An adjective adds an overtone or an undertone to a noun and there are both positive and negative adjectives that can be used to describe something or to give a paraphrasing for a noun. In this particular article on negative adjectives, we are going to give a comprehensive idea to students and English enthusiasts on where these adjectives are used and what are the different types of negative adjectives that can be used in framing a sentence.
- Negative Adjective Definition
- Where are Negative Adjectives Used?
- Types of Negative Adjectives
- Negative Adjectives Examples
- Where are Negative Adjectives used?
- Give five examples of Negative Adjectives?
- Should we teach negative adjectives to small kids?
Negative Adjective Definition
In simple words, the negative adjective can be described as a word or more words that describe a noun that has a negative connotation or bad feelings associated with it. Usually, negative adjectives are used to express criticism of negative behavior or pessimism in a sentence that has the appropriate noun to describe a situation or a circumstance.
Where are Negative Adjectives Used?
Negative adjectives are used in plenty of places in English literature and below are some of the pointers that are going to help one understand the application of negative adjectives.
- Negative adjectives can be used in story writing or novels to set a tone of a character or a circumstance
- Negative adjectives can be used to describe a person with the appropriate connotation
- Negative adjectives can be used to communicate critical or pessimistic feelings for one another
- Negative adjectives are used in corporate communication and branding as it helps to express emotions that are required for their marketing strategy
- Negative objects are also used to describe certain types of colors, textures, and undertones
Since negative adjectives are used to describe a noun, hence these adjectives can be used to describe people, places, things, and animals.
Learn Grammar concepts easily by using our English Grammar Notes website as it is free and easy to download and also we have provided you with the connected rules.
Types of Negative Adjectives
Below we have given four categories of negative adjectives that are used to describe a noun:
- Negative adjectives that are used to describe people
- Negative adjectives that are used to describe things
- Negative adjectives that are used to describe personality traits
- Negative adjectives used to describe places
Negative Adjectives Examples
Now let us discuss each of the negative adjective types with appropriate examples
Negative Adjectives to Describe a Person
The following are some of the negative adjectives that can be used to describe people. In this particular section of the negative adjectives article, we have also provided examples for the adjectives so that students can easily understand the meaning and usage of the relevant negative adjective
- Dishonest- He is a dishonest person and hence people in his class never trust him
- Incompetent- Being incompetent in class, Akash failed in all the three subjects
- Impolite- The impolite kid always has something to take a fight with
- Rude- Being a rude kid, Alan always gets an earful from his mother
- Harsh- Our maths teacher is harsh but it is her harshness that makes students sit and listen to her class with a concentration
- Vulgar- The vulgar-tounged driver on the curb side of the road was not to be trusted with
- Dirty- Being the only homemaker in the house, it seems like he is a very dirty person and has a dirty lifestyle
- Arrogant- She has no friends because she is a very arrogant person
- Moody- Whenever I am hungry, I become a moody person
- Angry- Because he is always angry, people are scared to speak the truth to him
- Coward- Being a coward inside his office, he never gets anything done that his boss says
- Grumpy- The dog was extra grumpy this morning
- Jealous- Amit is always jealous of how well Akash scores in Mathematics
- Clingy- The dog is so clingy that it never leaves his owner alone
- Selfish- Being such a selfish person, I was surprised that Nikhil decided to donate books to charity
You can also explore our article covering Adjectives to Describe a Personality and learn them as well.
Negative Adjectives to Describe Things
- Disgusting – the car looked disgusting before it got a wash
- Dirty – his clothes were really dirty after he came inside from the rains
- Wet- the hot food that was supposed to be delivered to us was wet, soaked, and not tasty at all
- Dry- the Pasta that Allen had made was really dry
- Tasteless – the Biryani that was served was bland and tasteless
- Fishy – the bag that was lying around in the middle of the bus stop was particularly looking fishy
- Torn – the new book that Linda got was torn and beyond repair
- Broken – Emily got a broken toy as a gift from her friends on her birthday
- Crashed: Her car crashed beyond repair in the middle of the forest
Negative Adjectives to Describe Traits
It is for describing personality traits of different people that negative adjectives are mainly used and in this particular section, we are going to give you examples of negative personality traits adjectives.
- Foolish- Emily was foolish enough to trust her 8-year-old nephew, Allen, with her new iPad
- Cruel- the teacher was particularly cruel to Ganesh for not bringing his homework to school and the punishment was very harsh
- Idle- as they say, an idle mind is a devil’s advocate
- Silly – I looked particularly silly when I wore a cowboy hat when I visited my aunt in Texas
- Gullible- juniors in our college were gullible enough to believe that they could pass certain subjects without studying
- Critical: my professor is critical of every step and moves that any student in the class makes
Negative Adjectives to Describe a Place
- Cold – Few regions in Jammu and Kashmir have very cold places for almost the entire part of a year
- Dark- Certain places in the eastern part of Russia remain dark for almost half a year
- Tall- our new office building is very tall and has almost 30 floors
- Wide: I haven’t seen a football stadium as wide as the one in Manchester United City
- Hot- Regions lying on the equator are very hot throughout the year
- Moody- Her room itself looks very moody and sad because of its texture and paint
- Hostile- the Van parked in front of our house looked particularly hostile and fishy
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FAQs on Negative Adjectives
1. Where are Negative Adjectives used?
Negative adjectives are used mainly to describe and set the tone for a character, place, thing or situation in the written and oral forms of communication
2. Give five examples of Negative Adjectives?
Five examples of negative adjectives are Dishonest, Touchy, Nasty, Inconsiderate, and Callous
3. Should we teach negative adjectives to small kids?
Small kids must learn both positive adjectives and negative adjectives to have a strong grip on the English language when they speak and write.