Learn the types of adjectives in English and how to use them. Master this list of 150 common adjectives to take your English descriptions to the next level.
The English language includes thousands of adjectives, but knowing just the most common ones can help bring your writing and conversations to a whole new level. Adjectives give you more information about a noun (person, place, or thing) and can make it more specific or interesting. Some adjectives are among the most common English words, and they can serve many practical purposes. To use adjectives like a native speaker, you’ll want to know the types, word order, and other rules about adjectives in the English language.
Table of Contents
Types of adjectives in English
When learning English parts of speech, you’ll hear that the definition of adjectives is “describing words.” You might think of words like blue, small, or funny. Descriptive adjectives like these are just one category of adjectives, but there are many useful types.
The definition of an adjective is a word that modifies a noun or an English pronoun. This can happen in several ways.
| Type | Definition | Examples |
| descriptive adjectives | describes the qualities of a noun | a fast car an expensive bike a sour lemon |
| quantitative/limiting adjectives | tells the amount or number of a noun | three kittens hundreds of people several eggs some water |
| possessive adjectives | shows ownership or relationship | my pencil your dog his friend |
| demonstrative adjectives | tells which noun you’re talking about and how close it is | this laptop that tablet these computers those screens |
| proper adjectives | descriptive words formed from proper nouns; often capitalized | Italian citizen Shakespearian English the Atlantic coast |
| comparative adjectives | compares two different nouns | the larger animal the easier word the darker color |
| superlative adjectives | tells which noun is the most extreme in the group | the largest animal the easiest word the darkest color |
| interrogative adjectives | used to ask questions | Which page? What number? Whose notebook? |
| distributive adjectives | details individual members of a group of nouns | each person every day |
Common descriptive English adjectives
Learn this list of adjectives in English to understand some of the most common descriptors. You’ll deepen your understanding and be able to describe a wide variety of English nouns.
| Adjective | Pronunciation | Example |
| alive | uh-LAHYV | Plants and animals are alive. |
| awesome | AW-suhm | This game is awesome! |
| bad | bad | That is a bad idea. |
| beautiful | BYOO-tuh-fuhl | She bought a beautiful dress. |
| big | big | I need a big car. |
| cheap | cheep | The cheap chocolate melted. |
| close | klohs | She is a close friend. |
| cold | kohld | It’s a cold day. |
| cool | kool | The cool weather is refreshing. |
| cute | kyoot | Look at the cute puppy! |
| dangerous | DEYN-jer-uhs | There’s a dangerous curve ahead. |
| dead | ded | The dead plant needs to be removed. |
| different | DIF-er-uhnt | She has a different sense of style. |
| difficult | DIF-i-kuhlt | The difficult exam is over now. |
| early | UR-lee | I have an early appointment. |
| easy | EE-zee | The easy route is best. |
| expensive | ik-SPEN-siv | Her expensive suit looks nice. |
| fair | fair | What’s a fair price? |
| free | free | Take some free samples. |
| funny | FUHN-ee | The funny comedian made me laugh. |
| good | good | My mom bakes good cookies. |
| great | greyt | Here’s a list of great books. |
| happy | HAP-ee | He’s a happy dog. |
| hot | hot | I can’t wait for hot weather. |
| important | im-POHR-tnt | I have three important phone calls to make. |
| interesting | IN-tuh-rest-ting | I learned an interesting fact. |
| late | leyt | The late showing starts at 9. |
| little | LIT-l | My little sister packed my lunch. |
| long | lawng | We have a long car ride ahead. |
| new | noo | I have new shoes. |
| nice | nahys | The nice woman helped me. |
| old | ohld | My old couch is still in good shape. |
| perfect | PUR-fikt | A fish is the perfect pet for me. |
| pretty | PRIT-ee | The pretty flowers bloom in May. |
| right | rahyt | You got the right answer. |
| sad | sad | It’s a sad ending. |
| safe | seyf | This is a safe location for your belongings. |
| sick | sik | My sick child will be absent today. |
| small | smawl | I brought a small bag on board. |
| strange | streynj | That’s a strange story. |
| sweet | sweet | I’d like a sweet treat. |
| true | troo | Is this a true story? |
Names of colors
Many colors are adjectives in the English language, too! This list has the standard names for basic colors.
