List of Adjectives in English

reviewed byKateryna Protsenko / more about Editorial Process
Welcome to your language journey!
  • - 01

    Learn through the article!

  • - 02

    Pass a language test

  • - 03

    Check the results

  • - 04

    Subscribe to reach fluency!

girl point on notes

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:

Simple Adjectives

Simple adjectives are one-word adjectives that can describe or modify a noun or pronoun in a sentence. Examples of simple adjectives include descriptive words like beautiful, tall, and wise.

We use simple adjectives to provide information and add context to a sentence. For example, in the sentence "She is a beautiful singer," the simple adjective "beautiful" is used to describe the "singer."

Compound Adjectives

Compound adjectives are two or more words that are used together to form a single 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.”

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.

Take a look at this useful list of adjectives in English for your reference.

List of Simple Adjectives

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

  • Abundant
  • Acceptable
  • Accurate
  • Adorable
  • Brave
  • Bright
  • Calm
  • Colorful
  • Creative
  • Delicious
  • Eager
  • Elegant
  • Famous
  • Fragrant
  • Generous
  • Glorious
  • Graceful
  • Happy
  • Healthy
  • Honest
  • Humorous
  • Innocent
  • Joyful
  • Kind
  • Magnificent
  • Mysterious
  • Naughty
  • Neat
  • Nice
  • Obedient
  • Polite
  • Powerful
  • Quiet
  • Responsible
  • Radiant
  • Rich
  • Serious
  • Smart
  • Strong
  • Talented
  • Tender
  • Trustworthy
  • Unique
  • Useful
  • Vast
  • Wise

3

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

Superlative Adjective 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 English 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

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 different kinds of adjectives, from simple one-word adjectives to complex multi-word adjectives.

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

Make your next step to fluency with Promova

notepad
Adjectives List Quiz
Get a review of your skills & track your progress as you improve!
10 min
10 questions
Take test
phones
Try Promova
Learn English with a handy app full of awesome lessons!
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

Comments

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?