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Adjectives

50 MOST COMMON ADJECTIVES IN ENGLISH

This list of the 50 most frequently used adjectives in English is a good place to start expanding your English vocabulary. Adjectives add precision to your language skills, but you don't necessarily need to have an enormous collection right from the start. The adjectives in this list are enough to get by with for many simple English tasks.

GETTING MORE FROM YOUR VOCABULARY

Remember that you can negate adjectives if you don't know the opposite word yet, for example say, "It's not clear," if you don't know the word "confusing". You can also combine adjectives for added precision, for example say, "What you want is possible but hard," if you don't know the word "challenging". By learning to use these 50 adjectives correctly and applying a few "tricks" to make your life simpler, you'll expand your ability to communicate in English.​

Appearance adjectives

  • adorable

  • beautiful

  • clean

  • drab

  • elegant

  • fancy

  • glamorous

  • handsome

  • long

  • magnificent

  • old-fashioned

  • plain

  • quaint

  • sparkling

  • ugliest

  • unsightly

  • wide-eyed

Color adjectives

  • red

  • orange

  • yellow

  • green

  • blue

  • purple

  • gray

  • black

  • white

Condition adjectives

  • alive

  • better

  • careful

  • clever

  • dead

  • easy

  • famous

  • gifted

  • helpful

  • important

  • inexpensive

  • mushy

  • odd

  • powerful

  • rich

  • shy

  • tender

  • uninterested

  • vast

  • wrong

Personality adjectives – Positive

  • agreeable

  • brave

  • calm

  • delightful

  • eager

  • faithful

  • gentle

  • happy

  • jolly

  • kind

  • lively

  • nice

  • obedient

  • proud

  • relieved

  • silly

  • thankful

  • victorious

  • witty

  • zealous

Personality adjectives – Negative

  • angry

  • bewildered

  • clumsy

  • defeated

  • embarrassed

  • fierce

  • grumpy

  • helpless

  • itchy

  • jealous

  • lazy

  • mysterious

  • nervous

  • obnoxious

  • panicky

  • repulsive

  • scary

  • thoughtless

  • uptight

  • worried

Shape adjectives

  • broad

  • chubby

  • crooked

  • curved

  • deep

  • flat

  • high

  • hollow

  • low

  • narrow

  • round

  • shallow

  • skinny

  • square

  • steep

  • straight

  • wide

Size adjectives

  • big

  • colossal

  • fat

  • gigantic

  • great

  • huge

  • immense

  • large

  • little

  • mammoth

  • massive

  • miniature

  • petite

  • puny

  • scrawny

  • short

  • small

  • tall

  • teeny

  • teeny-tiny

  • tiny

Sound adjectives

  • cooing

  • deafening

  • faint

  • hissing

  • loud

  • melodic

  • noisy

  • purring

  • quiet

  • raspy

  • screeching

  • thundering

  • voiceless

  • whispering

Time adjectives

  • ancient

  • brief

  • early

  • fast

  • late

  • long

  • modern

  • old

  • old-fashioned

  • quick

  • rapid

  • short

  • slow

  • swift

  • young

Taste/touch adjectives

  • bitter

  • delicious

  • fresh

  • greasy

  • juicy

  • hot

  • icy

  • loose

  • melted

  • nutritious

  • prickly

  • rainy

  • rotten

  • salty

  • sticky

  • strong

  • sweet

  • tart

  • tasteless

  • uneven

  • weak

  • wet

  • wooden

  • yummy

Touch adjectives

  • boiling

  • breeze

  • broken

  • bumpy

  • chilly

  • cold

  • cool

  • creepy

  • crooked

  • cuddly

  • curly

  • damaged

  • damp

  • dirty

  • dry

  • dusty

  • filthy

  • flaky

  • fluffy

  • freezing

  • hot

  • warm

  • wet

Quantity adjectives

  • abundant

  • empty

  • few

  • full

  • heavy

  • light

  • many

  • numerous

  • sparse

  • substantial

THAN

A rabbit is faster THAN a turtle.

Emma W. is more famous THAN Daniel Radcliffe.

AmilcarMDA  ©2025

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