Order of abjectives in English.

The order in which adjectives usually present in English is:rC3

  1. Opinion
  2. Size
  3. Physical quality
  4. Shape
  5. Age
  6. Color
  7. Origin
  8. Material
  9. Type
  10. Purpose

Following ontological parasitism which more or less suggests that what we consider objects are just collected properties of collections of matter, the order of adjectives leading into a noun suggests we are intuitively aware of the relationship between properties and objects. Nouns are essentially just large groups of properties presumed to be together. The list of adjectives before that group of properties is ordered roughly by specificity, ascending.rV1


  1. Vsauce, “Do Chairs Exist?,” YouTube video, 37:51, 2021-09-14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXW-QjBsruE. (See notes.)

  2. “Adjectives: Order,” accessed May 6, 2023, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/adjectives-order. (See notes.)