515 Descriptive Adjectives to Describe Everything in English!

Adjectives are words that describe or modify a noun, which is a person, place, or thing. There are a few different kinds of adjectives, but descriptive adjectives are by far the most common. Other types of adjectives include demonstrative adjectives (like “this” or “that”) and quantitative adjectives (words that tell how much or how many). However, whereas those categories of adjectives each have just a handful of words, there is a virtually infinite number of descriptive adjectives.

Descriptive Adjectives

What Are Descriptive Adjectives?

Descriptive adjectives are basically exactly what they sound like: words that describe. Since they’re adjectives, they’re specifically words that describe a person, place, or thing (if you’re looking for words to describe verbs or other adjectives, check out adverbs). Descriptive adjectives are used to clarify or add detail to a sentence. They include colors, sizes, shapes, and many other such details.

Order of Descriptive Adjectives

Adjectives can be used one at a time, or several adjectives can be used for the same noun, using commas to separate them. While people who were born into English-speaking families or communities aren’t always aware of the rules involved, they can absolutely hear the difference if multiple adjectives appear out of order, so it’s a good rule to know. This order is as follows:

  • Demonstrative or quantitative adjectives
  • Quality or opinion
  • Size
  • Age
  • Shape
  • Color
  • Proper adjectives (adjectives based on names of people or locations)
  • Purpose

So, for example, a sentence might read, “I have ten, good, big, young, round, red, Storybook, egg-laying hens.” Any variation in order might take a moment to process for somebody who only speaks English.

Descriptive Adjectives to Describe Places

  • Ancient – very old and historically important
  • Awe-inspiring – inspiring a feeling of reverence or admiration
  • Beautiful – visually pleasing and attractive
  • Breathtaking – stunning and awe-inspiring
  • Bustling – busy and full of activity
  • Charming – pleasant and attractive
  • Chic – stylish and fashionable
  • Comfortable – providing physical ease and relaxation
  • Contemporary – current and relevant to the present time
  • Cosmopolitan – having a mix of cultures and influences
  • Cozy – warm, comfortable, and inviting
  • Delightful – highly pleasing and enjoyable
  • Elegant – graceful and stylish in appearance or manner.
  • Enchanting – delightfully charming or attractive
  • Exquisite – extremely beautiful and delicate
  • Fashionable – currently popular and stylish
  • Grand – impressive and imposing
  • Hectic – full of frenzied activity and chaos
  • Historic – relating to the past and significant events
  • Homely – comfortable and familiar, like a home
  • Idyllic – charmingly simple and peaceful
  • Industrial – relating to industry and factories
  • Inviting – attractive and tempting
  • Lively – full of activity and excitement
  • Magical – having a mysterious or supernatural quality
  • Magnificent – impressively beautiful, elaborate, or extravagant
  • Majestic – having impressive grandeur or beauty
  • Modern – current and up-to-date
  • Mysterious – difficult to understand or explain
  • Mystical – having a spiritual or magical quality
  • Peaceful – calm and free from disturbance
  • Picturesque – visually attractive, like a painting
  • Pleasant – enjoyable and agreeable
  • Quaint – attractively old-fashioned or unusual
  • Relaxing – restful and calming
  • Romantic – having a strong emotional or romantic appeal
  • Rural – relating to the countryside and farming
  • Rustic – characteristic of the countryside, simple and quaint
  • Scenic – having beautiful natural scenery
  • Serene – calm and peaceful
  • Spectacular – impressive to look at, striking
  • Splendid – impressive and magnificent
  • Stunning – extremely impressive or attractive
  • Stylish – fashionable and elegant
  • Suburban – relating to residential areas outside of cities
  • Trendy – following the latest fashion trends
  • Urban – relating to cities and city life
  • Vibrant – full of life and energy
  • Welcoming – friendly and inviting

