Adjectivalize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To transform a noun or other word into an adjective form; to adapt or convert words so they function as descriptors; to create descriptive terms from non-adjective roots
2. To modify a base word, usually a noun or verb, to serve as an adjective; to form attributive or predicative descriptive terms from original parts of speech; to change word class to express qualities or attributes
3. To convert or adapt terms from various parts of speech into adjective forms; to generate modifiers that describe or characterize; to turn words into adjective usage for descriptive purposes

Etymology: "Adjectivalize" is a plain formation: it combines "adjectival," the adjective-form of "adjective," with the suffix "-ize," which turns a base into a verb meaning to make or to render something a certain way. So the word literally means to make something adjectival, or to convert it into an adjective. The base "adjectival" itself comes from "adjective," which traces back through Latin "adjectivus," meaning added or attached, from "adjicere," to throw or add to. An adjective is, in this sense, a word added to a noun to describe it, and "adjectival" marks something as belonging to that role. The suffix "-ize" comes through Late Latin and Greek "-izein," used for building verbs that express making or treating something in a given way. Because the word is built transparently from familiar parts, it reads as a technical coinage rather than a term with a long popular history. It is the kind of word grammarians and language teachers reach for when describing how a noun, verb or phrase takes on the function of an adjective.

Synonyms: adjectivize, modify adjectivally, make adjectival, adjectivise, turn into adjective

Antonyms: nounify, verbify, remove adjectives, de-adjectivize, de-adjectivise