ENGLISH FLUENCY SECRETS | 21 Essential Adjectives to Build Your Vocabulary

Hi there, this is Harry. Welcome back to advanced  English lessons with Harry, where I try to  

help you to get a better understanding of the  English language. Helping you with all sorts of  

vocabulary, adverbs, adjectives, nouns. Okay, this  is an advanced English lesson and in this lesson,  

we're looking at adjectives and we're looking at  Advanced English adjectives, I've 21 in total.

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Now, these, as I said are advanced adjectives  and they're really important particularly when  

it comes to doing proficiency exams or the IELTS  or CAE. It's really good to have adjectives,  

it's easy to write an essay, it's easy to write  some lines. But when you get extra marks or  

you win points, it's when you use adjectives and  adverbs in the right way because adjectives always  

describe nouns. So instead of just talking about  the cat, we want to talk about the enormous black  

cat. Or we want to talk about the view from our  hotel window. It's this stunningly beautiful view.  

So you need to know the type of adjectives that  go, and can you be used to describe a particular  

noun and then that way, you're going to get  extra marks. So the whole idea of this particular  

lesson is to give you these adjectives all about  reviewing and how you review different things.

Okay, so as I said, I've got 21 of them. I'm  going to go through them one by one. And I say,  

well, I'll give you an example. So number  one is exhilarating. So just be careful with  

the pronunciation here as well. exhilarating,  exhilarating, is a form of excitement. Okay,  

so if you went to a Formula One race, if you're  lucky enough to go to a Formula One race,  

you might say that the atmosphere  was exhilarating, really exciting,  

the noise of the cars, the buzz  from the crowd, the engines revving  

the lights flashing the sound as the cars  rev up, and then boom, they're off. Okay,  

so you can find that and describe it as really  exhilarating, had a wonderful, wonderful time.

Overhyped is number two. Now, when we  talk about something being really really  

good or fantastic or amazing, sometimes we  slightly exaggerate or we talk about it,  

the way our friends talk about it, even though we  may not have witnessed it ourselves or sampled it  

ourselves. So sometimes we talk it up too much.  And then when other people go to see the show,  

or read the book or watch the movie, that very  disappointed. Why because all of the talk about  

that movie that show that book has been overhyped.  And overhyped means we've built it up too much.  

And it doesn't live up to expectations.  So something that has been overhyped,  

fails to live up to expectations. You could  be talking about a football match. Okay,  

so it's a big match coming up. Two really great  teams are going to play each other full of stars  

all costing lots and lots of money. And then  when the game happens, room, it's so dull and  

boring. Neither team wants to lose. So the play  is really negative. And at the end of the game,  

he said for a while that was really overhyped.  I was expecting something amazing. And I thought  

after 25 minutes it was the dullest game I had  ever seen. So something like a football match  

or special occasion or a movie Yes, they can  be overhyped because we talk them up too much.

Number three, atmospheric atmospheric is about  the atmosphere what you feel like when you get  

there. So you could be talking about a new  disco, a new club that is opened in the town,  

and you heard about it from your friends  and you decide to go along. And when you  

meet your friends the next day or  the next weekend, you say, Wow,  

that place is so atmospheric. When you walk  in the music, it's all bouncing off the walls,  

wonderful lighting, great dance floor. The DJ  is amazing, really an atmospheric place you can  

feel it as soon as you go in the places hopping  adds a real buzz to it. So very atmospheric,  

meaning the atmosphere is electric, you could  almost touch it or feel it. It's so exciting.

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Number four, action-packed. Lots of things can  be action-packed, you can have an action-packed  

holiday, you come back from your summer holidays  and your colleagues or friends are asking well,  

how was it? Wow, it was a real action-packed  holiday from beginning to the end, we didn't  

have a moment. One day we were hiking. The next  day we were horseback riding. The next day,  

we were whitewater rafting and canoeing and I  forgotten half of the activities that we did. But  

I can honestly say this was the most action-packed  holiday I have ever had. So action-packed means  

real activity, not necessarily daring sports, or  risky sports or extreme sports, but just something  

that keeps you occupied, active, on the go the  whole time a real action-packed. Now, simple way  

to describe something as action-packed could be  a movie like a movie about the Second World War,  

or a movie about invasion of another planet.  Star Wars-type movies where there's something  

happening every minute, dogfights in the sky  with the different rockets and spaceships  

and whatever they might be. So these can be  action-packed or Fast and Furious movies where  

there's constant car chases. Chases and crashes  and all sorts of things happening, they are  

also action-packed. So something where there's  action from the beginning until the very end.

