Adjectives

Looking at examples of adjectives can make it easier to understand how these important parts of speech are used within the English language.

Popular Adjectives

An adjective is a word that describes, identifies or further defines a noun or a pronoun. There are thousands of adjectives available to describe how something feels, looks, sounds, tastes and acts. Here are a few examples:

To Describe Taste 

Bitter	Lemon-flavored	Spicy
Bland	Minty	Sweet
Delicious	Pickled	Tangy
Fruity	Salty	Tasty
Gingery	Sour	Yummy

To Describe Touch

Auricular	Fluffy	Sharp
Boiling	Freezing	Silky
Breezy	Fuzzy	Slick
Bumpy	Greasy	Slimy
Chilly	Hard	Slippery
Cold	Hot	Smooth
Cool	Icy	Soft
Cuddly	Loose	Solid
Damaged	Melted	Steady
Damp	Painful	Sticky
Dirty	Plastic	Tender
Dry	Prickly	Tight
Dusty	Rough	Uneven
Filthy	Shaggy	Warm
Flaky	Shaky	Wet

To Describe Sound

Blaring	Melodic	Screeching
Deafening	Moaning	Shrill
Faint	Muffled	Silent
Hoarse	Mute	Soft
High-pitched	Noisy	Squealing
Hissing	Purring	Squeaking
Hushed	Quiet	Thundering
Husky	Raspy	Voiceless
Loud	Resonant	Whispering

To Describe Color  

Azure	Gray	Pinkish
Black	Green	Purple
Blue	Indigo	Red
Bright	Lavender	Rosy
Brown	Light	Scarlet
Crimson	Magenta	Silver
Dark	Multicolored	Turquoise
Drab	Mustard	Violet
Dull	Orange	White
Gold	Pink	Yellow

To Describe Size

Abundant	Jumbo	Puny
Big-boned	Large	Scrawny
Chubby	Little	Short
Fat	Long	Small
Giant	Majestic	Tall
Gigantic	Mammoth	Teeny
Great	Massive	Thin
Huge	Miniature	Tiny
Immense	Petite	Vast

To Describe Shape 

Blobby	Distorted	Rotund
Broad	Flat	Round
Chubby	Fluffy	Skinny
Circular	Globular	Square
Crooked	Hollow	Steep
Curved	Low	Straight
Cylindrical	Narrow	Triangular
Deep	Oval	Wide

To Describe Time

Annual	Futuristic	Rapid
Brief	Historical	Regular
Daily	Irregular	Short
Early	Late	Slow
Eternal	Long	Speed
Fast	Modern	Speedy
First	Old	Swift
Fleet	Old-fashioned	Waiting
Future	Quick	Young

To Describe an Amount

All	Heavy	One
Ample	Hundreds	Paltry
Astronomical	Large	Plentiful
Bountiful	Light	Profuse
Considerable	Limited	Several
Copious	Little	Sizable
Countless	Many	Some
Each	Measly	Sparse
Enough	Mere	Substantial
Every	Multiple	Teeming
Few	Myriad	Ten
Full	Numerous	Very

To Describe an Emotion

Abrasive	Embarrassed	Grumpy
Abrupt	Energetic	Kind
Afraid	Enraged	Lazy
Agreeable	Enthusiastic	Lively
Aggressive	Envious	Lonely
Amiable	Evil	Lucky
Amused	Excited	Mad
Angry	Exhausted	Manic
Annoyed	Exuberant	Mysterious
Ashamed	Fair	Nervous
Bad	Faithful	Obedient
Bitter	Fantastic	Obnoxious
Bewildered	Fierce	Outrageous
Boring	Fine	Panicky
Brave	Foolish	Perfect
Callous	Frantic	Persuasive
Calm	Friendly	Pleasant
Calming	Frightened	Proud
Charming	Funny	Quirky
Cheerful	Furious	Relieved
Combative	Gentle	Repulsive
Comfortable	Glib	Rundown
Defeated	Glorious	Sad
Confused	Good	Scary
Cooperative	Grateful	Selfish
Courageous	Grieving	Silly
Cowardly	Gusty	Splendid
Crabby	Gutless	Successful
Creepy	Happy	Tedious
Cross	Healthy	Tense
Cruel	Heinous	Terrible
Dangerous	Helpful	Thankful
Defeated	Helpless	Thoughtful
Defiant	Hilarious	Thoughtless
Delightful	Homeless	Tired
Depressed	Hungry	Troubled
Determined	Hurt	Upset
Disgusted	Immoral	Weak
Disturbed	Indignant	Weary
Eager	Irate	Wicked
Elated	Itchy	Worried
Embarrassed	Jealous	Zany
Enchanting	Jolly	Zealous

