjective resource and a little creativity, you can begin to add more flavor to your ideas when speaking or writing in English.