Adjectives

 

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe or modify a noun.

English Adjectives	Meaning	Example Sentence
absent-minded	forgetful or not paying attention to what is happening around you	Sarah is so absent-minded that she often forgets where she put her keys.
adorable	extremely cute and lovable	Look at the adorable puppies playing in the park.
amiable	friendly and pleasant, easy to get along with	The new neighbor seems very amiable; she greeted everyone with a smile.
anxious	feeling worried or nervous about something that might happen	Tom felt anxious before his exam because he hadn't studied enough.
arrogant	having an exaggerated sense of self-importance, thinking highly of oneself	The arrogant actor refused to sign autographs for his fans.
awkward	clumsy or uncomfortable in social situations	Sally felt awkward at the party because she didn't know anyone there.
beautiful	attractive, pleasing to the senses	The sunset over the ocean was a beautiful sight to behold.
big	something that is greater in size	The elephant is a big animal.
boring	not interesting or exciting	The movie was so boring that many people fell asleep while watching it.
brave	showing courage and not afraid of facing danger	The firefighters were brave as they rescued people from the burning building.
bubbly	full of enthusiasm and energy, cheerful	Anna is always bubbly and makes everyone around her smile.
calm	peaceful and relaxed, not agitated	After taking a deep breath, Mary felt calm and ready to face the challenge.
careful	taking precautions and paying attention to avoid mistakes or accidents	Be careful while crossing the road to avoid any accidents.
chaotic	extremely disorderly and confusing	The classroom was chaotic after the students finished their exams.
charming	pleasant and attractive, having a likable quality	The little girl had a charming smile that won everyone's heart.
clean	free from dirt, stains, or unpleasant odors	The kitchen was clean after Mary spent hours tidying it up.
clear	easy to understand, transparent	The teacher gave clear instructions for the homework.
clumsy	awkward in movement, often causing accidents or dropping things	He is so clumsy that he tripped over his own shoelaces.
cold	having a low temperature, opposite of hot	It's so cold outside; don't forget to wear a warm jacket.
cozy	warm and comfortable, giving a feeling of relaxation	The cabin in the mountains was cozy, with a fireplace and soft blankets.
creative	having the ability to come up with new ideas or artistic expressions	Emily's creative artwork impressed everyone at the art exhibition.
cruel	willfully causing pain or suffering to others	It's cruel to tease or bully someone just because they are different.
cynical	distrusting or doubting the sincerity of others' intentions	After several disappointments, Jack became cynical about love.
delicate	fragile and easily broken or damaged	Handle the glass vase with care; it's delicate and valuable.
delightful	giving pleasure and enjoyment	The picnic in the park was delightful; the weather was perfect.
destructive	causing harm or damage	The storm was destructive; it uprooted many trees and damaged houses.
different	not the same as others	I look and feel different after going to the salon.
dirty	not clean, covered in dirt or grime	Please wash your dirty hands.
disinterested	not having any personal interest or involvement in something	The disinterested judge listened to the case without any bias.
dishonest	not truthful, prone to lying or deceiving others	It's not right to be dishonest and cheat on a test.
eager	excited and enthusiastic about doing or achieving something	The kids were eager to open their presents on Christmas morning.
elegant	graceful and stylish in appearance or behavior	She looked elegant in her long, flowing gown at the formal event.
eloquent	fluent and expressive in speech or writing	Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches were eloquent and inspiring.
energetic	full of vitality and enthusiasm	The puppy was so energetic; it ran around the yard all day.
exciting	thrilling and full of excitement or adventure	Going on a roller coaster ride can be an exciting experience.
fake	not genuine or authentic, pretending to be something it's not	The detective discovered that the painting was fake, not an original.
foolish	lacking good sense or judgment, silly	It's foolish to go out without an umbrella when it's raining heavily.
forgetful	prone to forgetting things or details	Grandma sometimes gets forgetful and misplaces her glasses.
fragile	easily broken or damaged, delicate	The antique vase was so fragile that it had to be handled with care.
fierce	very strong or powerful, intense	The fierce lion roared loudly in the jungle.
funny	causing laughter or amusement, humorous	The comedian's jokes were so funny that the audience couldn't stop laughing.
generous	willing to give or share, kind in actions or behavior	Mark is generous; he often donates to charity and helps others in need.
gentle	mild and kind in nature, not rough or harsh	The gentle touch of the mother calmed the crying baby.
giddy	feeling light-headed or giddy, often due to excitement or happiness	After winning the game, the kids were giddy with joy.
glamorous	attractive and stylish, associated with luxury and elegance	The actress looked glamorous on the red carpet in her designer gown.
good	something that is favorable or beneficial	Her grades were good enough to get her into university.
graceful	elegant and smooth in movement, possessing poise	The ballerina's graceful performance captivated the audience.
gullible	easily fooled or deceived, believing things too easily	The gullible person fell for the scam and lost all their money.
happy	feeling joy and contentment	The children were happy to play in the park on a sunny day.
harsh	severe and unkind, having a rough or unpleasant effect	The teacher's harsh words hurt the student's feelings.
hasty	done quickly and without much thought, often resulting in mistakes	Don't make hasty decisions; take your time to consider all options.
honest	truthful and sincere, not lying or deceiving	John was honest and admitted that he made a mistake.
humble	not boastful or arrogant, showing modesty	Despite his success, the humble actor remained down-to-earth.
impatient	unable to wait calmly, wanting something to happen quickly	The impatient child kept asking, "Are we there yet?" during the car ride.
indifferent	having a lack of interest or concern, not caring	The indifferent attitude of the shopkeeper drove away potential customers.
insecure	lacking self-confidence and feeling unsure about oneself	The new student felt insecure on the first day of school.
insensitive	unaware or indifferent to the feelings of others, not considerate	It's insensitive to make jokes about someone's appearance.
inquisitive	curious and eager to learn about things	The inquisitive child asked many questions about the stars.
jaded	tired and bored of something, often due to having too much of it	After years of traveling, the seasoned traveler felt jaded and wanted to settle down.
jittery	nervous or anxious, feeling uneasy	He felt jittery before his speech in front of a large audience.
jovial	cheerful and full of joy	The family had a jovial dinner together, sharing stories and laughter.
kind	showing compassion and consideration for others, gentle	The kind lady helped the lost child find his way home.
lazy	disinclined to work or move, preferring to do nothing	On weekends, Sarah likes to be lazy and stay in bed late.
lucky	having good fortune or being favored by chance	The lucky lottery winner couldn't believe their luck.
melancholic	feeling sad or sorrowful, often with a sense of nostalgia	The melancholic song reminded her of her childhood days.
mysterious	puzzling or difficult to understand, with an air of secrecy	The old abandoned house had a mysterious aura about it.
new	something that has recently come into existence	She bought her new clothes from a famous store.
noisy	loud and causing a lot of sound	The playground was noisy with children playing and laughing.
obvious	easily seen or understood, clear	It was obvious that Sarah was upset because she was crying.
optimistic	having a positive outlook on life, expecting good things to happen	Despite the challenges, Tom remained optimistic about the future.
organized	arranged in a structured and orderly manner	Her neatly organized desk made it easy to find everything she needed.
patient	able to wait calmly without getting annoyed or anxious	The doctor was patient and took the time to explain the treatment.
perceptive	having keen insight and understanding, observant	The perceptive detective noticed the small clues that others missed.
playful	full of fun and a desire to play	The playful kittens chased each other around the room.
polite	showing good manners and consideration for others	Always remember to be polite and say "please" and "thank you."
powerful	having great strength or influence, strong	The superhero had powerful abilities to save the city from villains.
precious	of great value or highly cherished	The diamond ring was precious and held sentimental value for the family.
proud	feeling a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction	The proud parents watched their child receive an award.
quiet	making little or no noise, peaceful and calm	The library is a quiet place where people can study and read in silence.
rude	showing a lack of respect or consideration for others	It's rude to talk loudly on your phone in a crowded restaurant.
silly	foolish or showing a lack of good sense	The silly clown made everyone laugh with his funny antics.
smart	intelligent and quick-witted	The smart student easily solved the challenging math problem.
sneaky	behaving in a secretive or deceitful manner	The sneaky cat quietly stole a piece of fish from the kitchen counter.
sore	painful, usually because of injury or overuse	After running a marathon, the athlete's legs were sore and needed rest.
strict	enforcing rules and discipline, not lenient	The strict teacher didn't tolerate any disruptions in class.
strong	having great physical power or mental fortitude	The weightlifter demonstrated strong muscles as he lifted the heavy barbell.
sturdy	strong and firmly built, able to withstand rough treatment	The sturdy oak table had been in the family for generations.
tall	having a greater height than average	The tall basketball player could easily reach the hoop.
tardy	late or delayed in arrival or completion	Jane was tardy for class because she missed her bus.
thoughtful	considerate and showing concern for others' feelings and needs	Sarah sent a thoughtful gift to her friend on her birthday.
thoughtless	not showing consideration for others, careless	It was thoughtless of him to leave the door open during a storm.
thrifty	careful with money and resources, economical	She was thrifty and always looked for discounts before making a purchase.
tough	strong and resilient, able to withstand difficulty or hardship	The tough hiker climbed the steep mountain trail with determination.
tense	anxious and uptight, often due to stress or nervousness	The tense atmosphere in the room eased once the important presentation was over.
unlucky	experiencing bad luck or unfortunate events	He felt unlucky as he missed the winning lottery numbers by one digit.
victorious	experiencing triumph or success	The team felt victorious after winning the championship game.
vigilant	watchful and alert, keeping an eye out for danger	The security guard remained vigilant throughout the night to protect the building.
vivacious	lively and full of energy	Her vivacious personality made her the life of the party.
witty	clever and quick in thinking, able to make amusing or clever remarks	The witty comedian had the audience laughing throughout the show.