Descriptive Adjectives to Describe Objects or Things

  • Affordable – reasonably priced
  • Beautiful – pleasing to the eye
  • Bright – vivid and intense in color or light
  • Bulky – large and difficult to move
  • Bumpy – uneven and with texture
  • Clean – free of dirt or grime
  • Clumsy – awkward and lacking grace
  • Colorful – having many colors
  • Comfortable – providing ease and relaxation
  • Complicated – intricate and difficult to understand
  • Dazzling – bright and impressive
  • Delicate – easily broken or damaged
  • Dim – lacking in brightness or light
  • Dirty – covered in dirt or grime
  • Drab – dull and lacking in color
  • Dull – lacking in brightness or shine
  • Elegant – refined and tasteful
  • Expensive – costly
  • Fixed – stationary and immovable
  • Flat – even and without texture
  • Fluffy – soft and puffy
  • Fragile – easily broken or damaged
  • Fresh – new or recently harvested
  • Futuristic – innovative and advanced
  • Hard – firm and resistant to pressure
  • Heavy – difficult to carry or move
  • Lightweight – easy to carry or move
  • Luxurious – extravagant and high-end
  • Messy – disorganized and untidy
  • Modern – contemporary and up-to-date
  • New – recently made or acquired
  • Old – aged and not new
  • Portable – easy to carry or move
  • Retro – reminiscent of past styles
  • Rough – uneven and with texture
  • Scented – having a pleasant aroma
  • Shiny – reflective and bright
  • Simple – basic and uncomplicated
  • Sleek – streamlined and smooth
  • Smooth – even and without roughness
  • Soft – gentle and yielding to touch
  • Sparkling – shining brightly
  • Stale – not fresh and lacking in flavor or aroma
  • Strong – resistant and durable
  • Tidy – neat and organized
  • Traditional – classic and customary
  • Ugly – unattractive
  • Uncomfortable – causing discomfort or unease
  • Unscented – lacking in aroma

