It would be impossible to live in a world without nouns. Many nouns like to be dressed up, or modified, and that's where adjectives come in. They're a fascinating and colorful bunch. We have the obvious descriptors like "nice" and "smart."

But, what about words like "any" and "every"? "Any" is a distributive adjective, used to single out the particular noun or pronoun they're about to modify. Let's take a look at this fascinating group of words, beginning with all the popular adjectives that start with A.

What Is an Adjective?

Adjectives have a very important role. They modify one of the most commonly used parts of speech: nouns. They provide further information, indicating characteristics like size, shape, color, and more. They answer questions like, "Which one?" "How many?" "Whose?" and "What kind?" So, with an adjective, the "friend" becomes the "acrimonious" friend.

50 Adjectives Starting With A

There are hundreds of adjectives that begin with the letter A, so they won't all appear here. Try thinking up some of your own to add to this list. It can be fun to sit somewhere you can watch the world go by and think of as many new adjectives as you can. It refreshes your vocabulary, makes you more of a crossword pro, and helps you master off-the-cuff puns.

For some reason, alliteration, or the repetition of consonant sounds, is interesting to the ear. Assonance, or the repetition of vowel sounds, is also catchy. In order to help you implement these literary devices - and more - into your writing, let's begin a study of A adjectives.

Here are our top 50, chosen because they are used so commonly in everyday speech:

Adjective	Definition	Synonym
able	to have the skills or strength to do a task	adept, apt, proficient
absolute	something that is 100 percent complete with no exceptions	definite, assured, certain
academic	relating to schooling, learning	collegiate, learned, scholastic
acceptable	of a satisfactory or agreeable level	adequate, average, decent
accessible	something that is easily reached or entered	convenient, handy, nearby
accurate	correct, without error	errorless, correct, unquestionable
acrimonious	when someone or something is bitter or harsh in manner or speech	sharp, rancorous, caustic
active	having or engaging in movement	agile, mobile, dynamic
actual	existing at the present time	authentic, bona fide, real
adamant	a refusal to change; hard and unyielding	inflexible, resolute, fixed
additional	extra or supplementary to what is already there	extra, more, supplemental
administrative	involved in carrying out of duties and responsibilities	executive, managerial, official
advanced	ahead in position, time, manner	ahead, foremost, progressive
advantageous	creating favorable circumstances that increase the likelihood of success	beneficial, favorable, profitable
aeronautical	relating to the science or understanding of flight	air, flight
affordable	something you're financially capable of purchasing	economical, cheap, frugal
afraid	to be filled with fear or regret	apprehensive, cowardly, fearful
African	of or relating to Africa or its people, languages, or cultures	Afro, Nigerian, Zulu
aggressive	prone to being competitive and makes strong attempts to win	ambitious, assertive, contentious
agoraphobic	relating to the fear of open or public places	fearful, afraid, anxious
alive	being active, full of life	active, animate, zestful
alluvial	relating to or found in alluvium, sediment left by flowing water	earthy, geotic, temporal
amazing	full of wonder or excitement	astonishing, astounding, marvelous
ambidextrous	being able to use both hands with aptitude	equal-handed
ambivalent	mixed or contradictory ideas about someone or something	uncertain, irresolute, conflicted
American	a person or thing from the United States	patriot, Yankee, Yank
amoral	without morals	uncivilized, unethical, corrupt
ancient	old, often very old	aged, archaic, old
androgenous	possessing both male and female qualities	bisexual, cross-sexual, trans-sexual
angelic	someone exceptionally kind or beautiful	otherworldly, heavenly, ethereal
annual	happening yearly	yearly, seasonal, yearlong
anonymous	unknown, usually by choice	incognito, nameless, unidentified
applicable	something appropriate or relevant	appropriate, apt, befitting
appropriate	something that is suitable and proper	applicable, apropos, well-chosen
ardent	a deep level of enthusiasm or passion	fervent, passionate, zealous
astronomical	derived from astronomy, this denotes something really large	celestial, heavenly, planetary
attractive	appealing, drawing attention	alluring, appealing, beautiful
audio	anything relating to sound	phonic, aural, auditory
auricular	relating to the ear or sense of hearing	audible, phonic, otic
Australian	of or relating to Australia	Aussie
automatic	done by habit	habitual, instinctive, natural
avaricious	extremely greedy	grasping, covetous, mercenary
available	ready for use	accessible, attainable, obtainable
average	normal, typical	common, fair, median
avuncular	relating to your uncle	counseling, helping, advising
aware	to know, see or realize something	alert, alive, apprised, knowing
awesome	impressive, inspiring admiration	wonderful, remarkable, impressive
azure	something bright blue in color, resembling a cloudless sky	cerulean, sky blue, deep blue

There are many adjectives that start with A. After all, A is the first letter in the alphabet and one of the most commonly used letters in the English language.

In America, you want to get straight "A's" on your report card. In England, you have to finish your "A" levels before completing your secondary education. The top dog is always the "alpha."

When playing cards, the card everyone wants to have in their hand is the one conspicuously marked with the letter A, the ace.

All sentient creatures are capable of experiencing a moment of understanding, also known as an "aha moment." In these moments, the brain lights up with activity, creating a positively euphoric moment. Coincidence? Indeed not, an A is always good.

Types of Adjectives

Since adjectives are so colorful and common, there are many different types.

The most recognizable type is the descriptive adjective. These express common ideals such as, "His house has a pretty front porch."
Have you ever heard of predicate adjectives? These are adjectives that arise after the linking verb in the sentence. For example: "He is kind." In this example, "kind" is still an adjective, even though it doesn't come before the noun it's modifying. "Kind" is still modifying "he," keeping it in the adjective category.
Coordinate adjectives are small groups of adjectives that come together to modify the same noun. For example, "It was a bright and sunny day."

Adjectives are far more multifaceted than we realize. They're not just words like "pretty" and "nice." Check out this extensive article, Types of Adjectives, to learn more.

10 Example Sentences

Ready to see these words modify noun after noun? Here are ten of the above adjectives in action:

This red dress is an absolute must.
Just ignore her acrimonious speech.
What an advantageous position to be in.
Why is he so ambivalent toward his own sister?
It's time to stop living in such an amoral manner.
His little four-year-old is absolutely angelic .
This is an anonymous headstone.
She's an automatic worrier.
Let's forgo an avaricious lifestyle focused on material possessions.
Your dad's taken on an avuncular role in my life.

Awesome Additional Adjectives

Wasn't that fun? Were you able to pick up any new terms and commit them to memory? Why not keep that pad and paper handy and see if you can jot down a few more additions with this lengthy List of Common Adjective Words? Here's to your new and expanded vocabulary

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Adjectives That Start with A

By YourDictionary

It would be impossible to live in a world without nouns. Many nouns like to be dressed up, or modified, and that’s where adjectives come in. They’re a fascinating and colorful bunch. We have the obvious descriptors like “nice” and “smart.” But, what about words like “any” and “every”? “Any” is a distributive adjective, used to single out the particular noun or pronoun they’re about to modify. Let’s take a look at this fascinating group of words, beginning with all the popular adjectives that start with A.