196 Adjective Examples in Real Sentences
Most lists of adjective examples give you a hundred words with nothing to hang them on. This one gives 196 adjectives arranged by what they actually describe — size, colour, sound, mood, quality — because that is how you look for a word when you are stuck mid-sentence.
Each has a short meaning. After the lists there are worked sentences and a quick-reference table for the categories themselves.
What an adjective actually does
An adjective modifies a noun: it narrows the set of things the noun could mean. A chair is any chair; a rickety chair is a much smaller group. That narrowing is the whole job, and it is why a weak adjective is worse than none — a nice chair narrows almost nothing.
English adjectives usually sit before the noun (a broad river) or after a linking verb (the river was broad). When several stack up they follow a fixed order native speakers keep without being taught it: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose. A lovely little old round brown Italian wooden serving bowl sounds right; most other orders sound wrong.
All 196 examples at a glance
enormous, tiny, vast, minuscule, towering, compact, bulky, slender, broad, narrow, deep, shallow, immense, petite, gigantic, microscopic, spacious, cramped, angular, rounded, crooked, straight, hollow, flat, bulging, jagged, symmetrical, lopsided, spiral, crimson, golden, pallid, vivid, muted, iridescent, translucent, opaque, gleaming, dim, dappled, luminous, ancient, modern, antique, brand-new, obsolete, timeless, fleeting, perpetual, prehistoric, contemporary, youthful, decrepit, velvety, coarse, silky, gritty, slippery, sticky, brittle, supple, rugged, downy, prickly, clammy, shrill, muffled, resonant, raucous, melodic, thunderous, hushed, grating, silent, booming, tinny, savoury, tangy, bland, pungent, aromatic, acrid, succulent, bitter, zesty, rancid, smoky, syrupy, scorching, balmy, frigid, humid, arid, blustery, temperate, sweltering, crisp, torrential, elated, despondent, anxious, serene, furious, wistful, euphoric, melancholy, apprehensive, content, restless, jubilant, sombre, giddy, gregarious, reserved, meticulous, impulsive, tenacious, candid, aloof, compassionate, stubborn, witty, humble, arrogant, diligent, volatile, exquisite, shoddy, flawless, mediocre, superb, dreadful, remarkable, adequate, outstanding, appalling, commendable, questionable, abundant, scarce, countless, sparse, plentiful, meagre, numerous, scant, ample, copious, brisk, sluggish, frantic, leisurely, erratic, fluid, lumbering, plodding, headlong, stealthy, arduous, effortless, gruelling, straightforward, intricate, convoluted, painstaking, laborious, manageable, insurmountable, cordial, hostile, intimate, estranged, collaborative, competitive, supportive, dismissive, attentive, distant, loyal, fractious, priceless, worthless, extravagant, economical, lavish, frugal, overpriced, invaluable, definite, tentative, conclusive, speculative, unmistakable, dubious, categorical, provisional
Size and dimension
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| enormous | very large |
| tiny | very small |
| vast | huge in extent |
| minuscule | extremely small |
| towering | very tall |
| compact | small and efficiently arranged |
| bulky | large and awkward |
| slender | gracefully thin |
| broad | wide |
| narrow | small side to side |
| deep | far from top to bottom |
| shallow | close to the surface, with little depth |
| immense | extremely large |
| petite | small and slim, of a person’s build |
| gigantic | extremely large |
| microscopic | too small to see unaided |
| spacious | having plenty of room |
| cramped | uncomfortably small |
Shape and form
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| angular | made of sharp corners |
| rounded | curved and smooth |
| crooked | bent out of line |
| straight | without bend |
| hollow | empty inside |
| flat | level and even |
| bulging | swelling outward |
| jagged | roughly uneven |
| symmetrical | the same on both sides |
| lopsided | heavier on one side |
| spiral | winding in a coil |
Colour and light
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| crimson | deep rich red |
| golden | the colour of gold |
| pallid | unhealthily pale |
| vivid | strong and bright |
| muted | softened and dulled |
| iridescent | shifting colour with the light |
| translucent | letting light partly through |
| opaque | letting no light through |
| gleaming | shining brightly |
| dim | giving little light |
| dappled | marked with patches of light |
| luminous | full of light |
Age and time
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| ancient | from the distant past |
| modern | of the present |
| antique | old and valued |
| brand-new | completely new |
| obsolete | no longer in use |
| timeless | unaffected by time |
| fleeting | lasting a moment |
| perpetual | never stopping |
| prehistoric | before written record |
| contemporary | of the same time |
| youthful | having the quality of youth |
| decrepit | worn out by age |
Texture and touch
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| velvety | soft like velvet |
| coarse | rough in texture |
| silky | smooth and soft |
| gritty | containing hard particles |
| slippery | hard to hold or stand on |
| sticky | tending to adhere |
| brittle | easily broken |
| supple | bending easily |
| rugged | rough and strong |
| downy | covered in soft fine hair |
| prickly | covered in sharp points |
| clammy | damp and cool |
Sound
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| shrill | high and piercing |
| muffled | deadened and unclear |
| resonant | deep and echoing |
| raucous | loud and harsh |
| melodic | pleasantly tuneful |
| thunderous | extremely loud |
| hushed | quiet and subdued |
| grating | harsh and irritating |
| silent | without sound |
| booming | loud and deep |
| tinny | thin and metallic |
Taste and smell
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| savoury | salty or spicy rather than sweet |
| tangy | sharp and pleasant |
| bland | without flavour |
| pungent | strong-smelling |
| aromatic | pleasantly scented |
| acrid | sharply bitter in smell |
| succulent | tender and juicy |
| bitter | sharp and unsweet |
| zesty | fresh and sharp |
| rancid | gone off and unpleasant |
