Word Formation

Suffix -age

Added to verbs; nouns

-al

verbs

-ance

Adjectives; verbs

-ancy (1) -ant

verbs

-cy (1)

adjectives; nouns

-dom

Nouns; verbs

-ee

Verbs; adjectives

-eer

Verbs

-ence -ency (1) -ent -er

verbs Verbs; nouns; adjectives

-(e)ry

Adjectives; verbs; nouns

-ese

nouns

-ess

nouns

NOUN suffixes Meaning the action or result of; the state of condition of; a set or group of; an amount of; the cost of; a place where a process or state of

Examples Break  breakage; marry  marriage; bag  baggage; mile  mileage; post  postage; anchor  anchorage

Deny  denial; survive  survival; arrive  arrival; bury  burial Elegant  elegance; important the action or state of  importance; ignorant  ignorance; relevant  relevance; allow  allowance; perform  performance Expect  expectancy the state or quality of Inhabit  inhabitant; depend  A person or thing that dependant the state or quality of; the Infant  infancy; private  privacy; accurate  accuracy; status or position of chaplain  chaplaincy The condition or state of; King  kingdom; duke  dukedom; star  stardom; bore the rank of or the are  boredom; free  freedom; ruled by; the group of martyr  martyrdom A person affected by an Employ  employee; absent  absentee; refuge  refugee; train action; a person described as or concerned  trainee with A person concerned with Auction  auctioneer; mountain  mountaineer confidence the action or state of complacency the state or quality of Deter  deterrent a person or thing that A person or thing that; a love  lover; win  winner; person or thing that has compute  computer; foreign  foreigner; lexicography  the thing or quality lexicographer; Dublin  mentioned; a person concerned with; a person Dubliner belonging to Green  greenery; brave  The group or class of bravery; rival  rivalry; cook something; the state or cookery; arch  archery; bake  character of; the art or practice of; a place where bakery; deliver  delivery something is made, grows, lives, etc.

Portugal  Portuguese; Vienna From a place; a person who lives in a country or  Viennese; journal  city; the style or language journalese; official  officialese of Host  hostess; waiter  female waitress; lion  lioness; tiger  tigress; god  goddess

-ette

Nouns

-ful

Nouns

-hood

nouns

-ian

nouns

-ics -ing

verbs

-ion (also -ation; -ition; -sion, -tion; -xion) -ism

verbs

nouns; adjectives

-ist

nouns

-ity

adjectives

-let

nouns

-ment

verbs

Usher  usherette; suffrage  suffragette Hand  handful; spoon  An amount that fills spoonful something The state or quality of; a Parent  parenthood; child  childhood; neighbour  group of people of the neighbourhood; brother  type mentioned brotherhood; priest  priesthood Boston  Bostonian; Brazil  From, typical of; a Brazilian; Shakespeare  specialist in; a person who does something as a Shakespearian; mathematics  mathematician; physics job or hobby physician; history  historian; comedy  comedian; politics  politician Physics; politics; dramatics; The science, art or athlete  athletics activity of suffer  suffering; drive  driving; mean  meaning; swim  swimming dictate  dictation; hesitate  The action or state of hesitation; compete  competition; confess  confession Criticism; hero  heroism; The action or result of; the state or quality of; the Buddha  Buddhism; race  racism; American  teaching, system or Americanism; colloquial  movement of; unfair treatment or hatred for colloquialism; alcohol  the reason mentioned; a alcoholism feature of language of the type mentioned; a medical condition or disease A person who believes or AtheismAtheist; practises; a member of a dentistrydentist; violin  violinist; profession or business guitar  guitarist; activity; a person who plagiarist uses a thing; a person who does something complex  complexity; creative Condition or quality of  creativity; secure  security; equal  equality; curious  curiosity; formal  formality; flexible  flexibility; able  ability book  booklet; pig  piglet; Small; not very star  starlet; brace bracelet important Retire  retirement ; develop  The action or result of development ; arrange  arrangement ; embarrass  embarrassment ; excite  excitement female

-ness

adjectives

-or

verbs

-ship

nouns

-th

Verbs; adjectives

-ure

verbs

-y

verbs

Suffix -able

Added to Verbs; nouns

-al

nouns

-ant

Verbs

-ed

Nouns; verbs

-en -ent

nouns verbs

-esque

nouns

-ful

Nouns; verbs

-ial -ian

Nouns nouns

-ible

Verbs; nouns

The state or quality of

happy  happiness; ill  illness; dark  darkness; lonely  loneliness; mad  madness; kind  kindness; busy  business

