Upper-Intermediate to Advanced English Vocabulary - Compound Adjectives

Hello everyone, Anna here  from englishlikeanative.co.uk

Thank you for joining me for this top-class, fun-filled, upper-intermediate English lesson.

Wow, what are those?

They are compound adjectives.

What is a compound adjective?

A compound adjective is made up of two or  more words that work together to describe 

a noun.

These words should be hyphenated so  that the reader knows that they are  

working together as an adjective.

Besides the compound adjectives you just heard,  other examples of compound adjectives are:

‘well-known’

This is a well-known song.

and ‘full-time’

I’m looking for a full-time job.

Compound adjectives provide a concise  and descriptive way to modify a noun,  

often conveying a specific  quality or characteristic.

Today we are covering 15 compound adjectives  that are commonly used to describe people.

Now knowing and using compound adjectives will  

help you to express yourself  more precisely and fluently.

But of course, simply having a large  vocabulary doesn’t make you fluent.

And so, if you would like to know about the  effective strategy that I use to help my students’  

reach English fluency, then come and take  part in my FREE 90-minute Fluency Masterclass.

I will leave a link in the description below  so you can see when the next class is running.

Now let’s boost your vocabulary.

Number one.

Absent-minded.

This means forgetful or lacking attention  to detail due to a preoccupied mind.

“Ah I forgot to bring the tickets with me,  

honestly I am so absent-minded at the moment,  I’m surprised I don’t forget my own name.”

The second vowel in the  word ‘absent’ is pronounced 

as a schwa /ə/, so we have  /ˈæbsənt/ rather than /ˈæbsent/.

Absent, repeat after me absent  /ˈæbsənt/, absent /ˈæbsənt/.

In the compound adjective, the T is dropped.

So we have /ˌæb sən ˈmaɪndɪd/,  absent-minded /ˌæb sən ˈmaɪndɪd/.

Next on the list is ‘bad-tempered’.

This means easily irritated or quick to anger.

“Oh, my sister’s bad-tempered husband cast  a shadow over the entire celebration.”

For this one, I want to focus on  the ending, ‘temperED’, we have the  

“-əd” sound, tempered /ˈtempəd/.

Bad-tempered /ˌbædˈtempəd/.

Moving on we have ‘big-headed’.

This means having an inflated  sense of one's own importance,  

so you think you are more important  than you are, like, to be arrogant.

“I want to hire the young celebrity but  he is so big-headed and egotistical.”

Next, ‘easy-going’. This means to  be generally relaxed and tolerant.

“It helps to be easy-going when you’re working  with kids. They are often noisy and messy.”

Now the S in ‘easy’ is pronounced  as a Z, so don’t pronounce it as  

easy-going /ˈiːSıˈgəʊıŋ/, but  as easy-going /ˈiːZıˈgəʊıŋ/.

Next we have ‘good-tempered’,  opposite to ‘bad-tempered’.

‘Good-tempered’ describes a person with  a pleasant and agreeable disposition.

“Most people think rottweilers are dangerous,  

but in my experience, they have always  been sweet and good-tempered dogs.”

Moving on. ‘Laid-back’. This means  to be relaxed not tense or stressed.

“I love eating in this restaurant because  it has a lovely, laid-back atmosphere.”

With this adjective the D at the end of ‘laid’  /leɪd/ is not released, your tongue tip moves  

up to the /d/ position on the roof of the mouth  d – d – d, but doesn’t release the /d/ sound.

Instead, your lips close ready for the B of ‘back’  

/bæk/. /ˈleı... ˈbæk/, /ˈleı... ˈbæk/.

Next, narrow-minded.

If you are narrow-minded then  you are unwilling to consider  

different ideas or opinions, you’re intolerant.

“My manager doesn’t understand the benefits of  diversity in the workplace. I am surprised he that  

he was promoted into the management team  when he has such narrow-minded views.”

When saying the word ‘narrow’  avoid tapping the R sound.