Many of the adjectives you will encounter are descriptive as shown above. However, there are many other types of adjectives you should know—such as possessive and distributive adjectives.

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives are adjectives that answer the question “Who or what does something belong to?” Unlike possessive pronouns, possessive adjectives do not replace a noun; instead, they describe a noun.

English Possessive Adjectives	Meaning or Usage	Example Sentence
my	indicates ownership by the speaker	This is my book.
your	indicates ownership by the listener	Your car is parked over there.
his	indicates ownership by a male person	His phone is ringing.
her	indicates ownership by a female person	She is holding her umbrella.
its	indicates ownership by an inanimate object or animal	The cat is licking its paws.
our	indicates ownership by the speaker and others	We love our new house.
their	indicates ownership by a group of people	Their dog is very friendly.

Distributive Adjectives

Distributive adjectives are words that refer to individual members of a group or distribute an action or quality among the members of a group.

English Distributive Adjectives	Meaning and Usage	Example Sentence
each	refers to every individual member of a group, one by one	Each student in the class received a book as a prize.
every	refers to all the members of a group	Every child loves to play in the park.
either	refers to one of the two members of a group or both members separately	You can choose either the blue or the green shirt.
neither	refers to not one of the two members of a group or both members not separately	Neither of the candidates won the election.
both	refers to the two members of a group together	Both sisters are talented musicians.
all	refers to the entire group as a whole, including all the members	All students must attend the assembly.
any	refers to one, some, or all members of a group without specifying a particular one	You can buy any of these books for your project.
some	refers to an unspecified number or portion of the members of a group	Some people enjoy spicy food.