Act  actor; sail sailor; conduct  conductor; comment  commentator The state or quality of; the Owner  ownership; friend  status or office of; skill or friendship; citizen  citizenship; professor  professorship; ability as; the group of musician  musicianship; member  membership The action or process of Grow  growth; strong  strength; long  length; true  truth; deep  depth; wide  width; dead  death fail  failure; close  closure; The action, process or depart  departure; please  result of pleasure The action or process of Inquire  inquiry A person or thing that dose something as job

ADJECTIVE suffixes Meaning Examples Reason  reasonable; tax  That can or must be; taxable; fashion  fashionable; having the quality of comfort  comfortable; change  changeable; eat  eatable Magic  magical; verb  verbal; Connected with music  musical; nation  national; accident  accidental; environment  environmental That is or does something Signify  significant; ignore  ignorant Talent  talented; beard  Having; having the bearded; disease  diseased; characteristics of; that interest interested; bore  bored; suffers or receives some excite  excited; embarrass  kind of feeling or effect embarrassed Wood  wooden; gold  golden Made of; looking like That is or does something Differ  different; compete  competent Statue  statuesque; Dante  In the style of dantesque Sorrow  sorrowful; forget  Full of; having the forgetful; success  successful; qualities of; tending to peace  peaceful; help  helpful Dictator  dictatorial Typical of Belgium  Belgian; Brazil  From, typical of Brazilian; Shakespeare  Shakespearian Horror  horrible; sense  That can or must be; sensible; access  accessible; having the quality of

-ic

Nouns; verbs

Connected with, that performs the action mentioned

-ing

Nouns; verbs

-(i)ous

nouns

-ish

Nouns; adjectives

-ive

Verbs

-less

nouns

That does or produces some kind of feeling or effect Having the nature or quality of From the country mentioned; [disapproving] having the nature of, like; fairly, approximately Tending to; having the nature of Without; not doing, not affected by

-like

nouns

Similar to; typical of

-ly

nouns

Having the qualities of; at intervals of

-some

nouns

Producing; likely to

-y

nouns

Full of; having the quality of; tending to

Suffix -ate

Added to Nouns; adjectives adjectives

-en

-ify -ise [BrE]/ize [AmE]

Adjectives; nouns Nouns; adjectives

Suffix -ly

Added to Adjectives; nouns

-ward(s)

Nouns;

divide  divisible Scene  scenic; economy  economic; Arab  Arabic; horrify  horrific; specify  specific Interest  interesting; embarrass  embarrassing; bore  boring; amaze  amazing Poison  poisonous; glory  glorious; mystery  mysterious Turkey  Turkish; Ireland  Irish; Spain  Spanish; child  childish; yellow  yellowish Explode  explosive; describe  descriptive; express  expressive Tree  treeless; hair  hairless; meaning  meaningless; hope  hopeless; harm  harmless Child  Child-like; shell  shelllike; god  godlike Friend  friendly; coward  cowardly; scholar  scholarly; day  daily; month  monthly; year  yearly Fear  fearsome; trouble  troublesome; bother  bothersome Dust  dusty; rain  rainy; sun  sunny; anger  angry; thirst  thirsty; silk  silky; hair hairy

VERB suffixes Meaning Examples Hyphen  hyphenate; active  To give the thing or activate quality mentioned Black  blacken; sad  sadden; To make or become broad  broaden; less  lessen; sweet sweeten; sharp  sharpen Solid  solidify; beauty  beautify; to make or become simple simplify; pure  purify Private  privatise; fossil  fossilize; To become, make or modern  modernise; general  make like; to speak, think, act, treat, etc. in generalize; critic  criticize; theory the way mentioned; to  theorise; pasteurize; hospital  hospitalise place in ADVERB suffixes Meaning Examples In the way mentioned; Happy  happily; sudden  suddenly; lucky luckily; beautiful  at intervals of beautifully; hour  hourly ; day  daily Back  backward(s); up  In the direction of

-wise

adjectives; adverbs nouns

In the manner or direction of

upward(s); out  outward(s); east  eastward(s); home  homeward(s) Clock  Clockwise; side  sidewise; length  lengthwise