Mandy's Extreme Adjectives

A collection of extreme adjectives and their meanings as provided in the lecture notes.

sweltering

very hot

appalling

very bad

appalling weather

appalling injuries

Prisoners were kept in the most appalling conditions.

affluent

very rich

having a lot of money or owning a lot of things:

affluent nations

We live in an affluent neighborhood

devoted

extremely loving and loyal:

a devoted fan/husband

devoted to Lucy is devoted to her cats.

timid

shy and nervous; without much confidence; easily frightened:

Kieran is a timid child.

My dog is a little timid - especially around other dogs.

hostile

very dangerous / bad

hostile weather conditions

a hostile climate/environment

Her parents were openly hostile to me.

robust

(of a person or animal) strong and healthy:

He looks robust and healthy enough.

a robust pair of walking boots

robust economy

robust system

fragile

very weak

meticulous

very careful and with great attention to every detail:

Many hours of meticulous preparationhave gone into writing the book.

a meticulous housekeeper

meticulous research

meticulous about sth She was meticulous about keeping her expensereceipts properly filed.

negligent

very careless (adj)not being careful or giving enough attention to people or things that are your responsibility:

The judge said that the teacher had been negligent in allowing the children to swimin dangerous water.

It was necessary to prove that the manager had been negligent.

courteous

very polite / polite and showing respect:

Although she often disagreed with me, she was always courteous.

Stemp is a courteous person.

sluggish

very slow, lazy

moving or operating more slowly than usual and with less energy or power:

A heavy lunch makes me sluggish in the afternoon.

Something is wrong with the car - the engine feels sluggish.

The housing market has been very sluggish these past few years.

rowdy

noisy and possibly violent:

a rowdy party

rowdy behaviour

The theater was full of rowdy teenagersthrowing popcorn and yelling.

captivating

very interesting

holding your attention by being extremely interesting, exciting, pleasant, or attractive:

a captivating performance

Her voice was absolutely captivating.

impoverished

very poor (adj.)very poor:

an impoverished young actor

benevolent

very kind;kind and helpful:

He was a benevolent old man and wouldn't hurt a fly.

I grew up happily under the benevolent influence of my Uncle Walt.

malicious

very mean / cruel / evil

intended to harm or upset other people:

malicious gossip

a malicious look in his eyes

He complained that he'd been receiving malicious phone calls.

monotonous

very boring

not changing and therefore boring:

a monotonous job

a monotonous voice

The music became monotonous after a while.

offensive

very rude

hazardous

very dangerous

(of substances, materials, activities, or conditions) dangerous:

Hazardous waste must be properly disposed of.

Heavy snow fell overnight, making road conditions hazardous.

hazardous chemicals/substances/cargo