Adjective
An adjective is a part of speech which can be thought of as a "describing word"; that is, a word which modifies a noun, usually making its meaning more specific. In some sentences, participles are used as adjectives.
In the examples, the adjective is highlighted in bold.
- It is a cold day.
- He is a kind man.
- I like blue sky.
- The sky is blue.
- The joke she told was so funny, I could not stop laughing all day.
- He went mad.
In the first set of examples the adjective simply describes a noun. In the later examples the adjective forms a predicate. Some adjectives in English, such as "my" or "bonkers" can not be used both ways.
In English, adjectives come before the noun they describe. In French, they usually come after the noun.
An adjectival phrase is a phrase with an adjective as its head. (e.g. full of toys) . Adjectival phrases may occur as premodifiers to a noun (a bin full of toys), or as predicatives to a verb. (the bin is full of toys.)
Adjectives sometimes in place of nouns, as in many of the Beatitudes (e.g. "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy"); these are called substantives. In languages with grammatical genders, such as Latin, the gender of the adjective may indicate the gender of the implied noun; thus malus means the bad man; mala, the bad woman; malum, the bad thing.
Comparison of adjectives
Many adjectives have comparative and superlative forms. In English grammar, these are formed in one of two ways: either by suffixes (big, bigger, biggest) or by the use of the grammatical particles more and most. Some adjectives in English have suppletive forms in their comparison, such as good, better, best.
Which English adjectives are compared by which means is a complex matter of English idiom. Generally, shorter adjectives, Anglo-Saxon words, and shorter, fully domesticated French words (e.g. noble) use the suffixes. Longer words, especially those derived from Greek and Latin, require more and most. A fair number of words, especially longer adjectives that end in Anglo-Saxon derivative suffixes like -ly, can take either form.
Grammatical prescriptivists frequently object to phrases such as more perfect, on the grounds that being perfect is a quality that by definition admits to no comparison. Most speakers of English understand the phrase to mean more nearly perfect, however, and dismiss the prescriptivists' objection as pedantry.
Non-standard adjectives in English
Following is a list of infrequently used English adjectives that are non-standard, in that they are not derived from the same root as the corresponding noun, or they are based on the same root, but in a way that is non-intuitive even to a native English speaker. In many cases, the non-standard adjective is merely an uncommon and literary alternative to a more standard and generic one; sometimes, these non-standard adjectives may convey subtle shades of meaning or bear connotations not shared with the standard adjective, even though the overall meaning is essentially the same. For example, for an adjective form of 'charity' we could say 'eleemosynary', though in most cases 'charitable' would work just as well, and indeed, most native English speakers will not understand "eleemosynary", but will readily recognize "charitable".
Frequently, alternative adjectives are derived from Latin, while the more common adjectives are of Germanic origin. In many such cases, the Latinate adjective is connotated variously as more erudite, florid, old-fashioned, or pretentious than the more common Germanic adjective. Many such words entered English via the Norman French spoken by the aristocracy in England following the Norman Conquest, or as scientific terms from the period when all scientific work was done in Latin.
Some of the adjectives have a similar noun form, which acts as an alternative noun.
Colloquial spoken English sometimes forms adjectives by adding an -ish or -y (pronounced as the "ee" in "free") ending to nouns: something that tastes of apples may be described as appley or (less commonly) appleish; something that tastes of butter, buttery. Most of these formations are not standard insofar as they are not usually included in dictionaries, but will be readily understood.
Here is the list in the format:
- noun form - adjective form (alternative noun if present)
- abdomen - ventral, alvine
- abdominal cavity - celiac (coelom)
- accuracy - veracious (veracity) synonym?
