Do you know what a compound adjective is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on compound adjectives, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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November 13, 2021
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Common Questions
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What is a compound adjective?
According to 7ESL, a compound adjective is an adjective that is made of two or more words and often formed using a hyphen. These can be formed with an adjective and past participle, adverb and past participle, noun and past participle, noun and present participle, adjective and present participle, adverb and present participle, noun and adjective, adjective and subsequent noun, noun and noun, or adjective and adjective.
Many different languages also contain words that mean compound. You may notice that some of these translations of compound look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that likely have the same root or language of origin, causing them to sound the same. The below list of translations of compound is provided by Word Sense.
- Italian: composto (masc.), costituito (masc.)
- Portuguese: composto (masc.)
- Tagalog: langkapin, lambalan, linambal
- Persian: آمیخته (âmixta), همساخته (hamsâxta), مرکب
- Finnish: yhdistetty, yhdys-; kerrannainen (botany)
- Irish: comh- (of words)
- Swedish: sammansatt
- Greek: σύνθετος, συμμιγής
- Bulgarian: съставен, сло́жен
- Bokmål: sammensatt
- French: composé
- Russian: составно́й, сло́жный
- Dutch: samengesteld
- Maori: pūhui
- Slovene: sestavljen
- Czech: složený (masc.)
- Spanish: compuesto (masc.)
What are examples of compound adjectives?
compound adjectives can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or grammatical technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of compound adjectives that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use. Take a look at these compound adjective examples from Grammar Monster and 7ESL and see how many you can identify the compound adjective in!
- never-ending
- blue-sky thinking
- smoke-free restaurant
- brand-new ideas
- long-lasting periods of time/time period
- semi-big difference
- man-eating type of alligator
- one-way toy train station
- slow-moving wedding reception
- largely-unclear ending process
- narrowly-winding streets of Naples
- semi-temporary compounds
- short-haired woman
- slow-moving traffic
- record-breaking musical performance
- under-funded educational system
- brand-new city center
- highly-contested new law
- brand-new athlete’s record
- time-saving
- narrow-minded response
- deep-water vessel
- highly-coveted tickets
- 500-word story
- extremely brave
- good-looking
- old-fashioned
- forward-thinking strategy
- three-page document
- well-educated
- well-behaved
- well-known actress/well-known actor
- brand-new car
- long-life milk
- short-haired
- long-lasting relationship
- fresh-picked strawberries
- hours-long delay
- last-minute decision
- beautifully painted
- mouth-watering
- far-reaching
- five-day holiday
- highly-respected
- long-lasting
- part-time
- world-famous singer
- forward-thinking politicians
- highly-respected scholar
- quick-witted
- Semi-permanent compounds
- kind-hearted
- slow-moving novel
- ice-cold sister’s feelings
- fat-free snacks
- brightly-lit
- English-speaking country
- world-famous Italian restaurant
- lot of middle-aged men
- ice-cold lemonade
- variety of mouth-watering desserts
- kind-hearted stranger
- eight-hour day
- three-week vacation
- long-lasting makeup
- absent-minded comment
- old-fashioned restaurant
- hot summer day
- quick-witted detective
- part-time members of staff
- vanilla-, strawberry-, and chocolate-flavored ice cream
- record-breaking jump
- densely-populated
- middle-aged
- absent-minded person
- forward-thinking
- three-hour wait
- middle-aged man
- thought-provoking idea
- widely-recognized
- red-hot peppers
- never-ending story
- full-length
- ice-cold drinks
- level-headed leader
- thought-proviking
- sun-paked
- high-spirited
- absent-minded
- third-party insurance
- ten-minute journey
- English-speaking
- fat-free
- child-wanted
- strong-willed
- last-minute
- world-famous player
- apple-pie tin
- short-haired cat
- record-breaking
- narrow-minded
What are other literary techniques and devices?
There are many different literary and grammatical techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading prose or poetry. It is important to recognize these terms because they are always used for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers understand the author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of grammatical devices from OED and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you.
- protasis
- definite article
- non-referential
- cataphoric
- collocation | collocate
- agree | agreement
- mood
- superlative
- comparative
- element
- subjunctive
- optative
- zero
- collective noun
- dative
- apodosis and protasis
- to-infinitive
- active
- combination
- number
- causative
- genitive
- simple
- accusative
- anticipatory
- impersonal (impers.)
- noun (n.)
- nominal relative | nominal relative clause
- similative
- infinitive
- cognate object
- complement
- proper noun | proper name
- quasi-
- past tense
- verbal noun
- first person
- attributive
- direct object
- perfect
- adverbial | adverbially
- gerund
- modify | modifier
- nominative
- subordinate clause
- filler
- past participle
- progressive
- combining form (comb. form)
- feminine
- auxiliary verb | auxiliary
- ellipsis | elliptical
- pro-form
- determiner
- inflection | inflected | inflectional
- indirect speech
- postmodify | postmodifier
- prefix
- noun phrase
- objective
- conjunction (conj.)
- third-person
- object | direct object | indirect object
- special use
- possessive pronoun
- antecedent
- mass noun
- agent noun
- non-finite
- subject complements
- part of speech
- person
- count noun
- parasynthetic
- vocative
- locative
- intransitive
- prepositional object
- appositive
- that-clause
- phrase (phr.)
- pleonasm | pleonastic
- subject
- transitive
- dual
- verb (v.)
- prepositional passive
- instrumental
- suffix
- morpheme
- relative
- main clause
- interjection
- finite
- indicative
- positive
- construction
- adjective
- predicative
- singular
- declarative
- gender
- demonstrative
- periphrasis | periphrastic
- main verb
- indirect object
- case
- bare infinitive
- absolute (absol.)
- premodify | premodifier
- second person
- imperative (imper.)
- participle | past participle | present participle
- present participle
- prepositional phrase
- complementary
- participial adjective
- personal pronoun
- adverb (adv.)
- phrasal verb
- predicate
- present tense
- preposition (prep.)
- intensifier
- copular verb | copula
- sentence adverb |sentence adverbial
- neuter
- double object
- concrete
- construed (const., constr.)
- pronoun (pron.)
- subjective
- direct speech
- masculine
- passive infinitive
- head
- possessive
- indirect passive
- plural
- anaphoric
- interrogative
- direct question
- compound | compounding
- unmarked genitive
- passive
- common noun
- article
- abstract
- base form
- conditional
- indirect question
- stem
- indefinite
- parenthetical | parenthetically
- clause
- modal verb | modal auxiliary verb | modal auxiliary
- apposition
- possessive adjective
- tense
- reflexive
Overall, a compound adjective in English grammar refers to an adjective made of 2 words.
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