Compounds Formed with Specific Terms
Hyphenate
All + adjective [or participle] + noun, e.g., all-seeing eye and all-inclusive list
Best + participle + noun, e.g., best-selling novel and the singer’s best-known song
Better + participle + noun, e.g., a better-loved idol
Ever + comparative adjective [or participle] + noun, e.g., ever-larger tab and ever-increasing debt
Extra + adjective + noun, e.g., extra-large portions
Great + kinship term, e.g., great-grandmother and great-aunt
Lesser + participle + noun, e.g., a lesser-known actor
Little + participle + noun, e.g., a little-performed caricaturist
Long + participle + noun, e.g., his long-suffering wife and the long-awaited meal
Long + participle + adverbial particle + noun, e.g., the long-drawn-out response
Near + adjective + noun, e.g., near-permanent damage and near-perfect pitch
Next to + adjective + noun, e.g., the next-to-impossible test
Not quite + adjective + noun, e.g., the not-quite-dead lobster
Once + adjective + noun, e.g., the once-famous architect
Self + noun [or participle], e.g., self-image, self-starter, self-styled, and self-designated
User-friendly (whether preceding nouns or as predicate adjectives), e.g., a user-friendly program and the program is user-friendly
Well + participle + noun, e.g., well-behaved children and well-liked coworkers
Do Not Hyphenate
All too + adjective + noun, e.g., an all too wonderful offer and an all too easy question
Almost + adjective [or participle] + noun, e.g., an almost unbelievable account and an almost finished manuscript
Already + adjective [or participle] + noun, e.g., an already available position
Altogether + adjective [or participle] + noun, e.g., the one altogether disappointing album
Always + adjective + noun, e.g., the always empty house
As yet + adjective [or participle] + noun, e.g., the as yet untitled song
At once + adjective [or participle] + and + adjective [or participle] + noun, e.g., the at once peculiar and entrancing stranger
By now + adjective + noun, e.g., a by now familiar figure
Equally + adjective + noun, e.g., an equally impressive record
Even + adjective + noun, e.g., an even worse example
Even + adverb + adjective + noun, e.g., not an even halfway great performance
Even more + adjective [or participle] + noun, e.g., the even more shocking news
Far more + participle + noun, e.g., a far more lovely scene
Good enough + noun, e.g., a good enough specimen of her work
Halfway + adjective + noun, e.g., a halfway decent proposal
Just + participle + noun, e.g., the just opened restaurant
Least + adjective [or participle] + noun, e.g., the least conspicuous member
Less + adjective [or participle] + noun, e.g., less imaginative students and less cloying sycophant
More or less + adjective + noun, e.g., a more or less pointless exercise
More + participle + noun, e.g., one of the more thrilling roller coasters
More than + adjective + noun, e.g., her more than generous offer
More than enough + noun, e.g., more than enough chocolate
Much + comparative adjective + noun, e.g., in much deeper water
Much more + participle + noun, e.g., a much more refined performance
Never + adjective + noun, e.g., her never unremarkable stories
None too + adjective + noun, e.g., none too welcome glimpses of her private life
Not + adjective + noun, e.g., a not uncommon illness
Not + adverb + adjective + noun, e.g., a not particularly complex story
Not altogether + adjective + noun, e.g., the not altogether unpleasant experience
Not too + adjective + noun, e.g., a not too bright idea
Not very + adjective + noun, e.g., a not very successful attempt
Not yet + adverb + participle + noun, e.g., the not yet successfully marketed replacement
Not yet + participle + noun, e.g., the not yet published article
Now + adjective [or participle] + noun, e.g., the now forgotten scandal
Often + adjective [or participle] + noun, e.g., the often moody child and the often selected student
Once + participle + noun, e.g., a once promising director
Perhaps + adjective + noun, e.g., a perhaps valid claim
Pretty + adjective + noun, e.g., a pretty indescript town
Quite + adjective + noun, e.g., a quite innocent mistake
Rather + adjective + noun, e.g., a rather impudent remark
Rather more + adjective + noun, e.g., a rather more substantial meal
Single most + adjective + noun, e.g., the single most helpful piece of information
Somewhat + adjective + noun, e.g., a somewhat different perspective
Still + adjective + noun, e.g., the still chic outfit
Then + adjective + noun, e.g., the then new technology
Too + adjective + noun, e.g., a too blunt manner
Yet another + noun, e.g., yet another failure