Compound adjective

Yes, the adjective should be hyphenated.

Hello,

English 1b3 It was a well-defined idea.

Is the bold a compound adjective hyphenated? The site where the sentence came from says 'well' is being used as an adverb. Is this site wrong, or am I wrong?

Thanks

The site isn't wrong; well is modifying defined. In general, compound adjectives preceding the noun they modi

But 'well' is an adverb, so it is not a compound adjective... Can you explain please?

It is a compound adjective. If the adverb does not end in "-ly", you generally need to hyphenate the compound if it comes before the noun it modifies. If the combination of words is used after the noun, this doesn't happen. Compare:

"She is a well-known actress."
"He's always been well known."

Here is a definition of 'compound adjective' I found on the web:

"A compound adjective is formed when two or more adjectives work together to modify the same noun."



Should it be more like this?

"A compound adjective is formed when two or more adjectives (or an adverb followed by an adverb) work together to modify the same noun."

English 1b3Here is a definition of 'compound adjective' I found on the web:

"A compound adjective is formed when two or more adjectives work together to modify the same noun."




Should it be more like this?

"A compound adjective is formed when two or more adjectives (or an adverb followed by an adverb) work together to modify the s

Thank you for this.

Is this a better explanation?

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/compound-modifiers/

An action driven by past-influenced psyche could be called a past-embedded-to-psyche response to reality.

Is the aforementioned bold part correct ?
If not, why?

Thank you.