List of Suffix: 50+ Most Common Suffixes in English

Sharing is caring!

In the English language, suffixes play a crucial role in modifying and expanding the meanings of words. Understanding and recognizing common suffixes can greatly enhance one’s vocabulary and comprehension skills. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive list of suffixes along with their meanings and examples, offering readers a valuable resource for improving their language proficiency.

Suffix List in English

A suffix is a letter or group of letters attached to the end of a word, making a new word or altering the original word’s tense, meaning, or part of speech. For example, adding -ness to the adjective “happy” creates the noun “happiness.”

List of Noun Suffixes

Learn a useful list of noun suffixes with their meaning and examples in English

-al

• Meaning: Condition, quality
• Examples: dismissal, proposal, arrival, approval, denial, refusal

-ance/-ence

• Meaning: action, state, condition or quality
• Examples: acceptance, attendance, reference preference, insurance, existence

-ation/-tion

• Meaning: the action or resulting state
• Examples: declaration, celebration, information, immigration, education, elimination, combination

-sion

• Meaning: state or being
• Examples: revision, division, revision, profession, depression, confusion, tension, compulsion, confusion, decision, impression

-ure

• Meaning: action or the resulting state
• Examples: erasure, failure, pressure, legislature, departure, enclosure

-age

• Meaning: action, state, process
• Examples: postage, package, baggage, marriage, breakage, passage

-ing

• Meaning: action, state, process
• Examples: landing, writing, ending, seating, blessing, feeding

-ery

• Meaning: a business or trade, a behavior, a condition
• Examples: bakery, creamery, machinery, slavery, brewery

-eer

• Meaning: engaged in something, associated with something
• Examples: volunteer, engineer, musketeer, auctioneer, racketeer, mountaineer, profiteer

-er

• Meaning: someone who performs an action
• Examples: teacher, dancer, helper, farmer, lawyer, jeweler, preacher, prisoner, villager

-ist

• Meaning: person who practices
• Examples: cartoonist, columnist, bicyclist, physicist, violinist, terrorist

-ity

• Meaning: the state or condition of
• Examples: equality, abnormality, probability, civility, stupidity, curiosity, mobility, reality, tranquility, activity

-ment

• Meaning: the action or result of
• Examples: retirement, establishment, movement, abandonment

-ness

• Meaning: a state or quality
• Examples: awareness, kindness, darkness, fondness, happiness, kindness, truthfulness, quietness, sleepiness, usefulness

-or

• Meaning: a person who is something
• Examples: translator, investigator, conductor, distributor

-ship

• Meaning: position held
• Examples: courtship, ownership, internship, worship. partnership, membership, friendship

-th

• Meaning: state or quality
• Examples: labyrinth, warmth, death, strength, width, length, filth, birth, growth, depth

-ty

• Meaning: condition
• Examples: honesty, difficulty, safety, cruelty, subtlety, loyalty, modesty, certainty

-hood

• Meaning: family terms
• Examples: parenthood, motherhood, childhood

List of Adjective Suffixes

-able, -ible

• Meaning: capable of being
• Examples: adaptable, predictable, preventable, credible

-al

• Meaning: pertaining to
• Examples: natural, criminal, theatrical, accidental, regional, brutal, personal, regional, universal, seasonal

-ant

• Meaning: inclined to or tending to
• Examples: reliant, defiant, vigilant, brilliant

-ary

• Meaning: of or relating to
• Examples: dietary, planetary, military, honorary, budgetary, complimentary, momentary, honorary, cautionary, customary

-ful

• Meaning: full of or notable of
• Examples: wonderful, fanciful, beautiful, skillful, successful, delightful, awful, grateful

-ic

• Meaning: relating to
• Examples: organic, heroic, poetic, iconic, athletic, basic, scientific, historic, rhythmic, photographic

-ious, -ous

• Meaning: having qualities of
• Examples: cautious, humorous, gracious, fabulous, dangerous, mysterious, nervous, victorious, poisonous, courteous

-ive

• Meaning: quality or nature of
• Examples: expensive, pensive, creative

-less

• Meaning: without something
• Examples: faultless, fearless, restless, useless, friendless, homeless, worthless, penniless, hopeless, powerless

-y

• Meaning: made up of or characterized by
• Examples: fruity, tasty, brainy, grouchy, rainy, funny, messy, dirty, spotty

-ical

• Meaning: having the nature of
• Examples: practical, logical, magical, statistical, alphabetical, historical

-ish

• Meaning: origin, nature
• Examples: sheepish, foolish, childish, selfish, girlish, pinkish

-like

• Meaning: like
• Examples: childlike, birdlike, warlike, lifelike, ladylike

List of Verb Suffixes

-ed

• Meaning: past-tense version of a verb
• Examples: climbed, missed, laughed, called

-en

• Meaning: become
• Examples: fasten, strengthen, soften, awaken, blacken, broaden, deafen, flatten, gladden, tighten, shorten, sweeten, lengthen, brighten, darken

-er

• Meaning: action or process, making an adjective comparative
• Examples: longer, bigger, fuller, faster

-ing

• Meaning: verb form/present participle of an action
• Examples: swimming, laughing, writing, driving

-ize, -ise

• Meaning: to cause or to become
• Examples: specialize, authorize, commercialize, memorialize, apologize, characterize, digitalize, socialize, symbolize, stabilize, familiarize, advertise, colonize, civilize

-ify, -fy

• Meaning: To make or produce
• Examples: classify, codify, clarify, crucify, defy, falsify, intensify, modify, satisfy, simplify, unify, exemplify, identify, justify, notify, terrify

-ate

• Meaning: To make
• Examples: accommodate, activate, animate, captivate, considerate, consolidate, cooperate, decorate, allocate, concentrate

List of Adverb Suffixes

-ly

• Meaning: in what manner something is being done
• Examples: bravely, simply, honestly, gladly, lately, rightly, completely, really, definitely, maturely

-ward

• Meaning: in a certain direction
• Examples: backward, wayward, awkward, afterward

-wise

• Meaning: in relation to
• Examples: clockwise, edgewise, lengthwise, otherwise, crosswise, likewise

Frequently Misused Suffixes

When you’re writing, it’s easy to confuse certain English suffixes. Here’s a quick guide to help you avoid common errors.

• -ible and -able: Both mean “capable of,” but they’re not always interchangeable. Use -ible when the root word isn’t complete, like “perceptible” (from “percept”). Use -able when the root is a full word, like “enjoyable.”
  

  Correct Use	Common Misuse
  Divisible	Divisable
  Tangible	Tangable
  Responsible	Responsable

• -itis and -osis: These indicate medical conditions, but their use differs. -itis means inflammation, e.g., “bronchitis”. -osis suggests a general condition or process, e.g., “neurosis.”
• -logy and -ography: -logy refers to a study or a branch of knowledge, like “biology”. -ography relates to a descriptive study or written work about a subject, like “biography.”
• -ee and -er/or: The suffix -ee denotes the recipient of an action, “employee”. The -er or -or signifies someone performing an action, “employer”.