List of Descriptive Adjectives
Adjectives are used in a language to describe something or someone. Descriptive adjectives are the prominent type of adjectives. In this article, we will see more about adjectives, its types and a list of descriptive adjectives.
A language is used for communication; verbal as well as written. Each language has its own grammar i.e. a specific set of rules that determine the structure of sentences. The English language is one of the most popular and widely spoken languages in the world. Once you master the rules of English grammar, understanding and learning the language is much easier. The English language is open to changes, as thousands of words are added to it every year. There are a large number words in the English language, and all these words can be classified into the eight parts of speech, that form the backbone of English grammar and composition. The eight parts of speech are Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb, Pronoun, Conjunction, Preposition and Interjection. Let us have a look at adjectives in detail.
Adjectives
Adjectives are one of the eight parts of speech that express an attribute of a place, thing or a person. In simpler words, adjectives describe, qualify or modify nouns. Adjectives precede the noun in a sentence. There can also be more than two adjectives qualifying a noun. The list of adjectives in English are categorized into two types; limiting adjectives and descriptive adjectives.
Limiting Adjectives Limiting adjectives are used to specify only certain or specific nouns. They are limited to the noun that they describe and hence, are known as limiting adjectives. The types of limiting adjectives are possessive adjectives, demonstrative adjectives, numerical adjectives, interrogative adjectives, and proper adjectives. eg- His book (possessive adjective) Shakespearean drama (proper adjective)
Descriptive Adjectives
Descriptive adjectives is the largest group among the types of adjectives. Descriptive adjectives describe the noun in detail by assigning an attribute of that noun. The list of descriptive adjectives is considered nearly unending as there are adjectives describing nearly every noun. Descriptive adjectives are primarily differentiated into simple adjectives and compound adjectives.
(1) Simple Adjectives Simple adjectives are single words that are commonly used to describe a noun. eg- good, happy, bad, thin, etc (2) Compound Adjectives Two or more adjectives, used consecutively, that describe the same noun, are known as compound adjectives. They are hyphenated to avoid confusion between the two adjectives. The most common compound adjectives are the ones when adjectives precede nouns like ‘blue-sky’ or when adjectives are preceded by verbs as in ‘feel-good’. When two or more colors are used as adjectives, there is always a hyphen between them. eg- middle-aged, short-sighted, bluish-green If there is no hyphen between two adjectives, there can be an ambiguity in the meaning of the sentence. The following example will be beneficial to illustrate this. eg- A man-eating tiger.
As the adjectives are hyphenated, it is clear that they describe the noun, ‘tiger’. Now, consider the following example,
eg- A man eating tiger.
Here, there is no hyphen between the two words, neither are they considered adjectives. The sentence clearly means that a man is eating a tiger.
The following is the list of descriptive adjectives that are categorized according to ones that describe qualities, personality traits, colors, sizes, shapes, sounds and feelings.
Descriptive Adjectives List
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Appearance
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Personality
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Feelings
Adorable
Aggressive
Afraid
Attractive
Ambitious
Angry
Alluring
Amused
Anxious
Beautiful
Brave
Bad
Bewildered
Bright
Bored
Confident
Cruel
Calm
Cheerful
Combative
Confused
Cultured
Co-operative
Comfortable
Clumsy
Cowardly
Creepy
Drab
Dangerous
Depressed
Dull
Diligent
Disturbed
Dynamic
Determined
Dominating
Disillusioned
Disagreeable
Deceitful
Elegant
Evil
Envious
Fair
Frank
Faithful
Filthy
Fearless
Fine
Gentle
Generous
Good
Glamorous
Gifted
Grieving
Handsome
Helpful
Horrible
Homely
Harmonious
Happy
Hurt
Hesitant
Hungry
Ill-mannered
Instinctive
Ill
Jolly
Jealous
Jovial
Kind-hearted
Knowledgeable
Kind
Lovely
Loner
Lively
Magnificent
Mysterious
Mature
Nervous
Naughty
Nice
Pleasant
Pleasing
Proud
Perfect
Placid
Peaceful
Plucky
Punctual
Protective
Smiling
Successful
Sorrowful
Splendid
Sedate
Silly
Self-assured
Sincere
Sombre
Snobbish
Selfish
Sore
Thoughtful
Talented
Tired
Tense
Thrifty
Troubled
Timid
Truculent
Testy
Upset
Unbiased
Unwell
Vivacious
Voracious
Vengeful
Wonderful
Witty
Wicked
Worried
Wise
Weary
Wild
Warm
Wrong Zaftig Zany Zestful eg- What an adorable baby! eg- He was a brave knight. eg- She was in a jovial mood.
