Describing Words
Kindergarten · English · Study Guide
Learn how adjectives paint a picture by telling us more about nouns.
Describing words tell us more about a person, place, or thing. They paint a picture in your mind! We call these words adjectives. When you say 'a dog,' you can picture a dog — but when you say 'a big, brown dog,' you can picture it much better. 'Big' and 'brown' are describing words!
Describing words can tell us about color: red apple, blue sky, yellow sun. They can tell us about size: tiny ant, huge elephant, tall tree. They can tell us about how something feels: soft blanket, rough rock, cold ice cream. They can also tell us how something tastes or smells: sweet candy, sour lemon, stinky cheese.
You use describing words every single day without even thinking about it! When you say 'I want the big cookie' — big is a describing word. When you say 'My new shoes are shiny' — new and shiny are both describing words.
Describing words make our language more interesting and exact. Without them, every sentence would be plain and boring. With them, your writing comes alive! Try adding a describing word to any noun and see how it changes: dog becomes fluffy dog, house becomes tiny house, pizza becomes cheesy pizza.
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Color | red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange |
| Size | big, small, tall, short, tiny, huge |
| Feel/Texture | soft, rough, bumpy, smooth, fluffy, hard |
| Taste/Smell | sweet, sour, salty, stinky, yummy |
| Number | one, two, three, many, few, some |
Key terms
- describing word
- A word that tells more about a noun — also called an adjective
- adjective
- The grammar word for a describing word
- color words
- Describing words that name a color — red, blue, green, yellow
- size words
- Describing words that tell how big or small — tiny, huge, tall, short
Flashcards
- describing word
- A word that tells more about a noun — also called an adjective
- color words
- Red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple, pink, black, white
- size words
- Big, small, tall, short, tiny, huge, long, wide
- texture/feel words
- Soft, rough, smooth, bumpy, fluffy, hard, sticky
- taste/smell words
- Sweet, sour, salty, spicy, stinky, yummy, bitter
- adjective
- The grammar name for a describing word — tells more about nouns
Practice questions
Which word is a describing word?
- dog
- run
- fluffy
- park
Show answer
Answer: fluffy
Fluffy tells us what something feels or looks like — it describes a noun. Dog=noun, run=action, park=place noun.
In 'a big red ball,' both 'big' and 'red' are describing words.
Show answer
Answer: True
Big tells us about size and red tells us about color — both are describing words telling us more about the ball.
Describing words are also called ___ .
Show answer
Answer: adjectives
Adjectives is the grammar term for describing words — they modify or describe nouns.
Which word describes size?
- sweet
- blue
- tiny
- soft
Show answer
Answer: tiny
Tiny tells us how small something is — it is a size word. Sweet=taste, blue=color, soft=texture.
'Happy' is a describing word.
Show answer
Answer: True
Happy describes how someone feels — it tells us more about a person, so it is a describing word.
Fun facts
- English has more adjectives than most other languages — over 50,000 different describing words!
- Some colors get their names from objects: orange was named after the fruit, and violet was named after the flower.
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