Float the tongue in the middle of the mouth to  

create this steady sound /ær/ -  narrow /ˈnærəʊ/, narrow /ˈnærəʊ/.

Narrow-minded /ˏnærəʊ`maındıd/.

Rather than /ˏnærə.../, /ˏnærə.../ /ˏnærə...  rə... rə... /. You do not want that.

Opposite to ‘narrow-minded’ is ‘open-minded’. This means you are willing to consider different  

ideas and opinions; you are open,  you’re receptive to new experiences.

“She was an open-minded teacher  who encouraged her students to  

think critically and explore new ideas.”

Moving on. We have ‘self-centred’.

This means excessively  focused on oneself, selfish.

A self-centred person will  only think about themself,  

they will put their needs  before the needs of others.

“You shouldn’t spend all your money on new clothes  and night’s out with friends if you can’t afford  

to feed your children. This sort of self-centred  behaviour makes you look like a bad parent.”

The ending of this compound adjective  

is “-əd”. Centred /ˈsentəd /, centred  /ˈsentəd /, self-centred /ˏself`sentəd/.

Also note that you will see a variation  in the spelling depending on the country,  

you may see centered ended with E-R-E-D.

Next, we have ‘self-assured’. This basically means  confident in one's own abilities or qualities.

“The self-assured athletes perform better overall  in competitions than the nervous newcomers.”

Ignore the letter R in ‘assured’  /əˈʃɔːd / and pronounce it as  

‘assured’ /əˈʃɔːd/. Self-assured /ˏself əˈʃɔːd/.

You may be able to notice that  the double S is pronounced  

as an a sh /ʃ/, shhhh self-assured /ˏself əˈʃɔːd/.

Self-assured.

Next, we have ‘strong-willed’. This  means to be determined; resolute.

“My strong-willed toddler is a handful now but  I am confident that he will achieve whatever 

he wants in life.”

Here, the ‘-NG’ can sometimes be  mispronounced as a /n/ sound (a single N),  

with the front of the tongue  touching the roof of the mouth

/n/

rather than the back of the  tongue creating the ‘NG’

/ŋ/ (ng)

So don’t say

/strɒn/

say strong /strɒŋ/

strong /strɒŋ/

strong-willed /ˌstrɒŋ ˈwɪld/.

Next, we have - thick-skinned.

This means that you are not  sensitive to criticism or insults.

You’re able to withstand adversity.

“Politicians need to be thick-skinned  as they often face a lot of criticism.”

The 'th' here should see the  tongue placed between the teeth.

Thick /θɪk/

thick /θɪk/

thick-skinned /ˌθɪk ˈskɪnd/

Moving on we have ‘tight-fisted’.

Someone that is tight-fisted  is unwilling to spend money.

A fun synonym of this is ‘stingy’.

“Don’t be tight-fisted all your  life, you can’t take your money  

with you when you die so you may  as well enjoy it, live a little.”

And there are some silent letters  here to try and confuse you.

We have tight /taɪt/

tight /taɪt/

tight-fisted /ˌtaɪt ˈfɪstəd/.

Next on the list is ‘two-faced’.

‘Two-faced’ means deceitful or hypocritical;  

you behave one way with certain people  but contradict yourself with others.

Like if you are complaining about  Jerry, saying how much you hate him,  

but then smile and behave like  his friend when you see Jerry,  

“Alright, Jerry!” Then you are two-faced.

“Do not trust anything she says to  you because she is so two-faced.”

Next, we have ‘well-balanced’. When describing a person as well-balanced it  

means they have a stable, harmonious disposition;  they are mentally and emotionally stable.

“Tina has always been a positive influence  within the group, she is just a nice,  

well-balanced young woman; always willing  to get involved and support everyone.”

Now, if you were to choose two  compound adjectives to describe  

yourself and how you are feeling  today, which two would you choose?

Let me know in the comments below.

Now, these are commonly used adjectives,  

but you can also use slang terms to describe  people, like the words I cover in this lesson.

Did you see that one?

If not, then check it out!

Until next time, take care and goodbye.