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Noun Suffixes and Their Meanings

The document provides a comprehensive list of various suffixes in the English language, categorized by their function as noun, adjective, verb, or adverb suffixes. Each suffix is accompanied by its meaning and examples of words that utilize the suffix. This serves as a resource for understanding how suffixes modify the meanings of root words.

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100% found this document useful (2 votes)
53 views4 pages

Noun Suffixes and Their Meanings

The document provides a comprehensive list of various suffixes in the English language, categorized by their function as noun, adjective, verb, or adverb suffixes. Each suffix is accompanied by its meaning and examples of words that utilize the suffix. This serves as a resource for understanding how suffixes modify the meanings of root words.

Uploaded by

Marisol Aquino
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

NOUN suffixes

Suffix Added to Meaning Examples


-age verbs; nouns the action or result of; the Break  breakage; marry 
state of condition of; a set marriage; bag  baggage; mile
or group of; an amount of;  mileage; post  postage;
the cost of; a place where anchor  anchorage
-al verbs a process or state of Deny  denial; survive 
survival; arrive  arrival; bury
 burial
-ance Adjectives; the action or state of Elegant  elegance; important
verbs  importance; ignorant 
ignorance; relevant  relevance;
allow  allowance; perform 
performance
-ancy (1) the state or quality of Expect  expectancy
-ant verbs A person or thing that Inhabit  inhabitant; depend 
dependant
-cy (1) adjectives; the state or quality of; the Infant  infancy; private 
nouns status or position of privacy; accurate  accuracy;
chaplain  chaplaincy
-dom Nouns; verbs The condition or state of; King  kingdom; duke 
the rank of or the are ruled dukedom; star  stardom; bore
by; the group of  boredom; free  freedom;
martyr  martyrdom
-ee Verbs; A person affected by an Employ  employee; absent 
adjectives action; a person described absentee; refuge  refugee; train
as or concerned with  trainee
-eer Verbs A person concerned with Auction  auctioneer; mountain
 mountaineer
-ence the action or state of confidence
-ency (1) the state or quality of complacency
-ent verbs a person or thing that Deter  deterrent
-er Verbs; nouns; A person or thing that; a love  lover; win  winner;
adjectives person or thing that has the compute  computer; foreign 
thing or quality mentioned; foreigner; lexicography 
a person concerned with; a lexicographer; Dublin 
person belonging to Dubliner
-(e)ry Adjectives; The group or class of Green  greenery; brave 
verbs; nouns something; the state or bravery; rival  rivalry; cook
character of; the art or cookery; arch  archery; bake
practice of; a place where  bakery; deliver  delivery
something is made, grows,
lives, etc.
-ese nouns From a place; a person who Portugal  Portuguese; Vienna
lives in a country or city;  Viennese; journal 
the style or language of journalese; official  officialese
-ess nouns female Host  hostess; waiter 
waitress; lion  lioness; tiger 
tigress; god  goddess
-ette Nouns female Usher  usherette; suffrage 
suffragette
-ful Nouns An amount that fills Hand  handful; spoon 
something spoonful
-hood nouns The state or quality of; a Parent  parenthood; child 
group of people of the type childhood; neighbour 
mentioned neighbourhood; brother 
brotherhood; priest  priesthood
-ian nouns From, typical of; a Boston  Bostonian; Brazil 
specialist in; a person who Brazilian; Shakespeare 
does something as a job or Shakespearian; mathematics 
hobby mathematician; physics
physician; history  historian;
comedy  comedian; politics 
politician
-ics The science, art or activity Physics; politics; dramatics;
of athlete  athletics
-ing verbs suffer  suffering; drive 
driving; mean  meaning; swim
 swimming
-ion (also verbs The action or state of dictate  dictation; hesitate 
-ation; -ition; hesitation; compete 
-sion, -tion; competition; confess 
-xion) confession
-ism nouns; The action or result of; the Criticism; hero  heroism;
adjectives state or quality of; the Buddha  Buddhism; race 
teaching, system or racism; American 
movement of; unfair Americanism; colloquial 
treatment or hatred for the colloquialism; alcohol 
reason mentioned; a feature alcoholism
of language of the type
mentioned; a medical
condition or disease
-ist nouns A person who believes or AtheismAtheist;
practises; a member of a dentistrydentist;
profession or business violin  violinist;
activity; a person who uses guitar  guitarist;
a thing; a person who does plagiarist
something
-ity adjectives Condition or quality of complex  complexity; creative
 creativity; secure  security;
equal  equality; curious 
curiosity; formal  formality;
flexible  flexibility; able 
ability
-let nouns Small; not very important book  booklet; pig  piglet;
star  starlet; brace bracelet
-ment verbs The action or result of Retire  retirement ; develop 
development ; arrange 
arrangement ; embarrass 
embarrassment ; excite 
excitement
-ness adjectives The state or quality of happy  happiness; ill  illness;
dark  darkness; lonely 
loneliness; mad  madness; kind
 kindness; busy  business
-or verbs A person or thing that dose Act  actor; sail sailor;
something as job conduct  conductor; comment
 commentator
-ship nouns The state or quality of; the Owner  ownership; friend 
status or office of; skill or friendship; citizen  citizenship;
ability as; the group of professor  professorship;
musician  musicianship;
member  membership
-th Verbs; The action or process of Grow  growth; strong 
adjectives strength; long  length; true 
truth; deep  depth; wide 
width; dead  death
-ure verbs The action, process or fail  failure; close  closure;
result of depart  departure; please 
pleasure
-y verbs The action or process of Inquire  inquiry