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Number five powerful. It's a probably a better  known adjective and powerful can be something  

that really gets you thinking that something  where the storyline is really deep. So if  

you're watching a movie, it might not have a  lot of action. So it's not that type of power,  

but the message is very powerful. It could be  about slavery, or it could be about other moving  

actions of children separated from parents. So  it's a very powerful movie with great meaning and  

you're really watching it and want wanting  to know what happens. It's not as I said,  

the exciting film that has you sitting  on the edge of your seat, of course,  

but it is something that is powerful  in terms of the message that it sends.

Cliched. Cliched it is something that is  repeated time and time again, you know,  

the typical type of movie, particularly American  movies, the romantic comedy where boy meets girl,  

girl falls in love with boy, boy falls in  love with girl get married, something happens,  

they split up, and then at the end, they come  back together again, all lovey-dovey again,  

and then they... everything is as it was  before. So this is a very cliched story,  

meaning it's been repeated time and time again.  And no matter what the name of the movie is,  

no matter who the actors are, you could actually  write the script yourself because it's very  

cliched something that's used over and over  again. And usually it's used over and over again,  

because they're usually successful.  And people like to watch them because  

they like the whole idea of romantic movies,  particularly though the romantic comedy movies,  

okay, so these can be very cliched, you know  almost instinctively what's going to be said,  

you know almost instinctively what the action  is going to be and you know almost instinctively  

the key points in the movie, particularly say  Christmas movies, you know, there are lots of  

them, and the storyline is almost exactly the  same. But guess what? We watch them because we  

are suckers for those soft romantic movies. And  even though they are cliched, they make us laugh,  

they make us smile, or they make us feel cosy and  warm, coming up to Christmas. So that's cliched.

Number seven gripping. So how would we use  that to describe or review something? Well,  

gripping is usually something that has your  attention. Okay, so that's something really keeps  

you on the edge of your seat, it could be a book,  it could be a story, it could be an action movie,  

it could be a play in the theatre, that all of  those type of performances, that will be really,  

really gripping. But gripping usually means  there's a huge amount of volatility in the movie,  

when the emotions are going up and down,  and it really brings you to the edge,  

when you're never really sure what's going  to happen. A murder could take place,  

somebody disappears. Yeah, it really makes your  toes curl and hair on the back of your neck stand  

up. So the excitement is there for everybody  to see and to feel it's really electric. And  

this is how we would describe something that  is gripping. Okay, now you could be watching  

a series of these box sets series on TV that  Netflix and Apple TV produced from time to time,  

so you can't wait for the next episode. And  then when the season is over, you're waiting  

for season two, and then season three. So these  are can often be gripping and people watch them  

one after the other, for the very reason that  they are gripping they watch the first episode,  

and I'll just watch the second one. And the  second one leads to the third one. And before  

you know it, you've spent half the night sitting  up watching this gripping series and you want to  

talk about it with your friends, when  you meet them the next time you meet.

Compelling. Well, something can be compelling that  it it gets your attention. Yes. So even though it  

might not be something you're particularly  interested in, or even though it's not  

something that's your genre that you normally  like, but the acting is such a high level,  

or the storyline is so detailed that is... it  has an makes for compelling viewing. So maybe  

it's specifically made for TVs and the technology  that they've used is really state-of-the-art. And  

this means that you're really interested to  watch it. And that would make for compelling  

viewing. So something that is compelling means  you're really driven to watch it even though it  

might not be necessarily your cup of tea. So  it as I said that could be anything that's a  

book can be compelling. A theatre performance can  be compelling. The movie can can be compelling,  

or something that's playing out in politics  in your local city or country. This could  

be compelling new, because it's it's really  exciting. At the time of Brexit a few years ago,  

and even though it might have not affected  people directly, the number of people who  

spoke to be about about it, who wanted to discuss  it, wanted to understand it, even though they may  

not have been directly involved in politics  or had a great interest in politics, the whole  

idea of Britain moving away from the European  Union and establishing themselves once again  

as an independent country. So this was really  compelling viewing and watching and listening.

