Compound Adjective
What is Compound Adjective
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.
Describing Personal Appearance
John was a curly-haired (berambut-keriting), sun-tanned (berkulit-kecoklatan), blue-eyed (bermata-biru), rosy-cheeked (pipi berwarna kemerahan), thin-lipped (berbibir-tipis), broad-shouldered (berbahu-lebar), left-handed (bertangan-kidal), slim-hipped (berpinggang-ramping), long-legged (berkaki-panjang), flat-footed (berkaki-datar), wearing an open-necked shirt (berkemeja-terbuka lehernya), brand-new (sangat-baru), tight-fitting jeans (bercelana-jeans-ketat) and open-toed sandals (bersandal-ruang jari-terbuka).
Describing Personal Character
Melina was absent-minded (forgetful), easy-going (relaxed), good-tempered (cheerful), warm-hearted (kind), and quick-witted (intelligent) if perhaps a little big-headed (pround of her self), two-faced (hypocritical), self-centered (egoistical), and stuck-up (snobbish) at times.
Special Compound Adjective When the Second Part is a Preposition
- An all-out (total) strike
- A broken-down (it won’t work) bus
- A hard-up (poor) student
- A worn-out (can’t be worn) shoes
- A drive-in movie (you watch from your car)
- A run-down (in poor condition) area
- A burnt-out (nothing left in it after a fire) car
- A built-up area (lots of buildings in it)
- Cast-off clothes (no longer wanted by the owner)
- Well-off bankers (wealthy)
Some Useful Compound Adjective
- Air-conditioned (provided with air conditioning)
- Duty-free
- Long-distance
- Record-breaking
- Sugar-free
- Bullet-proof
- Hand-made
- Long-standing
- Remote-controlled
- Time-consuming
- Cut-price
- Interest-free
- Off-peak
- Second-class
- Top-secret
- Drip-dry
- last-minute
- Part-time
- So-called
- World-famous
- Short-sighted
- High-heeled