Strong Adjective Collocations
Learn which intensifiers naturally pair with which adjectives: deeply concerned, highly unlikely, utterly ridiculous, and more.
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Terms in this deck
- deeply concernedvery worried about something
- highly unlikelyvery improbable, almost certainly not going to happen
- utterly ridiculouscompletely absurd or silly
- bitterly disappointedvery upset that something didn't happen as hoped
- strongly opposedvery much against something
- widely recognizedknown and accepted by many people
- fully awarecompletely conscious or informed of something
- badly neededurgently required
- highly recommendedstrongly suggested as good
- deeply rootedfirmly established, especially of beliefs or traditions
- utterly exhaustedcompletely worn out, with no energy left
- bitterly coldextremely and unpleasantly cold
- heavily influencedstrongly affected or shaped by something
- widely acceptedbelieved or agreed on by most people
- purely coincidentalhappening entirely by chance, not planned
- highly competitivevery much focused on winning or succeeding over others
- deeply movedstrongly emotionally affected
- totally unacceptablecompletely not okay or tolerable
- severely limitedgreatly restricted
- readily availableeasy to obtain or find
- strictly forbiddennot allowed under any circumstances
- closely relatedconnected in a significant, meaningful way
- extremely rarevery uncommon
- perfectly finecompletely acceptable or okay
- absolutely essentialcompletely necessary
- painfully obviousso clear it's almost uncomfortable to point out
- overwhelmingly positiveshowing a very large majority in favor of something
- uniquely qualifiedhaving very special or rare qualifications for something
- vastly differentextremely different from something else
- remarkably similarsurprisingly alike
- notoriously difficultknown and famous for being hard
- blatantly obviousextremely and openly clear
- mildly annoyingslightly irritating
- wildly popularextremely popular, more than expected
- considerably highernoticeably greater in amount
- sharply dividedsplit into clearly opposing groups or opinions
- profoundly gratefuldeeply and sincerely thankful
- sorely missedstrongly missed or needed
- harshly criticizedstrongly and severely criticized
- firmly establishedsolidly and securely set up or accepted
- critically importantextremely important, essential
- seriously injuredbadly hurt, more than a minor injury
How to study this deck
In English each adjective has adverbs it sounds natural with: "deeply concerned" is correct, but "highly concerned" is less so. These pairs are not translated word by word, so they must be learned as blocks. Study each collocation with its full sentence and use them in emails and essays to sound more natural.
The trickiest words
- highly unlikely: it means very improbable. With "unlikely" you use highly.
- bitterly disappointed: it means deeply disappointed. Bitterly goes with negative emotions.
- fully aware: it means completely conscious of something. It is more natural than "very aware".
Examples in context
We are deeply concerned about the delays.
She's widely recognized as an expert in her field.
She was utterly exhausted after the trip.
It's a highly competitive job market.
The two issues are closely related.
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
The mistake was blatantly obvious.
I am profoundly grateful for your support.
Mini dialogue
- A: Is the plan going to work?
- B: It is highly unlikely.
- A: I am deeply concerned about the budget.
- B: We are fully aware of it, and strongly opposed to more cuts.