Number nine implausible. Implausible means  something that you just simply cannot  

believe. Okay, usually when we talk about  implausible, we talk about excuses, okay,  

so it's really good to use it in the right way.  So if you're writing an essay, or you're trying  

to explain something, then I would use implausible  specifically when you're talking about stories,  

okay? For example, kids who lose the homework  or don't do the homework, or are always trying  

to find some excuse to tell the teacher most of  the excuses that they think up are completely  

implausible. And nobody is ever going to believe  them. How could you possibly believe that? That's  

completely implausible. How could you expect me  to believe that, it's completely implausible. When  

does a dog ever eat the homework? Okay, when would  you leave your homework on the bus and forget  

which bus you were on? I mean, really, these  stories are completely implausible. So usually,  

we're talking about something that's implausible,  which is a white lie that somebody tells to get  

out of a sticky situation. You might you have  a problem forgotten a meeting with a client,  

for example. And so you're trying to think of how  am I going to tell him that I forgot the meeting,  

maybe I'll tell them the dog was sick, or  maybe I'll tell them my wife was sick, or maybe  

I'll tell them I lost my laptop or my something  happened with the technology. So these excuses.  

Ah... they might be plausible, but you know, at  the end of the day, it's better to tell the truth  

and just simply own up. Okay, forgot I was under  a bit of pressure, I forgot I'm really sorry. So  

otherwise you're telling lies and really people  can see through them because they are implausible.

Number 10. So we're almost halfway there. Number  10. Sentimental. Now, sentimental means something  

that pulls at the heartstrings a little bit.  Yeah. So those sentimental stories, again,  

going back to those American-style movies, perhaps  where young boy's parents die when he's very, very  

young. And he's brought up by his grandparents, or  he's got a dog, it's his only friend. And perhaps  

the boy has some emotional problems. And the dog  is the only thing that he can communicate with.  

And the dog gets sick and the boy is really upset.  So this really pulls at your heartstrings. It's  

very emotional, and very sentimental. So we get  a little bit weepy over movies and stories like  

that. So sentimental will describe those type of  reviews and quite a good way. People can be very  

sentimental, they can be attached to certain  belongings that they have, okay, so they don't  

want to get rid of a particular coat or a jacket,  because it has sentimental value, they don't  

want to get rid of a particular ring or piece of  jewellery that the mother or grandmother left them  

again, because it has what they call sentimental  value. So when we're reviewing something,  

and we're going to describe it as sentimental,  it's that type of approach where it makes somebody  

feel a little bit emotional, some attachment  to the particular item, whether that's a book,  

a movie, a piece of jewellery, whatever, it  might be sentimental. Okay, so that's number 10.

So we're on to number 11. Now, earlier, we said  and we use the word implausible, now we're going  

to use the word credible, which is effectively  the opposite. So in something is credible, it's  

believable. So when we used implausible, it meant  that it wasn't really believable. And credible, is  

the opposite credible, is believable, a credible  story, okay. So sometimes when we watch movies,  

they're a little bit as I would say, far-fetched  meaning, you need a really good imagination,  

to look at them in a way where you can think of it  as reality. But if something is credible, then you  

can honestly look at that book, read it and look  at the movie, and watch it. And you can see some  

credibility in it, there's a an ounce or a part  of it that is credible, because you can understand  

it. Okay, so when something is credible, than it  is believable. So we often hear stories that are  

credible, the plans for the city. So if you're  looking at new plans for the development of your  

city, even though they're not going to take place  for several years, it's all credible, because you  

can see it you can see a little architects design.  Words are one thing, but actual something that you  

can touch with your hands, see with your own eyes,  makes it somewhat credible. So that whole idea  

of the rejuvenation of your city centre makes the  story really, really credible. And if governments  

are looking at raising taxes, because they need  extra funds to to pay for this to make your city  

to bring your city into the 21st century to  get it ready for the 22nd century, then yes,  

it can be credible. And yes, you may well, as a  result, be willing to pay the additional taxes.

