Adjectives That Start with J

The letter J has an interesting history. Prior to medieval times, it was used to represent the consonant /i/ and was pronounced as /y/. So, a word like "iest" later transformed to "jest." The letter J did not exist in ancient Latin and was later introduced to the alphabet near the end of the medieval era. Today, calligraphers have a field day writing the letter. There are many ways and styles the letter can be represented, especially with its umbrella hook at the end.

Adjectives that Start with the Letter J

1. Jovial – joyful and playful. Someone who is jovial is generally happy and has a great sense of humor.
2. Jaunty – fashionable; stylish. You don’t have to always buy expensive designer labels to be jaunty.
3. Jocund – cheerful; high spirits. If you have a jocund personality, you usually have a lot of friends and love socializing.
4. Jazzy – lively and bright (can also mean flashy). Wearing a jazzy outfit is one way to get people’s attention.
5. Jingoistic – overly nationalistic or patriotic. Some people think that wearing an American flag pin is jingoistic.
6. Judicious – showing good judgment; wise. If you are considered judicious, people usually come to you for advice.
7. Jocose – humorous; joking. Jocose people are generally the life of the party and have people laughing at their jokes.
8. Jaded – tired or dulled by experience or overindulgence. Some people get jaded the older they get.
9. Jittery – very nervous. Speaking in front of people can make you feel jittery. Another adjective that is a synonym to jitter and begins with a /j// is “jumpy.”
10. Jinxed – having bad luck or misfortune. When a lot of bad things happen to you at the same time, you can feel like you are jinxed.

J Letter Practice Test

Fill in the sentences below with one of the J adjectives above. Please note that sometimes a sentence can use more than one adjective.

1. After working about five years as a teacher, Jim got ______________ and left teaching.
2. After two cups of coffee if often feel __________________. So, I have switched to only drinking herbal tea.
3. My next door neighbor is quite a ______________ dresser. Every day I see her in a great outfit.
4. Michael usually makes ________________ decisions, but he recently quit his job because he was bored.
5. Monica is so __________________. I don’t think there has been a day when I have seen her in a bad mood.
6. After having both her car and bike stolen within a week, Ann began to think that she was __________________.
7. I hate going to July 4 parades. It feels too ________________ with all those people waving American flags.
8. The main requirements for playing Santa Claus is that you have to at least be _______________ and love children.
9. The dinner party was quite _______________. We were laughing and telling jokes for most of the evening.    

Answer Key: 1. Jaded; 2. Jittery; 3. Jaunty or Jazzy; 4. Judicious; 5. Jocund; 6. Jixed; 7. Jingoistic; 8. Jovial; 9. Jocose