The Use of Extreme Adjectives to Build Intensity in Wuthering Heights

What Are Extreme Adjectives?

Extreme adjectives are words that intensify the quality they describe to a very high degree, often conveying emotions or characteristics in a vivid and powerful way. Unlike regular adjectives, which offer more neutral or moderate descriptions, extreme adjectives convey heightened intensity. For instance, instead of saying someone is very angry, the extreme adjective furious may be used. Similarly, tiny replaces very small, and enormous replaces very big. These words carry an added sense of emphasis, making them highly effective for bringing descriptions to life.

When using extreme adjectives, it's important to avoid standard intensifiers like very, quite, or fairly. Extreme adjectives already convey the highest possible degree of a quality, so pairing them with such words can sound awkward or redundant. Instead, they work best with strong intensifiers like absolutely, utterly, completely, or totally to match their intensity.

For example, instead of saying very furious, quite furious, or fairly furious, which would be incorrect, you should use phrases like:

• absolutely furious
• utterly exhausted
• completely terrified
• totally delighted

How Extreme Adjectives Are Used in Literature

In literature, extreme adjectives help pull readers into the story by expressing emotions, settings, and character traits in a more intense way. Instead of just describing, they amplify the scene. For example, in the phrase “the desolate moors”, the word desolate does more than suggest emptiness; it conveys a strong feeling of isolation and abandonment, deepening the mood of the scene.

The Importance of Extreme Adjectives

Extreme adjectives make language more expressive. For English learners, understanding these adjectives is useful for clear and powerful communication. Extreme adjectives let speakers and writers express emotions and experiences with more impact, enriching both spoken and written language.

Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is a great example of how extreme adjectives can enhance storytelling. The novel uses these adjectives to add depth to its dark, passionate themes.

Examples of Extreme Adjectives in Wuthering Heights

Vile

• Non-Extreme Synonym: unpleasant, bad

Miss Cathy, I’ll knock the lock off with a stone: you won’t believe that vile nonsense.

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Desolate

• Non-Extreme Synonym: lonely, empty

She was the most winning thing that ever brought sunshine into a desolate house:

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Furious

• Non-Extreme Synonym: angry

“‘Get to thy own room!’ he said, in a voice almost inarticulate with passion; and his face looked swelled and furious.

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Immense

• Non-Extreme Synonym: large, great

His emotion was only revealed by the immense sighs he drew, as he solemnly spread his large Bible on the table,

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Appalling

• Non-Extreme Synonym: shocking, disturbing

“What has Heathcliff done to you?” I asked. “In what has he wronged you, to warrant this appalling hatred?

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Ghastly

• Non-Extreme Synonym: awful, dreadful

Those deep black eyes! That smile, and ghastly paleness! It appeared to me, not Mr. Heathcliff, but a goblin;

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Terrible

• Non-Extreme Synonym: bad, frightening

I felt the terrible news must be told, and I longed to get it over; but how to do it I did not know.

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Dreadful

• Non-Extreme Synonym: bad, shocking

The entire world is a dreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her!

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Unutterable

• Non-Extreme Synonym: indescribable, unspeakable

Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!”

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Awful

• Non-Extreme Synonym: bad, unpleasant

I felt stunned by the awful event; and my memory unavoidably recurred to former times with a sort of oppressive sadness.

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Infernal

• Non-Extreme Synonym: terrible, annoying

Is it not sufficient for your infernal selfishness, that while you are at peace I shall writhe in the torments of hell?”

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Exquisite

• Non-Extreme Synonym: great, intense

With streaming face and an expression of agony, Linton had thrown his nerveless frame along the ground: he seemed convulsed with exquisite terror.

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Frightful

• Non-Extreme Synonym: bad, scary

“I had the misfortune to scream in my sleep, owing to a frightful nightmare. I’m sorry I disturbed you.”

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Excessive

• Non-Extreme Synonym: too much

His adversary had fallen senseless with excessive pain and the flow of blood, that gushed from an artery or a large vein.

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Insufferable

• Non-Extreme Synonym: unbearable

“This is insufferable!” he exclaimed. “It is disgraceful that she should own him for a friend, and force his company on me!

Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëOpen book

Why Extreme Adjectives Matter

Using extreme adjectives not only adds depth to Wuthering Heights but also elevates the language, making it more sophisticated and expressive. Brontë’s choice of words like “vile,” “immense,” and “dreadful” instead of simpler terms enhances the emotional resonance and dramatic intensity of her characters and settings, allowing readers to feel the full weight of the novel’s atmosphere.

For English learners, studying these adjectives offers a dual benefit: they expand vocabulary for expressing strong emotions and vivid imagery, and they also allow speakers and writers to sound more refined and articulate. Learning extreme adjectives and their non-extreme synonyms helps readers appreciate Brontë’s language and apply similar techniques, enriching their own communication with greater impact and elegance.