Number 12. Impressive. Well, we've all used  this word before when we look at something,  

we hear something, we read something, and we say  yeah, that was really impressive that that left  

a mark on me. So if you're listening to a lecture  from a professor, or you're, you go to listen to  

a lecture on your modern architecture, modern  technology, some aspects to do with science,  

you're just interested in hearing what people say,  you can walk away from those lectures thinking,  

Wow, that guy is really impressive. You know, he  really commands the stage, his use of figures,  

that pictures he had, it was really a very,  very impressive performance. And he had really  

believe in what he has to say. So people who  can use visual effects to backup their story,  

people who can use charts in a way that will make  the story sound more realistic. This can often be  

very impressive. Yeah, that young man, and that  young girl, really impressive. I think they're  

going to go a lot Long way. So somebody who leaves  an impression, somebody who leaves you thinking,  

yep, I can believe in that this would be a  good way to describe that adjective impressive.

Next stunning. Well, we often use stunning when  we're talking about views in particular. So we've  

been on a holiday. And we're describing the view  from our hotel balcony, we're describing a view  

from the top of a canyon. We're describing  the view from the top of the mountain slopes,  

and we've gone on a ski holiday, then the  word stunning is a word that we would use  

and would be very familiar with stunning  views, stunning scenery, and you could  

then use the adverb stunningly, stunningly  beautiful. Okay, so something can be stunning,  

or can mean stunningly beautiful. So use that  as an adverb or an adjective. But we don't have  

to limit ourselves to scenery and views when we  want to use stunning because it's a word that can  

describe many, many things. You could describe a  dress that your friend is wearing for her wedding,  

and she's really spent a lot of money on  it, but she's gone to a lot of trouble to  

get the ideal fit for her the length. And  when you see her off, she looked stunning,  

the dress was stunning, the design was stunning.  So it doesn't just have to be the things in  

nature can also be things like, outfits,  dresses, and all sorts of aspects like that.

Okay, number 14. Now, this is goes the in  the opposite direction, we're talking about  

disappointing. It's a common adjective. And we  can use it to describe lots of things that don't  

actually match up to our expectations. We go back  to the football game. Yeah, it was disappointing.  

The meal I had last night while I was expecting  it to be a little bit better. But unfortunately,  

the food was a little bit overcooked. So it was  disappointing. The results you got in your test,  

were a little disappointing,  you're expecting higher marks,  

you'd worked really, really hard. But one or  two of the questions just didn't suit you. And  

you didn't do so well. And you knew coming  out of the exam that you didn't do as well  

as you thought you should have. And that could  be turned out to be a little disappointing. So  

when you're reviewing your performance of  that particular paper, or several papers,  

you know the reasons why and it is disappointing,  so we can use that word disappointing.

Number 15. Innovative. Well, innovative is  about all about being new, something different,  

something original, so we can use it in the  modern world, particularly with technology,  

things are changing on a regular basis. You know,  it's hard to keep up with it all of the time. So,  

technology is often described as innovative. But  it doesn't have to be big, big technology can  

be simple things like applications, something  that somebody hadn't thought of, I'm sure when  

somebody introduced an application that would  allow allow you to measure the steps you take  

every day. So all you have to do is slip your  mobile phone into your pocket, go out for your  

walk. And when you come back, you check the app  app, and then you've done your 10,000 or 12,000  

or 14,000 steps that's very innovative, or it was  at the time that it was developed. So innovative,  

describe something new, something really  useful, something that nobody else had  

thought of. And something that brings you right  into, as we said, the 21st century innovative.

Number 16 tedious. Well, tedious really means  something difficult, drawn out and boring to  

do. Yeah, so lots of work that we do can  be very tedious. It takes a lot of time,  

there's a lot of detail for perhaps you've got  to do a lot of data entry. So you spend your  

time filling in fields on an Excel spreadsheet.  That's a good way to describe tedious because  

it's boring. It's an interesting, and you're  not quite sure what exactly you're doing. Okay,  

so that could be very, very tedious.  So if you're reviewing something else,  

that could be tedious. It could  be a storyline that's really,  

really slow in the play, or the plot in the book  and you're really waiting for something to happen,  

but nothing actually does. You're really waiting  for the excitement to arrive. But it never does.  

So you could describe it as particularly tedious.  The conversations were slow, the action was  

non existent. It was like going to the dentist  waiting to have a tooth pulled extremely tedious.