ADJECTIVE suffixes
Suffix Added to Meaning Examples
-able Verbs; nouns That can or must be; Reason  reasonable; tax 
having the quality of taxable; fashion  fashionable;
comfort  comfortable; change 
changeable; eat  eatable
-al nouns Connected with Magic  magical; verb  verbal;
music  musical; nation 
national; accident  accidental;
environment  environmental
-ant Verbs That is or does something Signify  significant; ignore 
ignorant
-ed Nouns; verbs Having; having the Talent  talented; beard 
characteristics of; that bearded; disease  diseased;
suffers or receives some interest interested; bore 
kind of feeling or effect bored; excite  excited; embarrass
 embarrassed
-en nouns Made of; looking like Wood  wooden; gold  golden
-ent verbs That is or does something Differ  different; compete 
competent
-esque nouns In the style of Statue  statuesque; Dante 
dantesque
-ful Nouns; verbs Full of; having the Sorrow  sorrowful; forget 
qualities of; tending to forgetful; success  successful;
peace  peaceful; help  helpful
-ial Nouns Typical of Dictator  dictatorial
-ian nouns From, typical of Belgium  Belgian; Brazil 
Brazilian; Shakespeare 
Shakespearian
-ible Verbs; nouns That can or must be; Horror  horrible; sense 
having the quality of sensible; access  accessible;
divide  divisible
-ic Nouns; verbs Connected with, that Scene  scenic; economy 
performs the action economic; Arab  Arabic; horrify
mentioned  horrific; specify  specific
-ing Nouns; verbs That does or produces Interest  interesting; embarrass
some kind of feeling or  embarrassing; bore  boring;
effect amaze  amazing
-(i)ous nouns Having the nature or Poison  poisonous; glory 
quality of glorious; mystery  mysterious
-ish Nouns; From the country Turkey  Turkish; Ireland 
adjectives mentioned; [disapproving] Irish; Spain  Spanish; child 
having the nature of, like; childish; yellow  yellowish
fairly, approximately
-ive Verbs Tending to; having the Explode  explosive; describe 
nature of descriptive; express  expressive
-less nouns Without; not doing, not Tree  treeless; hair  hairless;
affected by meaning  meaningless; hope 
hopeless; harm  harmless
-like nouns Similar to; typical of Child  Child-like; shell  shell-
like; god  godlike
-ly nouns Having the qualities of; at Friend  friendly; coward 
intervals of cowardly; scholar  scholarly;
day  daily; month  monthly;
year  yearly
-some nouns Producing; likely to Fear  fearsome; trouble 
troublesome; bother  bothersome
-y nouns Full of; having the quality Dust  dusty; rain  rainy; sun
of; tending to  sunny; anger  angry; thirst 
thirsty; silk  silky; hair hairy

VERB suffixes
Suffix Added to Meaning Examples
-ate Nouns; To give the thing or Hyphen  hyphenate; active 
adjectives quality mentioned activate
-en adjectives To make or become Black  blacken; sad  sadden;
broad  broaden; less  lessen;
sweet sweeten; sharp  sharpen
-ify Adjectives; to make or become Solid  solidify; beauty  beautify;
nouns simple simplify; pure  purify
-ise [BrE]/- Nouns; To become, make or Private  privatise; fossil 
ize [AmE] adjectives make like; to speak, fossilize; modern  modernise;
think, act, treat, etc. in general  generalize; critic 
the way mentioned; to criticize; theory  theorise;
place in pasteurize; hospital  hospitalise

ADVERB suffixes
Suffix Added to Meaning Examples
-ly Adjectives; In the way mentioned; Happy  happily; sudden 
nouns at intervals of suddenly; lucky luckily; beautiful
 beautifully; hour  hourly ; day
 daily
-ward(s) Nouns; In the direction of Back  backward(s); up 
adjectives; upward(s); out  outward(s); east 
adverbs eastward(s); home  homeward(s)
-wise nouns In the manner or Clock  Clockwise; side  sidewise;
direction of length  lengthwise

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