Descriptive Adjectives to Describe People

  • Ambitious – having a strong desire to achieve something.
  • Affectionate – showing fondness or tenderness.
  • Adventurous – willing to take risks or try new things.
  • Amiable – having a friendly and pleasant manner.
  • Analytical – skilled at examining and interpreting data or information.
  • Articulate – able to express oneself clearly and effectively.
  • Assertive – confident and forceful in making one’s point.
  • Attentive – paying close attention to something or someone.
  • Bold – brave and daring.
  • Brave – possessing or displaying courage.
  • Bright – intelligent and quick-witted.
  • Calm – relaxed and composed.
  • Captivating – attracting and holding one’s attention.
  • Careful – cautious and attentive.
  • Caring – showing concern for others’ well-being.
  • Charismatic – having a compelling charm or attractiveness.
  • Charming – pleasing and attractive.
  • Cheerful – happy and optimistic.
  • Clean – free from dirt or pollution.
  • Clever – quick-witted and inventive.
  • Colorful – bright and vibrant.
  • Compassionate – showing empathy and kindness.
  • Confident – self-assured and certain.
  • Considerate – thoughtful and respectful of others.
  • Cool – calm and collected.
  • Courageous – brave and valiant.
  • Creative – imaginative and original.
  • Curious – eager to learn or know more.
  • Daring – bold and adventurous.
  • Dazzling – impressively beautiful or bright.
  • Decent – conforming to accepted moral standards.
  • Delightful – pleasing and enjoyable.
  • Dependable – reliable and trustworthy.
  • Determined – resolute and unwavering.
  • Diligent – hardworking and industrious.
  • Disciplined – showing self-control and orderliness.
  • Discreet – careful and tactful.
  • Dynamic – energetic and lively.
  • Eager – enthusiastic and willing.
  • Earnest – sincere and serious.
  • Easy-going – relaxed and tolerant.
  • Efficient – capable and productive.
  • Eloquent – fluent and articulate in speech.
  • Empathetic – understanding and compassionate.
  • Enthusiastic – eager and excited.
  • Experienced – having knowledge or skill from practice or exposure.
  • Fabulous – wonderful and impressive.
  • Fair – just and impartial.
  • Faithful – loyal and committed.
  • Fascinating – captivating and intriguing.
  • Fearless – bold and unafraid.
  • Fierce – intense and aggressive.
  • Flawless – perfect and impeccable.
  • Flexible – adaptable and versatile.
  • Friendly – sociable and amiable.
  • Funny – humorous and entertaining.
  • Generous – giving and kind-hearted.
  • Gentle – mild and tender.
  • Genuine – sincere and authentic.
  • Gifted – possessing natural talent or ability.
  • Glamorous – attractive and sophisticated.
  • Good-hearted – kind and benevolent.
  • Gracious – courteous and elegant.
  • Happy – joyful and content.
  • Hard-working – diligent and industrious.
  • Harmonious – peaceful and balanced.
  • Helpful – aiding and supportive.
  • Honest – truthful and sincere.
  • Honorable – having a strong sense of integrity.
  • Humble – modest and unpretentious.
  • Humorous – funny and amusing.
  • Idealistic – aspiring to perfection or higher ideals.
  • Imaginative – creative and inventive.
  • Impartial – unbiased and fair.
  • Impressive – awe-inspiring.
  • Independent – self-reliant and autonomous.
  • Ingenious – clever and inventive.
  • Innocent – pure and free from guilt.
  • Insightful – perceptive and discerning.
  • Inspiring – motivating and uplifting.
  • Intelligent – smart and knowledgeable.
  • Intuitive – perceptive and instinctive.
  • Inventive – creative and resourceful.
  • Joyful – full of happiness and delight.
  • Judicious – wise and sensible.
  • Just – fair and equitable.
  • Kind – compassionate and considerate.
  • Knowledgeable – well-informed and educated.
  • Leader – someone who guides and inspires others.
  • Lively – full of energy and enthusiasm.
  • Logical – reasonable and rational.
  • Loyal – faithful and devoted.
  • Magnanimous – generous and forgiving.
  • Mature – fully developed and responsible.
  • Meticulous – careful and precise.
  • Modest – unassuming and humble.
  • Neat – tidy and well-organized.
  • Nice – pleasant and agreeable.
  • Noble – possessing high moral principles.
  • Open-minded – receptive to new ideas and perspectives.
  • Optimistic – hopeful and positive.
  • Organized – structured and orderly.
  • Outgoing – sociable and friendly.
  • Passionate – enthusiastic and zealous.
  • Patient – tolerant and enduring.
  • Peaceful – calm and tranquil.
  • Perceptive – observant and insightful.
  • Persistent – determined and unyielding.
  • Persuasive – convincing and influential.
  • Philosophical – thoughtful and contemplative.
  • Playful – fun-loving and humorous.
  • Polite – courteous and well-mannered.
  • Positive – optimistic and constructive.
  • Powerful – influential and commanding.
  • Practical – pragmatic and useful.
  • Precise – accurate and exact.
  • Productive – efficient and effective.
  • Professional – skilled and competent.
  • Punctual – timely and prompt.
  • Pure – untainted and unspoiled.
  • Quick-witted – sharp and clever.
  • Rational – logical and reasonable.
  • Realistic – practical and grounded.
  • Reflective – thoughtful and contemplative.
  • Reliable – trustworthy and dependable.
  • Resourceful – inventive and creative.
  • Respectful – courteous and considerate.
  • Responsible – accountable and dependable.
  • Romantic – affectionate and passionate.
  • Satisfying – fulfilling and gratifying.
  • Secure – safe and protected.
  • Self-confident – assured and self-assured.
  • Self-disciplined – controlled and restrained.
  • Self-motivated – driven and ambitious.
  • Sensible – reasonable and practical.
  • Sensual – pleasing to the senses.
  • Sensitive – responsive and empathetic.
  • Serene – calm and peaceful.
  • Sexy – alluring and attractive.
  • Sharp – intelligent and perceptive.
  • Skilled – proficient and capable.
  • Smart – clever and knowledgeable.
  • Sophisticated – cultured and refined.
  • Spontaneous – impulsive and natural.
  • Strong – powerful and robust.
  • Stylish – fashionable and trendy.
  • Success-oriented – driven and focused on achieving goals.
  • Supportive – encouraging and helpful.
  • Sweet – pleasant and charming.
  • Sympathetic – understanding and compassionate.
  • Talented – gifted and skilled.
  • Teachable – receptive to learning and instruction.
  • Tenacious – persistent and unyielding.
  • Tender – gentle and caring.
  • Thankful – appreciative
  • Thorough – complete and detailed.
  • Thoughtful – considerate and reflective.
  • Tolerant – accepting and open-minded.
  • Tough – strong-willed and resilient.
  • Trusting – confident and faithful.
  • Trustworthy – reliable and dependable.
  • Understanding – empathetic and perceptive.
  • Unselfish – generous and altruistic.
  • Valiant – courageous and heroic.
  • Vibrant – lively and energetic.
  • Vigilant – watchful and alert.
  • Visionary – creative and imaginative.
  • Vital – essential and necessary.
  • Warm – friendly and welcoming.
  • Well-mannered – polite and courteous.
  • Whimsical – playful and fanciful.
  • Wise – knowledgeable and experienced.
  • Witty – clever and humorous.
  • Wonderful – excellent and delightful.
  • Worldly – experienced and sophisticated.
  • Youthful – energetic and lively.
  • Zealous – passionate and enthusiastic.

