Word formation

Compound adjectives

Compound adjectives consist of two words, usually written with a hyphen between them.

• A never-ending list of other sports also came under suspicion this year.
• It was an air-conditioned restaurant.
• He was wearing an apple-green jacket.

Here are examples of common patterns for forming compound adjectives, and some examples of each.

Adjective/number + noun

• deep-sea, long-term, twenty-page, full-time, late-night, red-brick

Adjective/number + noun + -ed

• absent-minded, kind-hearted, long-haired, one-sided, open-minded, short-sighted

Adjective/adverb/noun + past participle

• air-conditioned, breast-fed, clean-shaven, greatly-reduced, low-paid, well-behaved

Adjective/adverb/noun + -ing form

• easy-going, good-looking, hard-wearing, long-lasting, never-ending, performance-enhancing

Noun + adjective

• audio-visual, brand-new, duty-free, top-heavy, trouble-free, world-famous