Adjectives That Start with W

Looking for adjectives that start with "W?" The letter "W" has a long history of being a somewhat confused letter. When the Greeks borrowed the letter W from the ancient Egyptians, who used the letter as a hieroglyphic that represented a snake, the Greeks gave the letter "W" two letters in their alphabet. The Greeks used the "W" as the basis for both an "F" type letter, and a "U" type letter. When the Romans then borrowed the letter from the Greeks, they made things even more confusing by using the W almost interchangeable with the U and the V. Some time after the middle ages, the U and the V evolved into their own letters in the English language, and the "W" began to firmly represent the "W" sound, but in many foriegn languages, W's are still pronounced as V's and vice versa.

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Given the W's confusing history, its no surprise that the letter "W" continues to create confusion today. One reason the letter "W" can be confusing is because the letter "W" makes lots of different sounds, depending on the context. Sometimes, it makes a "wuh" sound, like in wonder or walk or why. Sometimes, it makes a softer, "voiceless" sound, like in the word whisper or wish. Other times, like in the word "two" or "whole," it makes no sound at all.

Adjectives that Start with W

"W" is a wonderful letter for adjectives. Not only does it give us the adjective "Wonderful," but it is also part of Wonder Woman's title.  There are plenty of other famous "w" adjectives too: a famous musical based on the Wizard of Oz borrowed the "W" adjective Wicked as its name, a classic book Wuthering Heights uses the adjective Wuthering (windy), and the word "Weird" may be one of the most commonly used, all-purpose descriptive adjectives in the English language to describe a wide variety of different types of oddities. Although you don't necessarily think of "W" as a very common letter, there are still too many "W" adjectives to list them all... but here is a list of 20. If you are very wise, perhaps you can think of many more "W" adjectives to list.

1. Wacky: Crazy, unusual. The wacky idea was so unusual that everyone loved it and it saved the company.
2. Warm: Having moderate heat. The warm room was very comfortable after being outside in the cold all day
3. Weak: Lacking in strength. The weak boy was unable to lift even the light weights.
4. Wealthy: Having lots of money or possessions. The wealthy man was able to buy his own plane and his own island.
5. Wet: moist. Wet dogs do not smell very good.
6. White: Having the color of milk. The white room was stark and lacking in color or decoration.
7. Wide: Extending over a large area. The wide reach of the book made it very influential.
8. Wild: In a natural state, uncontrolled. Wild animals are much more interesting to observe than those in the zoo, but they can be dangerous.
9. Willful: Stubborn, not easily controlled. The willful girl did not take direction or orders very well.
10. Windy: Characterized by wind (breezes). The windy day made it impossible to have a pinic since everything kept blowing away.
11. Withering: Shriveling, shrinking. The withering plants deseperately needed to be watered.
12. Witty: Clever, funny, quick witted. The witty boy made all of his classmates laugh with delight.
13. Woebegone: Woeful, sad. She had a woebegone expression after she was told she could not go to the dance.
14. Wobbly: Unstable. The wobbly baby took her first steps.
15. Wonderous: Amazing, wonderful. Her first birthday was a wonderous occasion.
16. Worldly: Sophisticated. The wordly girl had traveled all over Europe and the United states.
17. Worrisome: Causing worry or concern. The worrisome news from the doctor made mother tense.
18. Wretched: Deeply distressed or unhappy. I really wanted to help the wretched boy.
19. Wrong: Incorrect. Wrong information manages to find its way into books and newspapers occasionally.
20. Wry: Sarcastic. The wry joke got the boy in trouble with the teacher, who did not find sarcasm funny.