Related:

List of Descriptive Adjectives

Now that you know what descriptive adjectives are and how to use them, let’s get to listing them! The following list is broken into categories: simple, compound, or proper adjectives.

Simple Descriptive Adjectives

Simple or common adjectives are just basic adjectives. They consist of a single word that isn’t a proper noun. Just like the other descriptive adjectives, these can be combined with other adjectives.

  • Adorable
  • Adventurous
  • Agreeable
  • Alive
  • Aloof
  • Amused
  • Angry
  • Annoying
  • Anxious
  • Arrogant
  • Ashamed
  • Attractive
  • Auspicious
  • Awful
  • Bad
  • Beautiful
  • Black
  • Blue
  • Blushing
  • Bored
  • Brave
  • Bright
  • Brown
  • Busy
  • Calm
  • Careful
  • Cautious
  • Charming
  • Cheerful
  • Clean
  • Clear
  • Clever
  • Clumsy
  • Colorful
  • Comfortable
  • Concerning
  • Condemned
  • Confusing
  • Cooperative
  • Courageous
  • Creepy
  • Crowded
  • Cruel
  • Curios
  • Cute
  • Dangerous
  • Dark
  • Defiant
  • Delightful
  • Difficult
  • Disgusting
  • Distinct
  • Disturbed
  • Dizzying
  • Drab
  • Dull
  • Eager
  • Easy
  • Elated
  • Elegant
  • Embarrassed
  • Enchanted
  • Encouraging
  • Energetic
  • Enthusiastic
  • Envious
  • Evil
  • Exciting
  • Expensive
  • Exuberant
  • Faithful
  • Famous
  • Fancy
  • Fantastic
  • Fierce
  • Filthy
  • Fine
  • Foolish
  • Fragile
  • Frail
  • Frantic
  • Friendly
  • Frightening
  • Funny
  • Gentle
  • Gifted
  • Glamorous
  • Gleaming
  • Glorious
  • Good
  • Gorgeous
  • Graceful
  • Green
  • Grieving
  • Grumpy
  • Handsome
  • Happy
  • Healthy
  • Helpful
  • Helpless
  • Hilarious
  • Homeless
  • Horrible
  • Hungry
  • Hurt
  • Ill
  • Important
  • Impossible
  • Impromptu
  • Improvised
  • Inexpensive
  • Innocent
  • Inquiring
  • Itchy
  • Jealous
  • Jittery
  • Joyous
  • Kind
  • Knightly
  • Lazy
  • Lemony
  • Light
  • Lingering
  • Lively
  • Lonely
  • Long
  • Lovely
  • Lucky
  • Magnificent
  • Modern
  • Motionless
  • Muddy
  • Mushy
  • Mysterious
  • Naughty
  • Niche
  • Nervous
  • Nice
  • Nutty
  • Obedient
  • Obnoxious
  • Odd
  • Open
  • Orange
  • Outrageous
  • Outstanding
  • Panicked
  • Perfect
  • Pink
  • Plain
  • Pleasant
  • Poised
  • Poor
  • Powerless
  • Precious
  • Prickling
  • Proud
  • Purple
  • Puzzled
  • Quaint
  • Queer
  • Quizzical
  • Realistic
  • Red
  • Relieved
  • Repelling
  • Repulsive
  • Rich
  • Scary
  • Scenic
  • Selfish
  • Shiny
  • Shy
  • Silly
  • Sleepy
  • Smiling
  • Smoggy
  • Sore
  • Sparkly
  • Splendid
  • Spotted
  • Stormy
  • Strange
  • Stupid
  • Successful
  • Super
  • Talented
  • Tame
  • Tasty
  • Tender
  • Tense
  • Terse
  • Terrible
  • Thankful
  • Thoughtful
  • Tired
  • Tough
  • Troubling
  • Ugly
  • Uninterested
  • Unusual
  • Upset
  • Uptight
  • Varied
  • Vast
  • Victorious
  • Wandering
  • Weary
  • White
  • Wicked
  • Wide
  • Wild
  • Witty
  • Worrisome
  • Wrong
  • Yellow
  • Young
  • Zealous

