Languages › English as a Second Language Basic English Adjectives List Print Karina Mansfield/Moment/Getty Images English as a Second Language Vocabulary Basic Conversations for English Language Learners Pronunciation & Conversation Writing Skills Reading Comprehension Grammar Business English Resources for Teachers By Kenneth Beare Kenneth Beare English as a Second Language (ESL) Expert TESOL Diploma, Trinity College London M.A., Music Performance, Cologne University of Music B.A., Vocal Performance, Eastman School of Music Kenneth Beare is an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and course developer with over three decades of teaching experience. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on February 25, 2020 This list is part of a list of 850 of words was developed by Charles K. Ogden and released in 1930 with the book Basic English: A General Introduction with Rules and Grammar. Charles Ogden chose his list based on the theory that these 850 words should be enough to participate in everyday life. Ogden felt that the wide variety of languages in the world caused great confusion. In his approach, he used only word roots—words without prefix, suffix, or other additions. For more information about this list, you can visit Odgen's Basic English page. This list is an excellent starting point for building up a vocabulary which allows you to converse fluently in English. Tips for Learning Vocabulary Lists Read More Basic English Key Words List: Verbs, Prepositions, Articles By Kenneth Beare Use each adjective in a written sentenceChoose five adjectives to use in practice conversations with your friends each dayCreate synonym and antonym lists to help create a link to other words in your mindSpeak through the list often using each adjective in a sentence Adjectives 1. able2. acid3. angry4. automatic5. awake6. bad7. beautiful8. bent9. bitter10. black11. blue12. boiling13. bright14. broken15. brown16. certain17. cheap18. chemical19. chief20. clean21. clear22. cold23. common24. complete25. complex26. conscious27. cruel28. cut29. dark30. dead31. dear32. deep33. delicate34. dependent35. different36. dirty37. dry38. early39. elastic40. electric41. equal42. false43. fat44. feeble45. female46. fertile47. first48. fixed49. flat50. foolish 51. free52. frequent53. full54. future55. general56. good57. gray58. great59. green60. hanging61. happy62. hard63. healthy64. high65. hollow66. ill67. important68. kind69. last70. late71. left72. like73. living74. long75. loose76. loud77. low78. male79. married80. material81. medical82. military83. mixed84. narrow85. natural86. necessary87. new88. normal89. old90. open91. opposite92. parallel93. past94. physical95. political96. poor97. possible98. present99. private100. probable 101. public102. quick103. quiet104. ready105. red106. regular107. responsible108. right109. rough110. round111. sad112. safe113. same114. second115. secret116. separate117. serious118. sharp119. short120. shut121. simple122. slow123. small124. smooth125. soft126. solid127. special128. sticky129. stiff130. straight131. strange132. strong133. sudden134. sweet135. tall136. thick137. thin138. tight139. tired140. true141. violent142. waiting143. warm144. wet145. white146. wide147. wise148. wrong149. yellow150. young While this list is helpful for a strong beginning, it can be argued that this list does not provide specialist vocabulary required for the wide range of work and educational situations in the modern world. For example, you may need to know legal terminology or healthcare words. More advanced vocabulary building will help you quickly improve your English. Once you have mastered Ogden's basic list, you may want to use strategies such as reading to improve your vocabulary. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Beare, Kenneth. "Basic English Adjectives List." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/basic-english-adjectives-list-4078069. Beare, Kenneth. (2020, August 26). Basic English Adjectives List. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/basic-english-adjectives-list-4078069 Beare, Kenneth. "Basic English Adjectives List." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/basic-english-adjectives-list-4078069 (accessed April 25, 2024). copy citation