Adverbs of Degree | Examples & Definition

Adverbs of degree like “extremely,” “very,” and “hardly” make the meaning of an adjective, adverb, or verb more or less intense (e.g., “The food was extremely/pretty good,” “He cooks very/fairly well,” or “He really/barely tried”).

QuillBot’s Paraphraser tool will suggest alternative adverbs of degree to help you add variety to your writing.

What is an adverb of degree?

An adverb of degree (aka “degree adverb”) modifies an adjective, another adverb, or a verb to express extent, intensity, or degree.

Adverbs of degree: Placement

Adverbs of degree typically come directly before the word that they’re modifying.

However, when you use the word enough as an adverb of degree, it comes after the adjective or adverb it’s modifying.

Very

You don’t typically use the adverb of degree very to modify adjectives that describe an absolute state or extreme quality, such as “freezing,” “excellent,” “perfect,” or “awful.”

These types of adjectives are called “non-gradable adjectives,” “ungradable adjectives,” “limit adjectives,” or “absolute adjectives.”

However, you can often use other adverbs of degree with non-gradable adjectives, such as “really,” as well as adverbs that express maximum intensity, such as “absolutely.”

Hardly

You can use the words “hardly” and “barely” before a verb or adjective to mean “to a very small extent.” “Hardly” and “barely” are often used in sentences with the modal verb “can.”

Quite

When quite is used before non-gradable adjectives, it means “absolutely,” “completely,” or “totally” and typically has a formal effect.

The adverb of degree “quite” typically means “very” when used before gradable adjectives in American English, especially in contexts where the speaker wants to persuade or convince (e.g., in sentences with the adverb “really”).

“Quite” is also sometimes used before gradable adjectives to help the speaker communicate that what they are saying may be surprising or unexpected or to tentatively give an opinion, politely contradict someone, or be modest about an achievement (e.g., in sentences with the adverb “actually”).

In these contexts, “quite” slightly weakens the intensity of the adjective.

Quite in British English

In British English, the adverb of degree “quite” is sometimes used to significantly weaken the intensity of gradable adjectives and adverbs so that it means “fairly” or “moderately.” Here, the word “quite” and the word it modifies are pronounced with equal emphasis or with more emphasis on “quite.”

In American English, it’s uncommon to use “quite” like this. However, US English speakers do sometimes use “pretty” in this way.

So

The word so is an adverb of degree when it’s used before an adjective, adverb, or the determiners “much,” “many,” “few,” or “little” to intensify its meaning.

Too

Too is an adverb of degree when it’s used before an adjective, adverb, or the determiners “much,” “many,” “few,” or “little” to express that something is “more than necessary, permitted, desirable, or possible.”

Frequently asked questions about adverbs of degree

What part of speech is very?

The part of speech of the word very is typically an adverb—specifically an adverb of degree (e.g., “Your essay was very good,” “She did very well in the test”).

The word “very” can also be an adjective (e.g., “in the very beginning,” “in the very center,” “his very words”).

If you want to learn more about the parts of speech of certain words, try asking QuillBot’s AI Chat.

What part of speech is almost?

The part of speech of the word almost is an adverb—specifically an adverb of degree (e.g., “We almost won first prize,” “You’re almost as tall as me now,” “He’s almost always late”).

To make sure you use adverbs like “almost” correctly, check out QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker.

What are the different types of adverbs?

Adverbs can be classified in many ways. Depending on context, some adverbs fall into more than one of the categories.

Examples of adverb types include the following:

• Adverbs of manner
• Adverbs of time
• Adverbs of place
• Adverbs of purpose
• Adverbs of frequency
• Adverbs of degree
• Interrogative adverbs
• Relative adverbs
• Conjunctive adverbs
• Focusing adverbs

Is very an adverb?

Very is an adverb that means “to a great extent.” It’s an adverb of degree, which is a type of qualifier.

In a sentence, “very” usually goes before the adjective that it modifies (e.g., “The very loud thunder shook the whole house”).

When you’re writing with “very” and other qualifiers, QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can help you choose the right words.

What is an absolute adjective?

Absolute adjectives are adjectives that cannot be used in the comparative or superlative form (e.g., “dead,” “perfect,” “principal“). They describe something that is already the most (or least) it can be.

Absolute adjectives are often used with modifiers like “nearly” or “virtually” (e.g., “nearly impossible,” “virtually empty”).

Technically, you should not use “more” or “less” with absolute adjectives, but in practice, this rule is broken frequently (e.g., “more unique”).

Here’s a list of some common absolute adjectives:

• Dead
• Alive
• Perfect
• Complete
• Absolute
• Total
• Whole
• Empty
• Full
• Unique
• Invisible
• Final
• Impossible