Compound Modifier

A compound modifier (also called a compound adjective or a phrasal adjective or adjectival phrase) is a compound of two or more attributive words: That is, more than one word that together modify a noun. Compound modifiers are grammatically equivalent to single-word modifiers, and can be used in conjunction with other modifiers.

The constituent words of compound modifiers need not be adjectives; combinations of nouns, determiners, and other parts of speech are also common (man-eating and one-way).

The punctuation of compound modifiers in English depends on their grammatical role. Attributive compounds – modifiers within the noun phrase – are typically hyphenated, whereas the same compound used as a predicate will typically not be.