COMPOUND ADJECTIVES
A compound adjective consists of an adjective, adverb or noun which consequently modifies another adjective, noun or
verb linking it. We usually hyphenate the words in order to avoid confusion between them. Take a look at the examples:
heavy-metal detector vs heavy metal detector
Although they are both correct, they do not have the same meaning. The first example refers to a device that detects
heavy metal. The second is made of metal, and the detector is heavy.
NOTE: Use a hyphen when the compound adjective comes BEFORE the noun it modifies, but not when it comes
AFTER the noun. However, In general, you may omit the hyphen if there is no ambiguity in sense or sound.
This is a world-famous museum.
We walked into a brightly-lit room.
vs
vs
This museum is world famous.
We walked into a room that was brightly lit.
Various references to combinations of two or more colours are also distinguished by the use or omission of hyphens.
For example, compare:
She has only black and white shoes. vs
She has only black-and-white shoes.
The first means that all of the person’s shoes are either black or white, but the second means that the person’s shoe
collection consists only of shoes in which each pair is black and white combined.
“Yellow, pink, and red flowers” refers to flowers coloured yellow, pink, or red, whereas “yellow-pink-and-red flowers”
denotes tri coloured flowers.
FORMATION OF COMPOUND ADJECTIVES
ADJECTIVE + ADJECTIVE
A yellow-green olive.
ADJECTIVE + NOUN
A long-distance runner
ADJECTIVE + NOUN + ED
A bad-tempered boss.
ADJECTIVE + PRESENT PARTICIPLE
A good-looking man.
ADVERB + ADJECTIVE
A part-time job.
ADVERB + ADJECTIVE + ED (false participle)
A deeply-rooted problem.
ADVERB + PAST PARTICIPLE
A brightly-lit room.
ADVERB + NOUN + ED
Well-mannered children.
NOUN + ADJECTIVE
A world-famous singer.
NOUN + PAST PARTICIPLE
Sun-dried tomatoes.
NUMBER + ADJECTIVE / NOUN
Three-legged race.
PAST PARTICIPLE + NOUN +ED
A broken-hearted friend.
MORE EXAMPLES
As you will see, the possibilities are immense. As compound adjectives are so flexible, we can describe
situations, things, someone’s facial features, physical appearance or personality simply by combining two
or more words to create a new adjective. It is important to learn them because not only are they
constantly being used in the English language, but also enhance all types of compositions.
absent-minded
bloody-minded
broad-minded
distraído
malintencionado
tolerante
open-minded
single-minded
small-minded
sin prejuicios
decidido
cerrado
narrow-minded
intolerante
well-adjusted
well-advised
well-appointed
well-dressed
well-earned
well-educated
well-groomed
badly-off
far-off
one-off
equilibrado
prudente
equipada / ubicada / dotada
bien vestido
bien merecido
culto / instruido
con buen aspecto
pobre
lejano / remoto
único
blue-collar
white collar
broken-down
obrero
oficinista
averiado
even-tempered
foul-tempered
hot-tempered
hot-blooded
cold-blooded
ecuánime / apacible
de un humor de perros
con mal genio
apasionado
despiadado
brown-eyed
cross-eyed
dewy-eyed
dry-eyed
sharp-eyed
starry-eyed
wide-eyed
de ojos marrones
bizco
ingenuo
sin llorar
observador
romántico/soñador
con los ojos bien abiertos
even-handed
high-handed
left-handed
open-handed
right-handed
single-handed
short-handed
imparcial
despótico
zurdo
generoso
diestro
sin ayuda/solo
con falta de mano de obra
light-hearted
open-hearted
soft-hearted
tender-hearted
warm-hearted
whole-hearted
two-faced
desenfadado
franco / generoso
compasivo
tierno de corazón
cariñoso
incondicional
falso / hipócrita
good-humoured
good-looking
long-awaited
long-eared
long-faced
long-lasting
long-legged
long-lived
de buen humour
de buen ver
anhelado/muy esperado
orejas largas
descontento
duradero
de piernas largas
longevo
never-ending
never-failing
thick-skinned
tight-lipped
respecto a algo
thin-skinned
paper-thin
interminable
infalible / inagotable
insensible
que mantiene la boca cerrada
strong-minded
weak-minded
decidido
sin carácter
well-attended
well-balanced
well-behaved
well-bred
well-known
well-made
well-off
badly-behaved
perfectly-behaved
muy concurrido
bien equilibrado
(niño) educado
culto /bien educado
muy conocido
bien hecho / fabricado/
adinerado
mal criado /que se porta mal
comportamiento perfecto
ill-advised
ill-bred
ill-conceived
ill-disposed
ill-equipped
ill-fated
ill-fitting
ill/bad-tempered
mal aconsejado
mal educado
mal planteado
estar mal predispuesto
mal equipado
funesto
que no está bien de talla
malhumorado/áspero
deep-fried
hard-working
never-ending
mouth-watering
high-flying
home-sick
fair-haired
raven-haired
frito en abundante aceite
trabajador
interminable
que hace la boca agua
ambicioso
tener morriña
rubio
con el pelo negro
big-headed
creído
big-hearted
generoso
broken-hearted
descorazonado/abatido/desolado
bold-hearted
valiente
faint-hearted
pusilánime
good-hearted
con buen corazón
half-hearted
poco entusiasta
hard-hearted
duro de corazón
kind-hearted
con buen corazón
fresh-faced
experiencia
pasty-faced
poker-faced
póquer
straight-faced
old-fashioned
tight-fisted
tight-fitting
skin-tight
saludable / lozano / sin
sweet-toothed
short-lived
ill-mannered
mild-mannered
well-mannered
mind-blowing
mind-boggling
mind-reading
goloso
efímero
mal educado
apacible
educado
alucinante / increíble
estupefacto / sobrecogedor
que adivina pensamientos
pálido
con cara impasible / con cara de
con expresión seria
anticuado / pasado de moda
tacaño / agarrado
muy ceñido
muy ajustado
sensible
muy fino/ casi transparente
EXERCISES:
https://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/vocabulary/english-compound-adjectives4.html
https://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/vocabulary/english-compound-adjectives3.html
EXERCISES IN MAKING COMPOUND ADJECTIVES
A.
