Descriptive Adjective | (Definition and Examples) Guide 2022

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What is a Descriptive Adjective?

Descriptive Adjective is one of the types of Adjectives and it is used to add meaning to Noun and Pronoun by describing its qualities. There are thousands of Descriptive Adjectives in English Grammar.

In other words, a Descriptive Adjective can be defined as the words which describe the quality of the person, animals, things, etc. It can describe many factors such as,

  • size (big, small)
  • colour (pale, dark, light)
  • shape (round, oval)
  • smell (sweet, fragrant)
  • taste (sour, bitter, sweet)
  • behaviour (sad, happy, angry)
  • character (funny, courageous, dishonest), etc.

Also Read: What is Adjective with examples? | Best English Guide 2021

The adjective is a type of word which describes or modifies the noun. It is also defined as, the word which describes the qualities and states of beings of nouns. It measures the qualities like size, shape, colour, duration, behaviour, quantity, and a lot more. It usually provides additional information on noun with the above mentioned qualities like, … (read more)

Examples of Descriptive Adjectives

Here are some Descriptive Adjective examples with explanations.

Note: The blue coloured words are Descriptive Adjectives in the sentence and S = Subject, V = Verb and O = Object.

  • John is a good person.

Sentence: John (S) + is (V) + a good person (O).

In the above sentence, the adjective “good” describes the behaviour of the person. So, it is usually describing the quality of that person.

  • He wants to buy a sports car.

Sentence: He (S) + wants (V) + to buy a sports car (O).

In the above sentence, the adjective “sports” describes the type of car that he wants to buy.

  • She is a hard-working person.

Sentence: She (S) + is (V) + a hard-working person (O).

In the above sentence, the adjective “hard-working” describes the attitude of the person. So, it is usually describing the quality of that person.

  • Rosie is having a severe headache.

Sentence: Rosie (S) + is having (V) + a severe headache (O).

In the above sentence, the adjective “severe” describes the amount of pain/discomfort.

  • I want to become a professional footballer.

Sentence: I (S) + want (V) + to become a professional footballer (O).

In the above sentence, the adjective “professional” describes the level of the skills. So, it is about describing the quality of the skill.

How to find Descriptive Adjectives in the sentence?

Previously, we have learned that this Adjective is used to describe the quality. So, it is easy to find out the word. Now let us consider the below example sentence.

  • She wants to have a beautiful garden.

Step 1: Identify the Subject, Verb and Object in the given sentence.

Sentence: She + wants + to have a beautiful garden.

Step 2: Now consider the Object and ask “Which one?” or more appropriately, “What does it look like?”, etc in reference to a noun. Then we will get the answer.

Here is the question, “Which type of garden?” – beautiful.

Types of Descriptive Adjectives

There are 2 types of Description Adjectives. These function the same but differs in structure/number of words. Let us learn each of them in detail.

Simple Adjectives

Simple Adjectives are the most basic and common Descriptive Adjective in which it only describes the quality. It describes many different aspects such as feelings, time, sound, taste, appearance, size, colour, shape, and material.

It is also defined as single words of Descriptive Adjectives which describes the quality of the person, things, etc.

  • Feelings: aggressive, anxious, dull, graceful, excited, happy, scared, etc.
  • Taste: sour, bitter, sweet, spice, delicious, etc.
  • Apperance: attractive, fat, thin, ugly, tall, short, average, beautiful, cool, etc.
  • Colour: red, green, blue, yellow, brown, black, pink, etc.
  • Shape: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, etc.
  • Sound: quite, loud, silent, noisy, etc.
  • Size: big, small, large, etc.
  • Material: cotton, wood, plastic, iron, aluminium, etc.

Example Sentences:

  • This food is delicious.
  • I usually like red coloured cars.
  • She is scared of heights.
  • He owns a big house.
  • I have a round wooden table.

Compound Adjectives

Two words of Descriptive Adjectives are known as Compound Adjectives. These words are combined with a hyphen (-) to form the adjective and used to describe the quality.

Some of the examples are right-handed, four-sided, short-tempered, ice-cold, self-centered, life-giving, etc.

Example Sentences:

  • Rohit is a left-handed batsman.
  • Sunil is a short-tempered person.
  • This is a life-giving oppurtunity in my career.
  • Shall I give you an ice-cold drink?
  • Mary always talks about herself a lot. She is a self-centered person.

Summary: (Descriptive Adjective)

What is a Descriptive Adjective? - English Topper
  • Descriptive Adjective is a type of Adjective which is used to describe about the extra information of the person, thing and animal like size, age, colour, behaviour, etc.
  • There are 2 different types of Descriptive Adjective. Those are Simple and Compound Adjectives.
  • Simple Adjective is a single word Adjective and Compound Adjective is a two word Adjectives which is used to describe the quality.
  • Few examples are small, short, shy, poor, long, large, better, cheap, wood, etc.

If you are interested to learn more, then you can refer to Wikipedia here.

I hope that you understood the topic. If you still have any doubts, then comment down below and we will respond as soon as possible.

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