Idiomaticity of adjectives

The article addresses the problem of idiomaticity of adjectives. The method of onomasiological analysis with the subsequent description of structural varieties of compound adjectives is used to determine their onomasiological status. The application of such scientific methods as comparative, quantitative, and distributive analysis have enabled to identify the nominative status of adjectives, with their idiomaticity features being defined. Bahuvrihi compounds, referred to univerbalized compounds, are not always non-idiomatic units. They are used to express the speaker’s subjective evaluation. We have singled out in a separate group the adjectives that seem to resemble bahuvrihi compounds. But their onomasiological status allows us to refer them to quasi-compounds. The compounds are frequently used in the modern media discourse due to their vivid evaluative features. The expressiveness they add up to statements is outstanding. As a result, we have concluded that adjectives reveal signs of idiomaticity, when the meaning of the compound is not motivated by the meaning of its components.