Compound Adjectives

Compound adjectives are useful for children to become comfortable with. All adjectives can help elevate writing, and compound adjectives are no different. Let’s talk about compound adjectives!

What are compound adjectives?

Compound adjectives are adjectives joined together with a hyphen (-), or hyphens, to describe a noun. These are adjectives that can mean something different when they are separate but come together to mean something different when combined with a hyphen. Compound adjectives can sometimes be three words, linked together by two hyphens! An example of a compound adjective is the word cold-hearted, which can be used to describe someone who lacks affection.

Even though compound adjectives take on a different structure than regular adjectives, they still modify a pronoun or noun! They can be used anywhere in a sentence that regular adjectives can be used. Although compound adjectives look different, they have a similar impact that basic adjectives do.

Examples of compound adjectives

You’ve probably seen compound adjectives in many different types of writing, maybe without even realizing it. We’ve provided a list of some example sentences that use compound adjectives, to give you a better idea of what compound adjectives are out there!

1. She is so cold-hearted, I can’t believe it!
2. This harsh winter weather feels like it’s never-ending!
3. He must have a happy-go-lucky attitude because of how carefree he is.
4. I’ve heard that this restaurant has world-famous pizza!
5. My mom is very quick-witted, it feels like she knows everything!
6. I’m really easy-going, so I’ll eat wherever you’d like to!

Activity & Resource

Now that we’ve introduced compound adjectives, your child can try using compound adjectives in their own sentences with the downloadable activity below.