| Color | Pronunciation | Example |
| black | blak | The black cat crossed my path. |
| blue | bloo | The sky is blue. |
| brown | broun | She has beautiful brown eyes. |
| gold | gohld | She won a gold medal. |
| gray | grey | The gray sky was dreary on that rainy day. |
| green | green | The grass is green in spring. |
| orange | AWR-inj | The orange traffic cone blocked our path. |
| pink | pingk | I’d like six pink carnations, please. |
| purple | PUR-puhl | I mixed red and blue to make purple paint. |
| red | red | I ate the red apple. |
| silver | SIL-ver | She wears a silver ring. |
| white | wahyt | The white snow is beautiful. |
| yellow | YEL-oh | I picked a yellow daffodil. |
English speakers will also use nouns to describe specific shades of colors, such as cream, tangerine, or burgundy. Depending on the structure of the sentence, these nouns could be functioning as adjectives in English.
- I put some cream in my coffee. (noun referring to the thing)
- I spilled coffee on my cream sweater. (adjective describing the noun).
English adjectives that describe personality and physical appearance
This list of adjectives is helpful for describing a person or pet.
| Adjective | Pronunciation |
| brave | breyv |
| confident | KON-fi-duhnt |
| disorganized | dis-AWR-guh-nahyzd |
| friendly | FREND-lee |
| generous | JEN-er-uhs |
| hard-working | hahrd WERK-ing |
| lazy | LEY-zee |
| organized | AWR-guh-nahyzd |
| outgoing | out-GOH-ing |
| patient | PEY-shunt |
| short | shohrt |
| shy | shahy |
| sincere | sin-SEER |
| strong | strong |
| tall | tawl |
| thin | thin |
| weak | week |
| young | yung |
Adjectives for emotions and feelings
These adjectives can describe how people are feeling. It’s helpful to use the correct word to communicate your emotions.
| Adjective | Pronunciation |
| afraid | uh-FREYD |
| angry | ANG-gree |
| calm | kahlm |
| delighted | dih-LAHY-tid |
| disgusted | dih-SKUHS-tid |
| excited | ik-SAHY-tid |
| hungry | HUHNG-gree |
| interested | IN-ter-uh-stid |
| joyful | JOI-fuhl |
| lonely | LOHN-lee |
| motivated | MOH-tuh-vey-tid |
| nervous | NUR-vuhs |
| peaceful | PEES-fuhl |
| pleased | pleezd |
| relaxed | ri-LAKST |
| scared | skaird |
| thankful | THANGK-ful |
| thirsty | THUR-stee |
| tired | tahyurhrd |
| unhappy | uhn-HAP-ee |
List of adjectives for describing food in English
Whether you’re at a restaurant in one of over 75 English-speaking countries or invited to an English speaker’s home for dinner, these adjectives will help you describe the food.
| Adjective | Pronunciation |
| bitter | BIH-tuhr |
| bland | blahnd |
| crunchy | CRUHN-chee |
| delicious | dee-LIH-shuhs |
| fresh | frehsh |
| raw | raw |
| salty | SAHL-tee |
| savory | SAY-vuh-ree |
| spicy | SPEY-see |
| sour | SAW-wuhr |
| sweet | sweet |
Possessive adjectives in English
Possessive words tell information about relationships or belonging. Some words are adjectives because they modify a noun, like my sister or their house.
| English | Use | Example |
| my | belonging/related to me | Please hand me my purse. |
| your | belonging/related to you | Do you have your passport? |
| his | belonging/related to him | He needs his birth certificate. |
| her | belonging/related to her | She lost her ticket. |
| our | belonging/related to us | We missed our flight. |
| their | belonging/related to them | They are looking for their luggage. |
| its | belonging/related to an object or animal of unspecified gender | Don’t use that stool. One of its legs is broken. |
Something to note is that its does not have an apostrophe when it means “belonging to it.” This is easily confused with it’s, which is a contraction of it is.
