Adjective + Preposition List

We often follow adjectives by prepositions (words like of, for, with), for example:

• afraid of
  She's afraid of the dark.
• famous for
  France is famous for wine.
• bored with
  I'm bored with this film.

Unfortunately, there is no rule to tell you which preposition goes with which adjective. So when you learn a new adjective, it's a good idea to learn the preposition that goes with it, and write the "collocation" or combination down in your vocabulary notebook.

Here are the most common prepositions that follow adjectives in this way:

• about, at, by, for, from, in, of, to, with

And here are lists of adjectives that take specific prepositions, with a few example sentences for each group.

adjective + about

• I was angry about the accident.
• She's not happy about her new boss.
• Are you nervous about the exam?

angry about
anxious about
enthusiastic about
excited about
furious about
happy about
mad about
nervous about
pessimistic about
sad about
serious about
upset about
worried about

adjective + at

• I'm rather bad at languages.
• I'm not good at languages either.
• Are you surprised at her success?

amazed at
angry at
annoyed at
awful at
bad at
brilliant at
clever at
delighted at
disappointed at
excellent at
excited at
good at
hopeless at
mad at
present at
shocked at
skilled at
successful at
surprised at
terrible at
slow at
lucky at

adjective + by

• We were amazed by his performance.
• They were not impressed by your argument.
• Were you surprised by his bluntness?

amazed by
delighted by
disturbed by
excited by
fascinated by
impressed by
inspired by
astonished by
shocked by
surprised by

adjective + for

• You are eligible for bonus pay.
• We were not prepared for his answer.
• Who is responsible for this?

eager for
eligible for
famous for
grateful for
notorious for
prepared for
ready for
renowned for
responsible for
respected for
sorry for
suitable for
thankful for

adjective + from

• This cake is made from coconut.
• The city is not safe from attack.
• Is this material free from toxins?

absent from
different from
free from
made from
protected from
safe from

adjective + in

• I am disappointed in you.
• He isn't experienced in sales.
• Was he successful in his efforts?

disappointed in
experienced in
interested in
involved in
polite/impolite in
present in
skilled in
slow in
successful in
talented in

adjective + of

• He's afraid of failing.
• She's not capable of caring for herself.
• Was it silly of me to try?

afraid of
ashamed of
aware of
capable of
certain of
conscious of
envious of
independent of
jealous of
kind of
nice of
proud of
scared of
silly of
sweet of
typical of

adjective + to

• She was addicted to alcohol.
• I'm not allergic to milk.
• Are they related to each other?

accustomed to
addicted to
allergic to
committed to
dedicated to
indifferent to
kind to
married to
opposed to
receptive to
related to
similar to
superior to
unfriendly to

adjective + with

• I am blessed with robust health.
• Unusually, the town was not crowded with tourists.
• Are you familiar with the controls?

angry with
associated with
bored with
blessed with
confronted with
content with
crowded with
delighted with
disappointed with
fed up with
familiar with
furious with
ok with
pleased with
popular with
satisfied with