Insert the appropriate compound adjectives.
1.
I have just discovered an insect with many legs that eats fungus in my carrot patch.
I have just discovered a _______________________ insect in my carrot patch.
2. It has red knees and flat feet.
It is _________________________.
3. My professors refuse to believe in my discovery because they have narrow minds; besides, these old fools
drink carrot juice!
My professors refuse to believe in my discovery because they are
______________________; besides, they are _________________________ fools!
4. The surgeon pulled out a worm that was thirty-five centimetres long.
The surgeon pulled out a _______________________ worm.
B.
Convert the descriptions of the underlined noun phrases into attributive adjectives.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Her daughter is a ping-pong player who slams hard. She has a ...
It looked like a trophy that had been hard to win. It looked like a ...
Our sumo champion weighs 200 kilograms. We have a ...
After that T.V. program, our baby’s hair turned green. We now have a ...
The tail of the lizard I caught was three feet long. I caught a lizard with …
C.
Rewrite the sentences, converting the descriptions into attributive adjectives.
1.
2.
He weighs 200 kilograms and has won the sumo championship three times.
I bought a chain-saw for three-hundred dollars and sliced up my neighbour’s
new fence, which was nearly thirty metres long.
She writes poems with her right hand and gives compliments with her left.
3.
D.
Make a compound adjective out of the words in bold and put it into the correct place in the
sentence:
1.
2.
3.
4.
"Her daughter’s eyes are crossed."
The farmer's pony finally died when it was ten years old.
His wife, like himself, had a peculiarly sinister mind.
She pointed out to her husband that his position did not pay.
very well, and that sanitation costs were very high.
She suggested a clever plan to save money.
They dug a huge hole six feet deep in the ground.
This project took them six hours and twenty-five minutes.
Then they dropped the pony in the hole. The "thump" sound would have made
your blood curdle.
Their horrified neighbours came running, some carrying First Aid kits, others
camcorders. This is not surprising at all! These people were all educated by
television, and all their lives, they had watched programs that numb the mind
and erode the I.Q.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS:
A.
Insert the appropriate compound adjectives.
1. I have just discovered a MANY-LEGGED, FUNGUS-EATING insect in my carrot patch.
2. It is RED-KNEED AND FLAT-FOOTED.
3. My professors refuse to believe in my discovery because they are NARROW-MINDED; besides, they
are CARROT-JUICE-DRINKING OLD fools! (...narrow-minded, carrot-juice-drinking old fools)
4. The surgeon pulled out a THIRTY-FIVE-CENTIMETRE worm.
B.
1.
Convert the descriptions of the underlined noun phrases into attributive adjectives.
Her daughter is a ping-pong player who slams hard. She has a DAUGHTER WHO IS A HARD-SLAMMING
PING-PONG PLAYER
It looked like a trophy that had been hard to win. It looked like a HARD-WON TROPHY
Our sumo champion weighs 200 kilograms. We have a 200-KG SUMO CHAMPION
After that T.V. program, our baby’s hair turned green. We now have a GREEN-HAIRED BABY
The tail of the lizard I caught was three feet long. I caught a lizard with A THREE-FOOT TAIL
2.
3.
4.
5.
C.
Rewrite the sentences, converting the descriptions into attributive adjectives.
1.
He weighs 200 kilograms and has won the sumo championship three times.
HE IS A 200-KG, THREE-TIME SUMO CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER
2.
I bought a chain-saw for three-hundred dollars and sliced up my neighbour’s new fence, which was nearly
thirty metres long.
I BOUGHT A THREE-HUNDRED-DOLLAR CHAIN-SAW AND SLICED UP MY NEIGHBOUR’S NEW THIRTY-METER FENCE.
3.
She writes poems with her right hand and gives compliments with her left.
SHE IS A RIGHT-HANDED POET WHO GIVES LEFT-HANDED COMPLIMENTS
D.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Her cross-eyed daughter
The farmer's ten-year-old pony.
His peculiarly sinister-minded wife.
A not very well-paid position.
A clever money-saving plan.
A huge six-foot-deep hole.
A six-hour-(and)twenty-five-minute project.
A blood-curdling "thump".
Television-educated
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