Adjective with hyphen in dictionaries

Question

Hello,If a dictionary has an adjective that is hyphenated--forward-looking.Is this always hyphenated, even inHe is always forward-looking.Or is it still only hyphenated ifHe is a forward-looking person.Thank you.

JohnParis · Accepted Answer

He is always looking forward to something. He's always expecting something positive.

He's a forward-looking person. He anticipates most eventualities.

Englishnewbie · Answer

Hi,
Thank for the reply.
I meant what if "foreard-looking: appears at the END of the sentence.

He is forward looking.
He is forward-looking.

Which is correct?

Mister Micawber · Answer

Yes, it should still be hyphenated.  This does not mean that all hyphenated phases in the dictionary are always hyphenated; I would not presume to say that.

Englishnewbie · Answer

Thanks!

BillJ · Answer

englishnewbieIf a dictionary has an adjective that is hyphenated--forward-looking.Is this always hyphenated, even inHe is always forward-looking.Or is it still only hyphenated ifHe is a forward-looking person.

I think what you're asking here is whether the compound adjective "forward-looking" is hyphenated not only when used as an attributive modifier, but also when used predicatively, as a complement.

There is a general rule that says that compound adjectives should be hyphenated when used attributively, but not when used predicatively. Here's some examples (the first is yours, the rest I googled-up):

Ed is a forward-looking guy. (attributive) ~ Ed is forward looking. (predicative)

A stress-free job. ~ My job is stress free.

A well-known actress. ~ She is well known as an actress.

A badly-written script. ~ This script is badly written.

A heart-broken lady. ~ Liz is heart broken.

A skin-deep personality. ~ Beauty is skin deep.

A dirt-cheap coat. ~ My new coat was dirt cheap.

A carbon-tipped blade. ~ The blade was carbon tipped.

A well-respected politician. ~ He is well respected.

A densely-populated town. ~ The town is densely populated.

An old-furniture salesman. ~ It's old furniture that he sells.

The point is that if hyphenation is required to avoid ambiguity, then use it. For example, in the attributive version in the last example, the hyphenated "old-furniture salesman" clearly deals in old furniture, but the unhyphenated "old furniture salesman" would be an old man who sells furniture. In the predicative version, the absence of a hyphen causes no ambiguity - it's clear that it's old furniture that's being sold.

See what I mean?

BillJ

Anonymous · Answer

BillJA badly-written script. ~ This script is badly written. A heart-broken lady. ~ Liz is heart broken.A skin-deep personality. ~ Beauty is skin deep. A dirt-cheap coat. ~ My new coat was dirt cheap. A carbon-tipped blade. ~ The blade was carbon tipped. A well-respected politician. ~ He is well respected. A densely-populated town. ~ The town is densely populated

Just to follow up on this: One of BillJ's otherwise excellent examples is incorrect.

A badly-written script -- One doesn't hyphenate adverbs. "Badly" is the adverb modifying "written," and even though together they do create a compound that's modifying "script," the pairing shouldn't be hyphenated. This would therefore be "a badly written script."

Fivejedjon · Answer

AnonymousOne of BillJ's otherwise excellent examples is incorrect.

Do you realise that you are commenting on a post written over three years ago?

Do you also realise that some authorities recommend the hyphen?

Tkacka15 · Answer

englishnewbieHi,Thank for the reply.I meant what if "foreard-looking: appears at the END of the sentence.He is forward looking.He is forward-looking.Which is correct?

He is forward-looking = He is a forward-looking person

forward-looking is an adjectival complement of the subject he (in the sentence He is forward-looking) and as such has to be hyphenated.

Adjective with hyphen in dictionaries

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