Regular & Extreme Adjectives List
Regular Extreme Adjective crowded packed pretty gorgeous
Adjective dirty filthy scary terrifying
angry furious funny hilarious small tiny
bad awful, terrible, good wonderful, surprising astounding
horrible fantastic, excellent tired exhausted
big huge, gigantic, hot boiling ugly hideous
giant hungry starving
clean spotless interesting fascinating
cold freezing old ancient
Special Rules for Extreme Adjectives
1) No comparatives/superlatives.
With regular adjectives, we can use comparatives and superlatives to compare two or more things:
My house is big.
My neighbor’s house is bigger than mine.
(comparative)
My parents’ house is the biggest house on the street.
(superlative)
With extreme adjectives, we don’t use comparatives and superlatives:
My parents’ house is enormous.
My parents’ house is more enormous / the most enormous.
2) Use different adverbs with extreme adjectives.
With regular adjectives, we can use these adverbs:
a little, a bit, slightly, fairly, rather
very, extremely, immensely, intensely, hugely
Examples:
I’m rather hungry. / I’m very hungry.
This room is a bit dirty. / This room is extremely dirty.
We’re a little tired. / We’re immensely tired.
With extreme adjectives, we CANNOT use these adverbs:
I’m rather starving. / I’m extremely starving.
However, there are other adverbs we can use to give additional emphasis to the extreme adjective:
absolutely
completely
utterly
Examples:
I’m absolutely furious.
We’re completely exhausted.
The movie was utterly terrifying.
The words pretty and really can be used with both regular and extreme adjectives:
This room is pretty dirty. (regular)
This room is pretty filthy. (extreme)
The party is really crowded. (regular)
The party is really packed. (extreme)
Absolute Adjectives
Another type of extreme adjective is called an “absolute” adjective.
These are words that are either “yes or no.” For example, dead – you can’t be “a little bit dead” or “very
dead” – either YES, you are dead, or NO, you’re not dead.
Here’s a list of absolute adjectives and their opposites (this list is not complete; it only shows some
examples):
Absolute Opposite first last / final perfect imperfect
Adjective full empty pregnant not pregnant
complete incomplete ideal not ideal unique not unique
equal unequal impossible possible universal not universal
essential non-essential; infinite finite unknown known
extraneous married single / true false
dead alive divorced /
fatal not fatal separated /
widowed
Note:
You might hear expressions like these in spoken English:
“That’s very true.”
“It’s the very first time…”
“This shirt is more unique than that one.”
These sentences are not technically correct, because we shouldn’t use the words “very” or “more” with
absolute adjectives – but native speakers don’t always follow the rules!
Question 1
The comedian was __________! I laughed so hard I was almost crying.
A astounding
B fascinating
C hilarious
Question
2
The kitchen was __________ by the time she finished cleaning it.
A furious
B hideous
C spotless
Question 3
These __________ ruins were built by the Mayans thousands of years ago.
A ancient
B Filth
C packed
Questio
n4
In my evaluation, the teacher said I was a ___________ student and a joy to have in class.
A horrible
B gorgeous
C wonderful
Question 5
My brother was ___________ when I broke his brand-new cell phone.
A awful
B Furious
C starving
Question
6
The first time I had to speak at a big conference, I was __________ - my hands were actually shaking!
A exhausted
B terrified
C terrible
Question 7
This hearing aid is so _________ you can barely see it.
A astounding
B filthy
tiny
C
Question
8
That dress is __________ - I can't believe it's considered "fashionable"!
A hideous
B freezing
C spotless
Question 9
My kids fell asleep on the car ride home from the zoo - they were __________ from running around all day.
A exhausted
B furious
C terrifying
Question
10
I'm not really into politics, but I find science ___________.
A gigantic
B fascinating
Starving
Quiz: Adverbs with Extreme Adjectives
Question 1
That painting is very gorgeous - the artist has real talent.
A Correct
B Incorrect
Question
2
These books are fairly ancient - they were written two hundred years ago.
A Correct
B Incorrect
Question 2 Explanation:
Question 3
The classroom was almost empty during the week before Christmas; everyone had gone on vacation.
A Correct
B Incorrect
Question 3 Explanation:
Question 4
He became a multi-millionaire by the time he was 25 years old. His success is absolutely astounding.
A Correct
B Incorrect
Question
5
It's a bit hot in here; could you open the window?
A Correct
Incorrect
B
Question 6
This project is rather gigantic - it's far too much work for just one person.
A Correct
B Incorrect
Question 6 Explanation:
Question 7
He lost his job and his car was stolen in the same week? Wow, that's really awful.
A Correct
B Incorrect
Question
8
It's extremely essential that you bring all the necessary documents to your visa interview.
A Correct
B Incorrect
Question 8 Explanation:
Question 9
Your essay was nearly perfect - there was only one small punctuation error.
The trains during rush-hour in Tokyo are . There are people everywhere.
The world's biggest casino opened in Las Vegas - it's . It's twice the size of the previous world's
biggest.
I was when I saw that someone had damaged my car and had driven away.
After running the marathon she felt . She just wanted to lay down.
My hometown is in the winter, so remember to bring a big coat.
You need to clean your bedroom. I've never seen such a dirty room. It is in here.
I'm because I didn't eat breakfast and I was too busy to eat lunch.
Turn on the air-con it is in here. I hate summer! It is too hot!
People left the cimema before the film ended because it was . It's the worst film I've ever seen.
My wife is of birds. I'm not scared of anything
You must climb the mountain. The view from the top is !