Following is a list of descriptive adjectives that describe shape, sound, size, time and quantity.
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Shape
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Size
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Time
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Quantity
Broad
Big
Ancient
Abundant
Crooked
Colossal
Annual
Bountiful
Circular
Great
Brief
Cumbersome
Distorted
Gigantic
Early
Empty
Flat
Huge
Fast
Extra
Hollow
Large
Late
Few
Narrow
Miniature
Modern
Heavy
Round
Mammoth
Old
Myriad
Square
Petite
Rapid
Many
Skinny
Tall
Swift
Multiple
Steep
Thin
Slow
Numerous Wide Tiny Young Substantial eg- A skinny boy eg- A miniature train eg- An ancient manuscript eg- Myriad stars
The following descriptive adjectives list qualify nouns related to sound, taste, touch and color.
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Sound
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Taste
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Touch
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Color
Blaring
Bitter
Hard
Azure
Cooing
Delicious
Loose
Aqua
Deafening
Fresh
Rough
Blue
Loud
Hot
Smooth
Black
Melancholic
Icy
Slippery
Crimson
Noisy
Juicy
Sticky
Cyan
Soft
Spicy
Sharp
Gold
Shrill
Sweet
Scattered
Green
Squeaking
Sour
Soft
Magenta
Silent
Salty
Tender
Orange
Thundering
Tasty
Uneven
Pink
Whispering
Tasteless
Wet Turquoise eg-
Blaring loudspeaker eg-
Delicious pastry eg-
Rough surface eg- Green diamond
Usage of Descriptive Adjectives When more than one descriptive adjective is used, there is a rule to be followed. The descriptive adjective is followed by the opinion adjective. To understand this, consider the following example. eg- A beautiful, green emerald.
In the above example, both ‘beautiful’ and ‘green’ are descriptive adjectives. But the adjective ‘beautiful’ is an opinion or a general adjective that may differ from person to person. On the other hand, ‘green’ is a specific adjective that defines an emerald. Therefore, when more descriptive adjectives have to be used, they should follow the manner illustrated below.
eg- A black, wooden door.
A nice, big bungalow.
All of the above are examples of descriptive adjectives. To understand the usage of adjectives clearly, they are also further classified into the following sub-types.
Predicate Adjectives Predicate adjectives affirm an attribute of the subject. In simpler words, these adjectives modify the subject in the sentence. There is always a linking verb that connects the subject to the predicate adjective. eg- The cake is tasty.
Here the predicate adjective ‘tasty’ describes the subject ‘the cake’.
Adjective Degrees When an adjective describes a singe noun, it is the positive degree of adjective, whereas when the adjective denotes comparison between two nouns, it is the comparative degree of adjective. The superlative degree of adjective is used when the comparison is between many nouns. eg- A is
tall (positive degree) B is taller than A (comparative degree) C is the tallest (superlative degree) Participial Adjectives When participles express a quality of the nouns i.e. participles function as adjectives, they are known as participial adjectives. There are two types of participial adjectives; the ones ending with ‘ing’ and the ones ending with ‘ed’ eg- The program was boring We were bored at the program.
The above descriptive adjectives list is definitely helpful for anyone in order to express more about a person, thing, action, etc. in a better way.