- actors, acting - histrionic, thespian
- adjectives - epithetic
- aesthetic pleasure - sensuous
- aging, the aged - geriatric
- agriculture - georgic, geoponic
- alcohol - bibulous, vinic
- alphabet - abecedarian
- animals - zoological, zoic
- anklebone - astragatar(sp?) (astragalus)
- ants - myrmecological, formic
- apes - simian
- Aphrodite - cytherean
- apples - pomaceous, malic
- aristocracy - genteel
- Aristotle - peripatetic
- arm - brachial
- armpit - axillary
- arrangement - tactic
- arrows - sagittal
- ashes - cinerary
- asses - asinine
- authors - auctorial
- aviation - aerial
- back of the head - occipital (occiput)
- backside - dorsal
- badgers - meline
- barbers - tonsorial
- bathrooms - lavatorial (lavatory)
- baths, bathing - balneal
- bats - chiropteran, vespertilian
- bears - ursine
- bees - apian (related noun forms: beehive / apiary)
- beeswax - cerotic
- bells - tintinnabulary
- belly - ventral
- bile - cholic
- birds - avian, ornithic, volucrine
- birds of prey - raptorial
- birth - parturient
- birthdays - genethliac
- bishops - episcopal
- Black Sea - euxine
- bladder - cystic, vesical
- blood - sanguineous, hemal, hematal, hematic, hemic
- bloodshed - sanguineous
- blood vessels - vascular, hemal, hematal
- bodily motion - gestic
- body - somatic, corporal, corporeal, physical
- body/mind - psychosomatic
- bones - osteal, osseous, osteoid
- boundaries - terminal
- boxing - fistic, pugilistic
- brain - cerebral, cerebric, encephalic
- branches - ramal
- branching patterns - cladistic
- breastbone - sternal
- breasts - mammary, mammilary
- breeding season - nuptial
- bridges - pontal
- brothers - fraternal
- buds - blastous
- buildings - edificial (edifice)
- bulls - taurine
- business - commercial (commerce)
- butter - butyric
- buttocks - gluteal
- cats - feline
- chin - mental
- dogs - canine
- foxes - vulpine
- sheep - ovine
- snakes - serpentine
- wasps - vespine
- wolves - lupine
The list, sorted by adjectives:
- abecedarian - alphabet
- aerial - aviation
- asses - asinine
- astragatar - anklebone
- alvine - abdomen ( belly )
- apian - bees
- auctorial - authors
- avian - birds
- axillary - armpit
- balneal - baths, bathing
- bibulous: alcohol
- blastous - buds
- brachial - arm
- butyric - butter
- canine - dogs
- cerebral - brain
- cerebric: see cerebral
- cerotic - beeswax
- celiac - abdominal cavity
- chiropteran - bats
- cholic - bile
- cinerary - ashes
- cladistic - branching patterns
- coloem: see celiac
- commercial - business
- corporal - body
- corporeal: see corporal
- cystic - bladder
- cytherean - Aphrodite
- dorsal - backside
- edificial - buildings
- encephalic: see cerebral
- episcopal - bishops
- epithetic - adjectives
- euxine - Black Sea
- feline - cats
- fistic - boxing
- formic - ants
- fraternal - brothers
- genethliac - birthdays
- genteel - aristocracy
- gestic - bodily motion
- geoponic - agriculture
- georgic: see geoponic
- geriatric - aging, the aged
- gluteal - buttocks
- hemal - blood / blood vessels
- hematal: see hemal (1) & (2)
- hematic: see hemal
- hemic: see hemal
- histrionic - actors, acting
- lavatorial / lavatory - bathrooms
- lupine - wolves
- malic - apples
- mammary / mammilary - breasts
- meline - badgers
- mental - chin
- myrmecological: see formic
- nuptial - breeding season
- occipital - back of the head ( also called occiput )
- ornithic: see avian
- osseous - bones
- osteal: see osseous
- osteoid: see osseous
- ovine - sheep
- parturient - birth
- peripatetic - Aristotle
- physical: see corporal
- pomaceous: see malic
- pontal - bridges
- psychosomatic - body / mind
- pugilistic: see fistic
- ramal - branches
- raptorial - birds of prey
- sagittal - arrows
- sanguineous: blood/bloodshed
- sensuous - aesthetic pleasure
- serpentine - snakes
- simian - apes
- somatic: see corporal
- sternal - breastbone
- tactic - arrangement
- taurine - bulls
- terminal - boundaries
- tintinnabulary - bells
- tonsorial - barbers
- ursine - bears
- vascular: see hemal (2)
- ventral: see alvine
- veracious - accuracy
- vespertilian: see chiropteran
- vesical: see cystic
- vespine - wasps
- vinic: see bibulous
- volucrine: see avian
- vulpine - foxes
- zoic: animals
- zoological: see zoic
See also grammar