What Is an Adjective? | Definition, Types & Examples

Adjectives are used to modify nouns and pronouns. They can be used in both descriptions (e.g., “a dark night,” “an honest person”) and comparisons (e.g., “the darkest night,” “the most honest person”).

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How are adjectives used in sentences?

Adjectives modify or describe nouns and pronouns. Attributive adjectives precede the noun they modify, whereas predicative adjectives come after the noun. Predicate adjectives always follow a linking verb, such as “seem” or “be.”

Comparative and superlative adjectives

A comparative adjective compares just two things (e.g., “funnier,” “more endearing”). Adding “-er” (or just “-r” for words ending in “e”) is the most common way that comparative adjectives are formed. (For two-syllable words ending in “y” replace the “y” with the suffix “-ier”).

Some words require adding “more” before the adjective instead of an “-er” ending (e.g., “more gracious,” not “graciouser”). Adjectives that require “more” instead of “-er” typically have two or more syllables.

“Less” can be added before most adjectives (e.g., “less apt,” “less interesting”).

A superlative adjective indicates that more than two people or things are being compared. Superlative adjectives indicate that someone or something exhibits a quality to the highest or lowest degree.

The superlative form of an adjective typically begins with “the” followed by the base adjective with the suffix “-est” added (e.g., “the nearest”). For adjectives ending in “-e,” the superlative form adds “-st,” and for two-syllable adjectives ending in “-y,” replace the “y” with “-iest.”

Some adjectives with two or more syllables require “most” instead of taking the “-est” suffix (e.g., “the most extravagant,” “the most exciting”).

The word “least” can be added before most adjectives to indicate the lowest degree of that quality (e.g., “the least purchased,” “the least encouraging”).

Absolute adjectives

An absolute adjective describes a state that defies comparison (e.g., “immortal”). Modifiers such as “nearly” or “virtually” are often attached to absolute adjectives (e.g., “nearly unanimous”).

Absolute adjectives are sometimes used in hyperbolic or nonliteral comparisons. For example, “perfect” and “unique” are absolute states, but expressions like “most perfect” and “most unique” are common.

Coordinate adjectives

Coordinate adjectives are combined with other adjectives to describe the same word or phrase. A group of two or more adjectives typically includes either commas or the coordinating conjunction “and.”

Adjectives vs adverbs

Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns, while adverbs describe verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. Adverbs typically answer the questions of “when,” “where,” “how,” or “to what degree.”

Most (but not all) words that end in “-ly” are adverbs (exceptions include adjectives like “friendly,” “silly,” and “lonely”). Adding the suffix “-ly” to an adjective often yields an adverb (e.g., “sufficient” becomes “sufficiently”).

Words that can function as both adjectives and adverbs without any alteration include “near,” “hard,” and “high.”

Adjectives with linking verbs

Linking verbs typically refer to a state of being (e.g., “is,” “looks,” “tastes”) or a state of change (e.g., “grows,” “becomes”) rather than an action.

While an adjective can be used as the complement of a linking verb, using an adverb instead is a common error.

How to order adjectives

Attributive adjectives and determiners should be arranged in a specific sequence when used together. This order of adjectives is acquired intuitively by most native speakers and typically doesn’t require deliberate memorization.

• Determiner (e.g., “an,” “that,” “every”)
• Opinion (e.g., “marvelous,” “controversial,” “hilarious”)
• Size (e.g., “large,” “minute,” “expansive”)
• Age or shape (e.g., “triangular,” “ancient,” “oblong”)
• Color (e.g., “green,” “golden,” “violet”)
• Origin (e.g., “African,” “interstellar,” “global”)
• Material (e.g., “silk,” “rubber,” “synthetic”)

Other types of adjectives

There are numerous ways to categorize adjectives, including the following:

• Appositive adjectives
• Compound adjectives
• Participial adjectives
• Proper adjectives
• Denominal adjectives
• Nominal adjectives

Appositive adjectives

Appositive adjectives follow the word they modify and are typically set off by commas or em dashes, much like appositive nouns.

Compound adjectives

A compound adjective consists of two or more words joined together to convey one concept (e.g., “deep-sea,” “state-of-the-art,” “open-ended”). Attributive compound adjectives, which precede the word they describe, are typically hyphenated for clarity. Predicate compound adjectives, which occur after the word they describe, typically are not hyphenated.

Participial adjectives

Participial adjectives look exactly like the past participle or present participle forms of verbs, which typically end with “-ed,” “-ing,” or “-en.”

Proper adjectives

Proper adjectives are derived from proper nouns (e.g., “Pompeii,” “Dickens”) and are typically capitalized.

Denominal adjectives

Denominal adjectives are derived from nouns. Many can be recognized by their suffixes, which include “-ly,” “-ish,” “-like,” and “-esque.”

Nominal adjectives

Adjectives that can serve as nouns are called nominal adjectives (or substantive adjectives). Some nominal adjectives are typically pluralized (e.g., “deliverables”), while others are singular (e.g., “the privileged”).

Frequently asked questions about adjectives

Are numbers adjectives?

While numbers are sometimes considered adjectives because they describe nouns (e.g., “three houses”), it is more precise to refer to them as determiners.

Cardinal numbers (e.g., “one,” “two,” “three”) and ordinal numbers (e.g., “first,” “second,” and “third”) are part of a group of determiners called quantifiers, which also includes words like “any,” “several,” and “none.”

What are the different types of adjectives?

Adjectives are classified in many ways, with some adjectives falling into multiple categories, depending on the context in which they are used.

The categories of adjectives include the following:

• Proper adjectives
• Superlative adjectives
• Comparative adjectives
• Participial adjectives
• Appositive adjectives
• Denominal adjectives
• Nominal adjectives
• Attributive adjectives
• Compound adjectives
• Coordinate adjectives
• Predicative adjectives

What is a proper adjective?

A proper adjective is formed from a proper noun and is typically capitalized.

Proper adjectives include terms derived from locations, languages, and ethnicities (e.g., “Bostonian,” “Sino-Tibetan,” “South Asian”); individuals’ names (such as “Keynesian,” “Darwinian,” “Newtonian”); and religious terms (e.g., “Rastafarian,” “Christian,” “Talmudic”) among other proper nouns.