• DICTIONARY
  • THESAURUS
  • GRAMMAR
    • GRAMMAR A-Z
    • SPELLING
    • PUNCTUATION
    • WRITING HELP
    • USAGE
  • EXPLORE
    • WORD ORIGINS
    • LANGUAGE QUESTIONS
    • WORD LISTS
  • WORD OF THE YEAR
    • CURRENT CHOICE
    • PREVIOUS CHOICES
  • FORUM
  • BLOG
  • More
    • EXPLORE
      • WORD ORIGINS
      • LANGUAGE QUESTIONS
      • WORD LISTS
    • WORD OF THE YEAR
      • CURRENT CHOICE
      • PREVIOUS CHOICES
    • FORUM
    • BLOG
Sign in
    English logo
    Powered by Oxford logo
    • à
    • á
    • â
    • ä
    • ã
    • ă
    • ā
    • ç
    • č
    • è
    • é
    • ê
    • ë
    • ē
    • ģ
    • ì
    • í
    • î
    • ï
    • ī
    • ķ
    • ļ
    • ñ
    • ň
    • ņ
    • ò
    • ó
    • ô
    • ö
    • õ
    • ş
    • š
    • ţ
    • ù
    • ú
    • û
    • ü
    • ū
    • ý
    • ž
    • æ
    • œ
    • ß
    English logoimgEnglish logo
    • à
    • á
    • â
    • ä
    • ã
    • ă
    • ā
    • ç
    • č
    • è
    • é
    • ê
    • ë
    • ē
    • ģ
    • ì
    • í
    • î
    • ï
    • ī
    • ķ
    • ļ
    • ñ
    • ň
    • ņ
    • ò
    • ó
    • ô
    • ö
    • õ
    • ş
    • š
    • ţ
    • ù
    • ú
    • û
    • ü
    • ū
    • ý
    • ž
    • æ
    • œ
    • ß
    menu
    We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website. This website uses cookies that provide targeted advertising and which track your use of this website. By clicking ‘continue’ or by continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.ContinueFind out more

    Home Grammar Word classes Adjectives

    Adjectives

    An adjective is a word that describes a noun, giving extra information about it. For example:

    a sweet taste

    a red apple

    a technical problem

    an Italian woman

     

    Letter magnets thumbnail

    Attributive and predicative adjectives

    Most adjectives can be used in two positions. Find out how attributive and predicative adjectives are used.

    Weighing scales thumbnail

    Comparative and superlative adjectives

    If you want to be super at using the superlative and beyond compare at using the comparative, then our guide to the forms of adjectives is for you.

    Classic car yellow thumbnail

    Gradable and non-gradable adjectives

    Are there any adjectives you cannot make stronger or weaker with words like ‘very’ or ‘fairly’? You can find out the answer with our guide.

    Tape measure thumbnail

    Qualitative and classifying adjectives

    What is the difference between a qualitative adjective and a classifying adjective? And which of the two is able to be modified by an adverb?

    See more from Word classes
    Word of the Day
    gobar

    Find out what it means

    Get word of the day by email

    Click here to see our Privacy Policy.

    Get word of the day by email

    Click here to see our Privacy Policy.

    Thanks for subscribing. Please check your email and confirm your subscription

    Woty 2017 530x226
    Discover the Word of the Year 2017
    Forum sidebar530x226
    Ask the community
    Inflatable globes
    Foreign words and phrases used in English
    Me pointing
    'I' or 'me'?
    British american flags thumbnail
    British and American terms
    'Using the Passive'

    Which of these is written in the passive?

    • Steven punctured the football
    • The football was punctured

    Which of these is written in the passive?

    • I carried the puppy
    • The puppy was carried

    Which of these is written in the passive?

    • He carried the girl
    • The girl was carried

    Which of these is written in the passive?

    • The family were shocked
    • The storm shocked the family

    Which of these is written in the passive?

    • The bone was chewed
    • The dog chewed the bone

    Which of these is written in the passive?

    • Mum ironed the clothes
    • The clothes were ironed

    Which of these is written in the passive?

    • The house was burgled
    • The gang burgled the house

    Which of these is written in the passive?

    • The manager promoted him
    • He was promoted

    Which of these is written in the passive?

    • The toy was played with
    • The cat played with the toy

    Which of these is written in the passive?

    • She saved the boy
    • The boy was saved

    You scored /10 practise again?

    0/10

    Trending Words

    Most popular in the world

    1. susceptivity
    2. wideout
    3. California
    4. talismanic
    5. searchlight

    Sign up for our newsletter

    Stay up to date with our latest news and receive new words updates, blog posts, and more.

    Sign up

    Click here to see our Privacy Policy.

    Thanks for subscribing. Please check your email and confirm your subscription

    Click here to see our Privacy Policy.

    Please make sure that your email address is correct and try again

    Further reading
    Sleeping baby
    What is the origin of 'sleep tight'?

    One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.

    Read more
    Sharp pencil
    Regular and irregular verbs

    A glimpse at English verbs and their inflections.

    Read more
    Dartboard
    Top tips for better writing

    Some advice to nail your writing assignments.

    Read more
    Arrows graffiti
    English prepositions

    How to get prepositions right in a heartbeat.

    Read more
    Cv
    Top tips for CV writing

    In this article we explore how to impress employers with a spot-on CV.

    Read more
    Skull
    Archaic words

    Archaic words have a charm that never fades away, from French sounding to wondrously mysterious ones.

    Read more

    Find Out More

    • About
    • Contact us
    • Privacy policy
    • Legal Notice
    • Cookie Policy
    • Help

    Follow

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Instagram

    More from Oxford Dictionaries

    • OxfordDictionaries.com
    • OxfordWords blog
    • Oxford Dictionaries Spanish
    • Oxford Global Languages
    • Oxford Dictionaries Premium
    Oxford University Press logoimg

    © 2019 Oxford University Press

    English logo
    • DICTIONARY
    • THESAURUS
    • GRAMMAR
      • GRAMMAR A-Z
      • SPELLING
      • PUNCTUATION
      • WRITING HELP
      • USAGE
    • EXPLORE
      • WORD ORIGINS
      • LANGUAGE QUESTIONS
      • WORD LISTS
    • WORD OF THE YEAR
      • CURRENT CHOICE
      • PREVIOUS CHOICES
    • FORUM
    • BLOG
    Sign in