Okay, so the next word, entertaining a little  better known adjective. I'm sure everybody  

understands the word entertaining, and we can  use it to describe many In many situations,  

for example, a visit to the circus can be  entertaining it doesn't mean that you have  

to be splitting your sides laughing all  the time. Although there are funny clowns  

in the circus then they will be amusing  but entertaining is something that is  

something for all of the family. Yeah,  it was a really entertaining evening,  

there were acrobats there were the guys walking  on the high wire the trapeze artists, everybody  

was entertained. So it was entertaining for the  whole family or really good family. Entertainment.  

So entertaining means something that keeps  you occupied as usually good value for money.

18 memorable. Now memorable Is that something  that leaves a lasting memory for you something  

that you can remember for a long, long time.  So special events in our lives are memorable,  

or wedding day, of course, the birth  of our children, a special birthday,  

a 40th birthday or 50th of the day in which  we retire. They all can be memorable and when  

we look back, we've got lots of normally good  memories. So if you're looking at photographs,  

then you you can remember when they were taken  you can remember the people in the photographs  

you can remember the situation all of this is  memorable, something that will leave a lasting  

mark on your memory. Yeah, because there are  lots of things in our lives that we would like  

to forget and we forget very quickly but  something good something happy something  

that brings a smile to our face. Something  that was really touching can be memorable.

Unconvincing. Number 19 is unconvincing. Now  unconvincing a little bit similar to we have  

implausible. Implausible we said was something you  just couldn't believe. But unconvincing not quite  

the same. You can give somebody the benefit of the  doubt. But you're not convinced the so the story  

was unconvincing. Yeah. I was listening many, many  years ago to the debates between Hillary Clinton  

and Donald Trump for the presidential election.  But neither of them to me was very convincing  

when they were asked detailed questions about the  economy, or how they would handle foreign affairs.  

They weren't convincing. They were unconvincing.  So you know, when you're listening to somebody,  

you're trying to get their side of an  argument, trying to see whether they  

can persuade you to change your mind. If they  don't persuade you to change that your mind,  

then it's unconvincing. Yep. Okay. So when you're  not convinced by what somebody has put forward,  

then it doesn't make any impression on you.  So their arguments were very unconvincing.

Number 20, excruciating, excruciating. So  just be careful here with the pronunciation  

excruciating. A visit to the dentist can be  excruciating. If you're getting an extraction,  

a tooth taken out, and they thought of a  needle going into the gum, you know that  

all wincing with pain, excruciating. Okay, so  that's something really, really painful. Now,  

when we're reviewing something like a really,  really bad theatre performance, a really poor  

movie. It's really, really slow. We can say  off. It's so bad, excruciating. Yeah. I mean,  

you have to sit there, watch it, listen to it,  read it. Really, really painful. No action,  

and no entertainment. I don't know who made  this particular movie or who directed this  

particular play. But it is really painful. I'd  prefer to stay at home and watch paint dry. It  

was excruciating, slow, uninteresting,  and downright boring, excruciating.

And then finally, moving. Something that  is moving usually affects the emotions,  

okay. So these could be really interesting  stories, where people have lost everything  

and they have to move from one country to  another, perhaps the family has been split up,  

and then eventually they reunite after years of  struggling or perhaps they are fighting for their  

rights. And every time that they put forward  some argument or evidence, it's shut down, and  

they can get no justice, that can be very moving  something that really pulls at the heartstrings,  

that tests your emotions, you have to hold back  the tears on deed, perhaps you're not able to  

hold back the tears because it does move you  to tears listening to those sorts of stories.

Okay, so these are all things that we can talk  about when we are reviewing any particular  

activity, whether it's a book, movie, whether it's  a theatre production, a speech made by somebody,  

arguments, political or otherwise, all of these  adjectives they given you can be used some way in  

relation to those. So just try and practice them,  you won't remember them all. Of course, you won't,  

but try to use some of them. Particularly if  you want to prepare for those proficiency exams.  

You really would like to use some of these when  you're describing photos or if you're describing  

situations and these are certainly words that  you can use. And if you need any more help you  

need any more examples when of course you can  contact me very happy to help you very happy  

to give you more situations when you can use  them if that's what you need. Okay, so this is  

Harry saying thank you for watching. Thank you for  listening, and join me again for the next lesson.