Compound Descriptive Adjectives

Compound adjectives are adjectives for which more than one word makes up a single descriptor. These are generally hyphenated.

  • Baby-faced
  • Broken-hearted
  • Bull-headed
  • Freckle-faced
  • Full-time
  • Heavy-handed
  • High-heeled
  • High-spirited
  • Life-giving
  • Long-lasting
  • Long-winded
  • Middle-aged
  • Mouth-watering
  • Never-ending
  • Next-door
  • Old-fashioned
  • Part-time
  • Red-blooded
  • Self-centered
  • Short-haired
  • Short-tempered
  • Sure-footed
  • Thick-skinned
  • Thought-provoking
  • Tight-fisted
  • Well-known
  • Well-read
  • World-famous

Proper Descriptive Adjectives

Proper adjectives contain a proper noun. This is most often used for locations, but it can also be used for religions or philosophies.

  • Alpine
  • American
  • Asian
  • Arthurian
  • Brazilian
  • Chinese
  • Christian
  • Darwinian
  • European
  • French
  • Gregorian
  • Martian
  • Orwellian
  • Shakespearean
  • Spanish
  • Thai
  • Voltairian

Almost any proper noun can be made into an adjective if needed or desired.

Related:

Examples of Descriptive Adjectives in Sentences

  • The little kitten is so adorable, with its big round eyes and fluffy fur
  • The gigantic, furry dog scared off the intruders
  • The vibrant, lush garden was a sight to behold
  • The delicious, flaky croissant melted in my mouth
  • My neighbor has a big beautiful garden
  • That was a terrible and disappointing movie
  • His voice was deep and rumbling when he spoke
  • She wore a bright and colorful dress to the party

Related:

That’s All for this Lesson

Descriptive adjectives are very helpful and are super present in everyday English. They help make your sentences more specific and your instructions more exact. Refer to this list as often as you want or need!

A-Z Adjectives to Describe People

Here are lists of positive adjectives to describe people in alphabetical order:

Descriptive Adjectives | Infographic

What Are Descriptive Adjectives? List of Useful Descriptive Adjectives in EnglishPin

What Are Descriptive Adjectives? List of Useful Descriptive Adjectives in EnglishPin

Related Resources

Adjectives in Grammar

Last Updated on April 4, 2023

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