An adjective is a word such as 'big', 'dead', or 'financial' that describes a person or thing, or gives extra information about them. Adjectives usually come before nouns or after link verbs.
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adjective in British English
(ˈædʒɪktɪv)
noun
1.
a.
a word imputing a characteristic to a noun or pronoun
b.
(as modifier)
an adjective phrase
Abbreviation: adj
adjective
2.
additional or dependent
3.
(of law) relating to court practice and procedure, as opposed to the principles of law dealt with by the courts
Compare substantive (sense 7)
Derived forms
adjectival (ˌædʒɪkˈtaɪvəl)
adjective
Word origin
C14: from Late Latin adjectīvus attributive, from adjicere to throw to, add, from ad- to + jacere to throw; in grammatical sense, from the Latin phrase nōmen adjectīvum attributive noun
adjective in American English
(ˈædʒɪktɪv)
noun
1.
any of a class of words used to modify a noun or other substantive, as by describing qualities of the entity denoted, stating its limits or quantity, or distinguishing it from others (Ex.: good, every, Aegean)
adjective
2.
of an adjective
3.
having the nature or function of an adjective
4.
dependent or subordinate
5. Law
of or relating to practice and procedure; procedural
Derived forms
adjectively (ˈadjectively)
adverb
Word origin
ME & OFr adjectif < L adjectivus, that is added < adjectus, pp. of adjicere, to add to < ad-, to + jacere, to throw: see jet1
Examples of 'adjective' in a sentence
adjective
The alternative is to provide a noun for the adjectives to qualify.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Writers seeking a blockbuster should keep adjectives and adverbs to a minimum.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They maintain that it remains an adjective in the phrase due to.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Much more common are dense strings of nouns and adjectives.
Porush, David A Short Guide to Writing About Science (1995)
This is a circuitous way of introducing the distinction between adverbs and adjectives.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The following sentence contains both adjectives and adverbs.
Bachmann, Susan (editor) & Barth, Melinda Between Worlds: A Reader, Rhetoric and Handbook (1995)
Some languages make less of a distinction between adjectives and adverbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
My preference raises the relationship between adjectives and adverbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Maybe it was my possessive adjectives.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
But chutney isn't a verb or an adjective.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
One of the dictionary's amusing features is the pairing of nouns with specific adjectives.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
It uses sharp verbs and nouns, few adjectives.
Christianity Today (2000)
That's my caution with regard to the treatment of adjectives and adverbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Being descriptive doesn't require a string of adjectives and adverbs.
Bachmann, Susan (editor) & Barth, Melinda Between Worlds: A Reader, Rhetoric and Handbook (1995)
But since it can also be an adjective, it gets lost amid the other adjectives and nouns.
Porush, David A Short Guide to Writing About Science (1995)
I was interested in her use of adjectives.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The adjective limits the noun.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He uses many adjective complements, adding to the description of the subject by placing an adjective modifying the subject after the verb.
Marius, Richard A Short Guide to Writing About History (1995)
I also object to the use of the adjective "popular, "which seems to imply inferior.
Greeley, Andrew M. Sociology and Religion: A Collection of Readings (1995)
The most overused adjective is'fantastic'.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
If you write them this way, then you are in effect using adjectives without nouns, and that makes no grammatical sense.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
I try to be careful about what I say and not use too many adjectives.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In other languages
adjective
British English: adjective /ˈædʒɪktɪv/ NOUN
An adjective is a word such as `big' or `beautiful' that describes a person or thing. Adjectives usually come before nouns or after verbs like `be' or `feel'.
American English: adjective
Arabic: صِفَة
Brazilian Portuguese: adjetivo
Chinese: 形容词
Croatian: pridjev
Czech: přídavné jméno
Danish: tillægsord
Dutch: bijvoeglijk naamwoord
European Spanish: adjetivo
Finnish: adjektiivi
French: adjectif
German: Adjektiv
Greek: επίθετο
Italian: aggettivo
Japanese: 形容詞
Korean: 형용사
Norwegian: adjektiv
Polish: przymiotnik
European Portuguese: adjetivo
Romanian: adjectiv
Russian: имя прилагательное
Latin American Spanish: adjetivo
Swedish: adjektiv
Thai: คำคุณศัพท์
Turkish: sıfat
Ukrainian: прикметник
Vietnamese: tính từ
All related terms of 'adjective'
adjective group
An adjective group or adjectival group is a group of words based on an adjective, such as 'very nice ' or ' interested in football '. An adjective group can also consist simply of an adjective.
adjective phrase
a group of words including an adjective and its complements or modifiers that functions as an adjective, as too openly critical in His latest article is too openly critical of the administration
limiting adjective
one of a small group of adjectives that modify the nouns to which they are applied by restricting rather than describing or qualifying . This, some , and certain are limiting adjectives
verbal adjective
an adjective derived from a verb , as, in English, smiling in smiling eyes , or, in Greek, bat ós “ going ,” “moving,” derived from ba ínein “to go ,” “to move”
possessive adjective
an adjective such as 'my' or 'your' which shows who or what something belongs to or is connected with