Compounds Formed with Specific Terms

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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