List of Adjectives

Click here for a list of over 1,100 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 or use the complete list below this one.

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