Page 31 - English Vocabulary In Use upper intermediet and advance

Compound adjectives

A compound adjective is an adjective which is made up of two parts and is usually written
with a hyphen, e.g. well-dressed, never-ending and shocking-pink. Its meaning is usually
clear from the words it combines. The second part of the compound adjective is frequently a
present or past participle.

A large number of compound adjectives
describe personal appearance.
Here is a rather far-fetched description of
a person starting from the head down.
Tom was a curly-haired, sun-tanned,
blue-eyed, rosy-cheeked, thin lipped,
broad-shouldered, left-handed, slim- hipped,
long-legged, flat-footed young man,
wearing an open-necked shirt, brand-new,
tight-fitting jeans and open-toed sandals.

Another set of compound adjectives describes a person's character. Here is a rather light-
hearted description of a girl. The meanings are explained in brackets.
Melissa was absent-minded [forgetful], easy-going [relaxed], good-tempered [cheerful],
warm-hearted [kind] and quick-witted [intelligent] if perhaps a little big-headed [proud of
herself], two-faced [hypocritical], self-centred [egotistical] and stuck-up [snobbish
(colloquial)] at times.

Another special group of compound adjectives are those where the second part is a
preposition. Some of these adjectives are listed below with a typical noun.
an all-out strike [total] a burnt-out car [nothing left in it after a fire]
a broken-down bus [it won't work] a built-up area [lots of buildings in it]
a hard-up student [poor] cast-off clothes [no longer wanted by the owner]
worn-out shoes [can't be worn any more; of people - exhausted]
a drive-in movie [you watch from your car] well-off bankers [wealthy]
a run-down area [in poor condition]

Here are some other useful compound adjectives.
air-conditioned bullet-proof cut-price drip-dry
duty-free hand-made interest-free last-minute
long-distance long-standing off-peak part-time
record-breaking remote-controlled second-class so-called
sugar-free time-consuming top-secret world-famous

You can vary the compound adjectives listed by changing one part of the adjective. For
example, curly-haired, long-haired, red-haired and straight-haired; first-hand (knowledge),
first-class (ticket) and first-born (child).

English Vocabulary in Use