Adjective
noun
A word that describes a noun or pronoun. It tells us more about its color, size, shape, quantity, etc.
In the sentence 'She has a beautiful dress', 'beautiful' is an adjective describing the noun 'dress'.
Often appears as...
- 'adjective clause'
- 'adjective phrase'
noun
In grammar, a word category that includes words that modify or describe nouns.
The words 'happy', 'blue', 'large' are all part of the adjective category in English grammar.
Often appears as...
- 'adjective order'
- 'coordinate adjective'
Usage tips
Academic
noun
A word that describes a noun or pronoun. It tells us more about its color, size, shape, quantity, etc.
In the sentence 'She has a beautiful dress', 'beautiful' is an adjective describing the noun 'dress'.
Often appears as...
- 'adjective clause'
- 'adjective phrase'
noun
In grammar, a word category that includes words that modify or describe nouns.
The words 'happy', 'blue', 'large' are all part of the adjective category in English grammar.
Often appears as...
- 'adjective order'
- 'coordinate adjective'
Usage tips
Academic
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Contextual Variety
Adjectives change meaning based on context. The same word can have different effects in different sentences.
'Fast' can describe speed in 'fast car' and urgency in 'fast response.'
Pro Tip 2/3Descriptive Precision
Use adjectives to be precise in descriptions, making clear mental images or impressions.
The phrase 'crimson leaves' creates a vivid picture of color.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Impact
Adjectives often carry emotional weight, influencing how readers feel about the noun.
'Haunting melody' evokes different feelings than 'melancholic tune.'
Pro Tip 1/3Contextual Variety
Adjectives change meaning based on context. The same word can have different effects in different sentences.
'Fast' can describe speed in 'fast car' and urgency in 'fast response.'
Pro Tip 2/3Descriptive Precision
Use adjectives to be precise in descriptions, making clear mental images or impressions.
The phrase 'crimson leaves' creates a vivid picture of color.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Impact
Adjectives often carry emotional weight, influencing how readers feel about the noun.
'Haunting melody' evokes different feelings than 'melancholic tune.'
Pro Tip 1/3Contextual Variety
Adjectives change meaning based on context. The same word can have different effects in different sentences.
'Fast' can describe speed in 'fast car' and urgency in 'fast response.'
Pro Tip 2/3Descriptive Precision
Use adjectives to be precise in descriptions, making clear mental images or impressions.
The phrase 'crimson leaves' creates a vivid picture of color.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Impact
Adjectives often carry emotional weight, influencing how readers feel about the noun.
'Haunting melody' evokes different feelings than 'melancholic tune.'
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Video examples
Yoda Lingo 101 PIPE StarTalk
and I said, hey, this is nice-- they use it halfway, and I said, can I do it all the time? They said yeah. The way I view it is, Yoda is-- This is where adjectives and nouns are switched in places-- I'm not smart enough enough to know what an adjective or a noun is. Yeah, the sentence is fully understandable but clearly
Video examples
My journey from Marine...
it's a window into a culture they otherwise would not have had exposure to. And for the military, it's the exact same. And in doing this for the past six years, I'm always reminded that acting is many things. It's a craft, it's a political act, it's a business, it's -- whatever adjective is most applicable to you.
Video examples
Lifesaving Medicines...
been bitten by this species before I'm all adjectives the snake venom and today snake anti-venom so I'm not in a good position to get bitten here but this is the middle whopper so and and what you what you look right now is as I mentioned one of the most endangered snake in the whole world and my
Video examples
Slowing down time (in...
and it's not enough to throw a couple adjectives in a sentence and call it done either. Descriptive writing is good writing, that's true. But if you want to express the feeling of slow motion in life, you have to actually take up more physical space on the page, use more film so to speak.
Video examples
Why should you read...
continue to resonate. Today, the adjective Dickensian often implies squalid working or living conditions. But to describe a novel as Dickensian is typically high praise, as it suggests a story in which true adventure and discovery occur in the most unexpected places.
Video examples
Reframing Black History...
happy sad neutral disgusted but it helps us tune and actually create software systems that think more smartly about the human what does it mean for artificial intelligence to be emotional like those are not two adjectives i would put together in
Video examples
The art of the metaphor...
and we know instantly what it would feel like if the sky were a fabric sewn shut. They can live in adjectives, too. "Still waters run deep," we say of someone quiet and thoughtful. And the deep matters as much as the stillness and the water do.
Video examples
The case against "good"...
all smug and satisfied with their work. How dare they? You serve no purpose in our world, and we must rid ourselves of your influence. We must replace these two words with the truth, with phrases that include adequate and sincere adjectives.
Video examples
Orangutan understands 72...
-Watch carefully. -including objects like cups. Excellent. Well done. Well done. He even knows numbers and adjectives. But perhaps the most surprising language skill is that AZ can use verbs and commands.
Video examples
Beware of nominalizations...
Academics love them. So do lawyers, bureaucrats, business writers. I call them zombie nouns, because they consume the living. They cannibalize active verbs, they suck the lifeblood from adjectives,
Video examples
Yoda Lingo 101 PIPE StarTalk
and I said, hey, this is nice-- they use it halfway, and I said, can I do it all the time? They said yeah. The way I view it is, Yoda is-- This is where adjectives and nouns are switched in places-- I'm not smart enough enough to know what an adjective or a noun is. Yeah, the sentence is fully understandable but clearly
Video examples
My journey from Marine...
it's a window into a culture they otherwise would not have had exposure to. And for the military, it's the exact same. And in doing this for the past six years, I'm always reminded that acting is many things. It's a craft, it's a political act, it's a business, it's -- whatever adjective is most applicable to you.