| smoky | tasting of smoke |
| syrupy | thick and very sweet |
Temperature and weather
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| scorching | extremely hot |
| balmy | pleasantly warm |
| frigid | extremely cold |
| humid | damp and heavy |
| arid | very dry |
| blustery | windy in gusts |
| temperate | mild and moderate |
| sweltering | oppressively hot |
| crisp | cold and dry |
| torrential | falling in torrents |
Emotion and mood
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| elated | lifted with joy |
| despondent | low in spirit |
| anxious | uneasy about what may come |
| serene | calm and untroubled |
| furious | extremely angry |
| wistful | gently longing |
| euphoric | intensely happy |
| melancholy | thoughtfully sad |
| apprehensive | fearful of what is coming |
| content | quietly satisfied |
| restless | unable to settle |
| jubilant | openly triumphant |
| sombre | serious and dark in mood |
| giddy | light-headed with excitement |
Personality and character
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| gregarious | enjoying company |
| reserved | keeping feelings private |
| meticulous | extremely careful |
| impulsive | acting without thinking |
| tenacious | refusing to give up |
| candid | frank and open |
| aloof | keeping emotionally apart from others |
| compassionate | feeling for others |
| stubborn | refusing to change |
| witty | cleverly amusing |
| humble | modest about one’s own worth or achievements |
| arrogant | thinking too highly of oneself |
| diligent | working steadily and hard |
| volatile | liable to change suddenly |
Judgement and quality
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| exquisite | finely and beautifully made |
| shoddy | badly made |
| flawless | without fault |
| mediocre | only ordinary |
| superb | of the very highest quality |
| dreadful | very bad |
| remarkable | unusual enough to attract attention |
| adequate | just enough |
| outstanding | far above the rest |
| appalling | shockingly bad |
| commendable | deserving praise |
| questionable | likely to be wrong, dishonest or unsound |
Quantity and number
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| abundant | present in large quantity |
| scarce | hard to find |
| countless | too many to count |
| sparse | thinly scattered |
| plentiful | in good supply |
| meagre | far too little |
| numerous | many |
| scant | barely sufficient |
| ample | more than enough |
| copious | in large amounts |
Movement and speed
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| brisk | quick and energetic |
| sluggish | slow and unresponsive |
| frantic | wildly hurried |
| leisurely | unhurried and relaxed |
| erratic | moving unpredictably |
| fluid | moving smoothly |
| lumbering | moving heavily |
| plodding | moving or working slowly and without spirit |
| headlong | rushing without caution |
| stealthy | moving quietly and unseen |
Difficulty and effort
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| arduous | needing great effort |
| effortless | seeming to need no effort |
| gruelling | exhaustingly demanding |
| straightforward | easy to follow |
| intricate | full of small connected parts |
| convoluted | needlessly complicated |
| painstaking | done with great care |
| laborious | long and tiring |
| manageable | able to be handled |
| insurmountable | impossible to overcome |
People together
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| cordial | warm and polite |
| hostile | openly unfriendly |
| intimate | close and private |
| estranged | no longer on good terms |
| collaborative | working together |
| competitive | trying to outdo others |
| supportive | giving help and encouragement |
| dismissive | treating as unimportant |
| attentive | paying close attention |
| distant | emotionally far off |
| loyal | staying faithful |
| fractious | quick to quarrel |
Worth and cost
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| priceless | too valuable to price |
| worthless | having no value |
| extravagant | costing far too much |
| economical | using little for good result |
| lavish | richly generous |
| frugal | careful with money |
| overpriced | costing more than it is worth |
| invaluable | so valuable it cannot be measured |
Certainty and doubt
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| definite | clearly settled |
| tentative | not yet certain |
| conclusive | settling the matter |
| speculative | based on guesswork |
| unmistakable | so distinctive it cannot be confused with anything else |
| dubious | doubtful, either causing doubt or feeling it |
| categorical | stated without qualification |
| provisional | standing only for now |
The same sentence, with and without
| Plain | With adjectives doing real work |
|---|---|
| The room was quiet. | The room was hushed, dim and faintly clammy. |
| She gave an answer. | She gave a candid, meticulous, entirely conclusive answer. |
| The meal was good. | The meal was savoury, succulent and far too copious. |
| It was an old building. | It was a decrepit, lopsided, oddly timeless building. |
Notice that the second column is not simply longer. Each adjective removes possibilities the plain sentence left open.
Quick reference: which category to reach for
| If you are describing | Start with |
|---|---|
| A place | size and dimension, then colour and light |
| A person’s manner | personality and character |
| A person’s state right now | emotion and mood |
| Food | taste and smell, then texture |
| A sound | sound, then judgement and quality |
| An object | shape and form, then texture and touch |
| The weather | temperature and weather |
| Work someone has done | judgement and quality |
Related guides
- Adjectives for writing — the craft side: order, overuse and when to cut them.
- Adjectives for places — the largest single subject set on this site.
- Adjectives for pictures — description aimed at what an image shows.
- Adjectives for settings — scene-building vocabulary in depth.
- Adjectives for chaos — when the judgement-and-quality words are not strong enough.
- Adjectives for scary — the emotion set pushed to its limit.
Checked against Merriam-Webster, the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook. Spotted an error? Tell us — see our editorial policy.
