Adjectives that start with O

Describing words, to help you tell someone else what something is like.

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O is for Obese

You are obese if you are very fat or overweight. Obese people often have health problems because of their size.

O is for Odd

Something is odd if it is different to usual, or is a bit strange. In a group of things, something that is different is called the odd one out. The man in the picture is wearing odd socks.
Mathematically, a number is odd if it is not a multiple of two.

O is for Offshore

Offshore means in the water some distance from the shore, the sandy area where land meets a body of water such as an ocean or a lake.

O is for Old

Something is old if it has existed for a very long time. Something that is really, really old is called ancient.
When people get old they get grey hair and wrinkles.
Something is old fashioned if it looks like it belongs in the past, and doesn't fit in with things around it. Clothes can be old fashioned, and behaviour can be old fashioned too.
Old fashioned things can also be called retro.

O is for Opaque

Something is opaque if you can't see through it. Most things are opaque. The term is most often used to describe stockings that are not transparent.

O is for Open

Something is open if you can go through it or into it. The door in the picture is open. The opposite of open is closed.

O is for Ordinary

Something is ordinary if there is nothing outstanding about it.
Something is ordinary if you don't really notice it as you pass by.

O is for Original

Something is original if it has never been done before. An idea is original if it has never been thought of before, and a painting is original if it is the first time that picture has been painted. If something has been made as a copy or modified from something else, the thing it has been copied from is the original.
The dress in the picture is original, because it is hand-made and there is no other dress like it.

O is for Ornate

Something is ornate if it has a lot of elaborate ornamentation on it. The doorknocker in the picture is quite ornate.

O is for Out

You go out when you go away from something, or out from inside something. For example, you might go out to a restaurant. If you rearrange some items, they become out of order.
The cat in the picture is getting out of a box.
The opposite of out is in.

O is for Overgrown

Something is overgrown if it is covered in growth, outside of where it should be. Gardens can become overgrown if they are neglected and left to run wild with no-one to prune the plants and pull out the weeds.

O is for Overloaded

Something is overloaded if it is carrying a load that is too big for it. The car in the picture is overloaded.

O is for Overripe

Fruit is overripe if has become ripe and then kept going. Overripe fruit becomes soft and squishy, and may also get brown or wrinkly. Overripe fruit is not very nice to eat.

O is for Overweight

Someone is overweight if they weigh more than they should. People or animals are usually overweight because they are too fat.