Adjective
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A word that modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes a noun’s referent.
"The words “big” and “heavy” are English adjectives."
- 2 the word class that qualifies nouns wordnet
- 3 A dependent; an accessory. obsolete
"it must be an adjective of dain"
- 4 a word that expresses an attribute of something wordnet
- 1 To make an adjective of; to form or convert into an adjective. transitive
"Language has as much occasion to adjective the distinct signification of the verb, and to adjective also the mood, as it has to adjective time. It has […] adjectived all three."
- 2 To characterize with an adjective; to describe by using an adjective. transitive
- 1 Adjectival; pertaining to or functioning as an adjective. not-comparable
- 2 Applying to methods of enforcement and rules of procedure. not-comparable
"The whole English law, substantive and adjective."
- 3 Needing the use of a mordant to be made fast to that which is being dyed. not-comparable
- 4 Incapable of independent function. not-comparable, obsolete
"In fact, God is of not so much importance in Himself, but as the end towards which man tends. That irreverent person who said that Browning uses “God” as a pigment made an accurate criticism of his theology. In Browning, God is adjective to man."
- 1 relating to court practice and procedure as opposed to the principles of law wordnet
- 2 of or relating to or functioning as an adjective wordnet
Example
More examples"In English there are eight main parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction and finally interjection."
Etymology
From Middle English adjectif, adjective, from Old French adjectif, from Latin adiectivus, from adiciō + -īvus, from ad- (“to, towards, at”) + iaciō (“throw”). The Latin word adiectivus in turn was a calque of Ancient Greek ἐπιθετικόν (epithetikón, “added”), a derivative of the compound verb ἐπιτίθημι (epitíthēmi), from which also comes epithet.
Related phrases
More for "adjective"
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.