Video examples
Lifesaving Medicines...
been bitten by this species before I'm all adjectives the snake venom and today snake anti-venom so I'm not in a good position to get bitten here but this is the middle whopper so and and what you what you look right now is as I mentioned one of the most endangered snake in the whole world and my
Video examples
Slowing down time (in...
and it's not enough to throw a couple adjectives in a sentence and call it done either. Descriptive writing is good writing, that's true. But if you want to express the feeling of slow motion in life, you have to actually take up more physical space on the page, use more film so to speak.
Video examples
Why should you read...
continue to resonate. Today, the adjective Dickensian often implies squalid working or living conditions. But to describe a novel as Dickensian is typically high praise, as it suggests a story in which true adventure and discovery occur in the most unexpected places.
Video examples
Reframing Black History...
happy sad neutral disgusted but it helps us tune and actually create software systems that think more smartly about the human what does it mean for artificial intelligence to be emotional like those are not two adjectives i would put together in
Video examples
The art of the metaphor...
and we know instantly what it would feel like if the sky were a fabric sewn shut. They can live in adjectives, too. "Still waters run deep," we say of someone quiet and thoughtful. And the deep matters as much as the stillness and the water do.
Video examples
The case against "good"...
all smug and satisfied with their work. How dare they? You serve no purpose in our world, and we must rid ourselves of your influence. We must replace these two words with the truth, with phrases that include adequate and sincere adjectives.
Video examples
Orangutan understands 72...
-Watch carefully. -including objects like cups. Excellent. Well done. Well done. He even knows numbers and adjectives. But perhaps the most surprising language skill is that AZ can use verbs and commands.
Video examples
Beware of nominalizations...
Academics love them. So do lawyers, bureaucrats, business writers. I call them zombie nouns, because they consume the living. They cannibalize active verbs, they suck the lifeblood from adjectives,
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Omari Hardwick
American Actor
When you start out on a project as an actor, you know, you approach the character from the standpoint of maybe writing a list - even if it's a mental list that you make - of the adjectives that the character has or that character possesses.
Quote examples
Padma Lakshmi
Indian Chef
I like me better naked. I don't mean that in a vain way... When you put clothes on, you immediately put a character on. Clothes are adjectives, they are indicators. When you don't have any clothes on, it's just you, raw, and you can't hide.
Quote examples
H. P. Lovecraft
American Novelist
One cannot be too careful in the selection of adjectives for descriptions. Words or compounds which describe precisely, and which convey exactly the right suggestions to the mind of the reader, are essential.
Quote examples
Rashida Jones
American Actress
My pet peeve and my goal in life is to somehow get an adjective for 'integrity' in the dictionary. 'Truthful' doesn't really cover it, or 'genuine.' It should be like 'integritus.
Quote examples
Isabel Allende
Chilean Writer
I want to have an epic life. I want to tell my life with big adjectives. I want to forget all the grays in between, and remember the highlights and the dark moments.
Quote examples
Martin Amis
British Author
All my adult life I have been searching for the right adjective to describe my father's peculiarly aggressive comic style. I recently settled on 'defamatory.
Quote examples
Neil deGrasse Tyson
American Scientist
The supermoon is a 16-inch pizza compared with a 15-inch pizza. It's a slightly bigger moon; I ain't using the adjective 'supermoon.
Quote examples
Mark Twain
American Writer
A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.
Quote examples
Lauren Graham
American Actress
Mom' isn't an adjective or a personality; they're not all the same.
Quote examples
Clifton Fadiman
American Writer
The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech.
Quote examples
Omari Hardwick
American Actor
When you start out on a project as an actor, you know, you approach the character from the standpoint of maybe writing a list - even if it's a mental list that you make - of the adjectives that the character has or that character possesses.
Quote examples
Padma Lakshmi
Indian Chef
I like me better naked. I don't mean that in a vain way... When you put clothes on, you immediately put a character on. Clothes are adjectives, they are indicators. When you don't have any clothes on, it's just you, raw, and you can't hide.
Quote examples
H. P. Lovecraft
American Novelist
One cannot be too careful in the selection of adjectives for descriptions. Words or compounds which describe precisely, and which convey exactly the right suggestions to the mind of the reader, are essential.
Quote examples
Rashida Jones
American Actress
My pet peeve and my goal in life is to somehow get an adjective for 'integrity' in the dictionary. 'Truthful' doesn't really cover it, or 'genuine.' It should be like 'integritus.
Quote examples
Isabel Allende
Chilean Writer
I want to have an epic life. I want to tell my life with big adjectives. I want to forget all the grays in between, and remember the highlights and the dark moments.
Quote examples
Martin Amis
British Author
All my adult life I have been searching for the right adjective to describe my father's peculiarly aggressive comic style. I recently settled on 'defamatory.
Quote examples
Neil deGrasse Tyson
American Scientist
The supermoon is a 16-inch pizza compared with a 15-inch pizza. It's a slightly bigger moon; I ain't using the adjective 'supermoon.
Quote examples
Mark Twain
American Writer
A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.
Quote examples
Lauren Graham
American Actress
Mom' isn't an adjective or a personality; they're not all the same.
Quote examples
Clifton Fadiman
American Writer
The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech.
Example 1 of 10
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