To Describe a Person or Personality

Aggressive	Famous	Restless
Agoraphobic	Fearless	Rich
Ambidextrous	Fertile	Righteous
Ambitious	Fragile	Ritzy
Amoral	Frank	Romantic
Angelic	Functional	Rustic
Brainy	Gabby	Ruthless
Breathless	Generous	Sassy
Busy	Gifted	Secretive
Calm	Helpful	Sedate
Capable	Hesitant	Shy
Careless	Innocent	Sleepy
Cautious	Inquisitive	Somber
Cheerful	Insane	Stingy
Clever	Jaunty	Stupid
Common	Juicy	Super
Complete	Macho	Swanky
Concerned	Manly	Tame
Crazy	Modern	Tawdry
Curious	Mushy	Terrific
Dead	Naughty	Testy
Deep	Odd	Uninterested
Delightful	Old	Vague
Determined	Open	Verdant
Different	Outstanding	Vivacious
Diligent	Perky	Wacky
Energetic	Poor	Wandering
Erratic	Powerful	Wild
Evil	Puzzled	Womanly
Exuberant	Real	Wrong

To Describe Appearance 

Ablaze	Distinct	Quirky
Adorable	Drab	Ruddy
Alluring	Dull	Shiny
Attractive	Elegant	Skinny
Average	Embarrassed	Sloppy
Awkward	Fancy	Smiling
Balanced	Fat	Sparkling
Beautiful	Filthy	Spotless
Blonde	Glamorous	Strange
Bloody	Gleaming	Tacky
Blushing	Glossy	Tall
Bright	Graceful	Thin
Clean	Grotesque	Ugly
Clear	Handsome	Unattractive
Cloudy	Homely	Unbecoming
Clumsy	Interior	Uncovered
Colorful	Lovely	Unsightly
Confident	Magnificent	Unusual
Cracked	Murky	Watery
Crooked	Old-fashioned	Weird
Crushed	Plain	Wild
Curly	Poised	Wiry
Cute	Pretty	Wooden
Debonair	Puffy	Worried
Dirty	Quaint	Zaftig

To Describe Situations   

Accidental	Doubtful	Main
Achievable	Elementarty	Minor
Advantageous	Finger-printed	Nasty
Alcoholic	Groundless	Nutritious
Animated	Hard	Obsolete
Aquatic	Harmful	Optimal
Aromatic	High	Organic
Aspiring	Honest	Premium
Bad	Horrible	Quizzical
Bawdy	Illegal	Rainy
Biographical	Illegible	Redundant
Bizarre	Imperfect	Remarkable
Broken	Impossible	Simple
Careful	Internal	Tangible
Credible	Inventive	Tricky
Creepy	Jazzy	Wholesale
Cumbersome	Juvenile	Worse
Disastrous	Legal	Wry
Dismissive	Logical	X-rated

Using Adjectives in Writing

While it’s important to understand how adjectives add to the descriptions of the nouns and pronouns, it’s also wise to understand how to effectively use these parts of speech in your own writing.

Adjectives are best used sparingly. Generally, nouns and verbs should do the bulk of the descriptive work in your prose. Don’t simply tell your reader that something is beautiful, exciting, or interesting. Use your words to show why these descriptive labels are appropriate