Most Common English Adjectives With Hints

Guess the 25 most common adjectives in the English language according to the Oxford English Corpus.
Quiz by kalbahamut
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Last updated: December 3, 2023
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First submittedMarch 10, 2013
Times taken14,233
Average score52.0%
Rating3.78
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synonym
word
positive
good
modern
new
earliest
first
latest
last
protracted
long
glorious
great
diminutive
little
possessed
own
alternate
other
venerable
old
correct
right
sizable
big
elevated
high
disparate
different
petite
small
jumbo
large
subsequent
next
premature
early
juvenile
young
crucial
important
some
few
communal
public
crummy
bad
alike
same
adept
able
+10
Level 82
Mar 10, 2013
I'm surprised that "nice" and "fine" don't make the list as well as several other words, and it appears as though possessive adjectives are not included.
+2
Level 50
Apr 19, 2013
I tried "nice" a couple of times and persisted in doing so haha :)
+3
Level 37
Aug 2, 2014
"possessive adjectives" are actually "possessive pronouns"
+3
Level 89
Jan 1, 2021
They act as adjectives. My dog is brown.

They act as nouns. Yours is black.

Different usage experts toss it around to varying degrees.

+3
Level 78
Dec 3, 2023
Yeah they're often split into possesive pronouns (mine, yours, theirs etc.) and possessive determiners (my, your, their etc.)
+2
Level 23
Dec 8, 2014
IKR, I have said fine and nice a billion more times than i have said words like public
+2
Level 82
Jun 1, 2013
Also doesn't seem to include a lot of forms of adjectives like superlatives, ordinals, possessive adjectives, etc.
+1
Level 82
Jun 1, 2013
oh wait, actually there is an ordinal. But the other two are not.
+2
Level 37
Aug 2, 2014
The only superlatives that I can think of that would come close are "best" and "worst" which are used as nouns/pronouns as often as or more than they are used as adjectives.
+2
Level 82
Jan 6, 2014
If the Corpus included blogs written by teenage girls then I'm sure "amazing" would also be on here.
+5
Level 66
Jan 10, 2019
I tried awesome. and I think a certain swearword would probaly be there. Like i fell off my f*** chair to morning, then walked into the *** door, on my way to my **** car but I forgot my **** keys. That seems the way most people are talking haha.

That or: it's a nice afternoon for a nice little walk, we can have a nice cup of tea and then have a nice little talk. hahah

+2
Level 82
Jan 10, 2019
yeah but it's not about every day spoken English.
+7
Level 75
Jul 13, 2014
I was surprised to see the word "public". I don't hear it that often in everyday speech.
+1
Level 82
Jul 13, 2014
If you read over the comments on my Most Common Nouns quiz I think you'll understand why.
+2
Level 29
Dec 6, 2017
Maybe because it's used to describe many everyday things.

Public service/transportation/announcement/restrooms etc.

+4
Level 46
Jan 20, 2018
how about cool?
+1
Level 36
Jun 19, 2022
What about private?
+2
Level 89
Mar 4, 2023
That word doesn't show up on the list.
+1
Level 64
Mar 18, 2023
I'd be interested to know how you got the statistics, Kalbahamut. I've worked a lot with the OEC and its PoS tagging in many areas leaves a lot to be desired.
+1
Level 73
Dec 3, 2023
Haha the hints certainly boost the statistics for the time being. Got 5 points with 16/25 and could have done so with one less!
+5
Level 67
Dec 3, 2023
I’m not a fan of the use of “venerable” as a synonym for “old”. I feel like “old” rarely carries a positive connotation on it’s own and “venerable” doesn’t always mean old.
+4
Level 83
Dec 3, 2023
Very, very few synonyms are going to have the exact same connotational field as each other, but if they have the same denotative field, it feels like it's probably appropriate for this quiz.
+1
Level 66
Dec 15, 2023
Great quiz thanks. I don't feel 'possessed' works that well maybe 'personal' would fit slightly better.
+1
Level 69
Dec 28, 2023
Haha yes, I was trying words like crazy and mad
+1
Level 65
Dec 28, 2023
If you are saying Possessed as a clue the answer would be owned ... if the answer is own then the clue should be possess .. ;-)
+1
Level 68
Dec 28, 2023
I got 20/25 and I was surprised the average score was only 12…
+1
Level 65
Dec 29, 2023
Is “possessed” really a synonym for “own”?

“I have my possessed umbrella” is likely to be understood not as a statement of ownership, but as a warning that the umbrella is under the influence of a demon.

+1
Level 78
Jan 22, 2024
perhaps 'belonging to oneself' ?