This disclosure describes one or more implementations of systems, non-transitory computer-readable media, and methods that perform language guided digital image editing utilizing a cycle-augmentation generative-adversarial neural network (CAGAN) that is augmented using a cross-modal cyclic mechanism. For example, the disclosed systems generate an editing description network that generates language embeddings which represent image transformations applied between a digital image and a modified digital image. The disclosed systems can further train a GAN to generate modified images by providing an input image and natural language embeddings generated by the editing description network (representing various modifications to the digital image from a ground truth modified image). In some instances, the disclosed systems also utilize an image request attention approach with the GAN to generate images that include adaptive edits in different spatial locations of the image.