Examples of English demonstrative adjectives
These adjectives are useful for specifying which noun you mean. There are different forms for pointing out singular (one) and plural (more than one) nouns and for nearby or more distant nouns. These words are among the first you should learn in English, so you can ask for things and point out what you need.
| English | Use | Example |
| this | to point out a nearby singular noun | What flavor is this muffin? |
| that | to point out a more distant singular noun | How much is that loaf of bread? |
| these | to point out a nearby plural noun | I would like three of these croissants, please. |
| those | to point out a more distant plural noun | Please give me four of those cookies. |
The examples above all refer to physical distance from the speaker, but demonstrative adjectives can also express distance in time.
- I won’t be here this weekend. (implies the closest weekend)
- I will return later that day. (implies a date further in the future)
Comparative and superlative adjective examples
Many descriptive adjectives in English have three separate forms. The standard, or absolute form describes one thing. The comparative form compares two things. The superlative form means the highest or most extreme degree of the group.
Many comparatives use the suffix “-er” or the word more, and the superlatives generally use “-est” or most. If the adjective has three or more syllables, it’s best to stick with more or most in front. There are a few common exceptions with irregular forms, such as good, better, and best.
| Adjective | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
| athletic | more athletic | most athletic |
| bad | worse | worst |
| creative | more creative | most creative |
| easy | easier | easiest |
| fast | faster | fastest |
| fun | more fun | most fun |
| good | better | best |
| happy | happier | happiest |
| organized | more organized | most organized |
| tall | taller | tallest |
If you want to express the lowest degree or smallest amount instead, use less or least instead of more or most. It’s sometimes more common to refer to the adjective that is opposite in meaning, although it can depend on the nuance of the sentence. Saying that someone is the least tall person in their family implies that everyone is tall, but that person is the shortest of the group of tall people.
| Adjective | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
| athletic | less athletic | least athletic |
| creative | less creative | least creative |
| easy | less easy | least easy/most difficult |
| fast | less fast/slower | least fast/slowest |
| fun | less fun | least fun |
| happy | less happy | least happy |
| organized | less organized | least organized |
| tall | less tall/shorter | least tall/shortest |
How to order adjectives in English sentences
Using more than one adjective to describe one noun in a sentence is very common. English speakers have an innate understanding of the order of adjectives in English, but there are some general rules that seem to apply.
It would sound awkward to say the Italian old beautiful painting. Instead, an American English speaker would naturally say the beautiful old Italian painting. Note that in British English, the order of adjectives might be slightly different.
The order that seems to work best in US English in most cases is:
- quantity/number (eight, few, many)
- quality or subjective opinion (beautiful, delicious)
- size (big, medium)
- age (old, new)
- shape (triangular, round)
- color (red, green)
- material (glass, wooden)
- proper adjective (Spanish, American)
- purpose or qualifier (guide book, race car, ski coat)
This gives you creative sentences with multiple descriptive adjectives, such as:
- I’m looking for some big delicious white chocolate brownies.
- Please be on the lookout for my new purple round plastic sunglasses.
- For our wedding, my mom gave us these two funny little old green ceramic garden frogs.
Learning how to speak English like a native speaker takes time and patience. Using a proven program like Rosetta Stone can give you the exposure you need to naturally pick up on patterns, like the order of adjectives.
Key takeaways about English adjectives
English includes thousands of adjectives. It’s an important part of speech that can bring your conversations and writing to the next level. Keep these notes about adjectives in English handy to help you use them well.
- An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun in a sentence.
- Many adjectives are descriptive words, but there are less obvious types of adjectives, such as demonstrative or possessive adjectives.
- Adjectives can have comparative and superlative forms.
- There is a natural-sounding order of adjectives in English when using more than one in a sentence.
- Learning common adjectives can help you be specific and add interest to your speech.
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