Gourt Home::Gourt :: List of English suffixes
This is an incomplete list of suffixes in English. Note that this list includes only derivational suffixes (which form new words, often of a different part of speech) and suffixes which serve to mark the part of speech. It does not include the inflectional suffixes which only produce new forms of a word without changing the part of speech, eg -s for the plural of nouns.
| Suffix | Part of speech | Meaning | Examples | Effect on word stress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -able | adj | capable, can do | usable, notable, comfortable | Neutral |
| -ably | adv | notably, fashionably | Neutral | |
| -ad | noun | group | triad, monad | |
| -ade | noun | lemonade, accolade, blockade | Stressed suffix | |
| -age | noun | forming a noun | marriage, mileage, garage | Neutral |
| -agogy | noun | leading | pedagogy, demagogy | Stressed suffix |
| -al | adj | aspect of | nominal, focal, (compare -ality) | Neutral |
| -al | noun | abstract noun | refusal, appraisal | Neutral |
| -ality | noun | property (aspect, behaviour, condition) of | proportionality, sexuality (see -al and -ity) | Stressed suffix |
| -an | adj | urban | Neutral | |
| -an | adj, noun | republican, Roman, veteran | Neutral | |
| -ance | noun | relevance, annoyance, repentance | Neutral | |
| -ancy | noun | pregnancy, redundancy, vacancy | Neutral | |
| -ant | adj | relevant, dominant, pleasant | Neutral | |
| -ant | noun | assitant, immigrant, inhabitant | Neutral | |
| -ar | adj | linear, alveolar | Neutral | |
| -ar | noun | beggar, liar | Neutral | |
| -ard | noun | drunkard, coward, wizard, steward | Neutral | |
| -ary | adj | ordinary, secondary, military | Neutral | |
| -ary | noun | dictionary, library, seminary | Neutral | |
| -arch | noun | ruler, leader | monarch, tetrarch | Neutral |
| -archy | noun | rule, leadership | gynarchy, anarchy | Neutral |
| -ate | adj | literate, desperate, fortunate | Neutral | |
| -ate | noun | certificate, advocate | Neutral | |
| -ate | verb | concentrate, oscillate | Neutral | |
| -athlon | noun | sporting event | pentathlon, decathlon | Stressed suffix |
| -ation | noun | state or concept of | invitation, pronunciation, starvation | Stressed suffix |
| -ation | noun | from verb with -ate, state or concept of | concentration, oscillation, narration | Stressed suffix |
| -ative | adj | talkative, lucrative, affirmative | Neutral | |
| -atory | noun | laboratory, conversatory | ||
| -bound | adv | heading in the direction of | inbound, outbound, citybound | |
| -cele, -coele, -coel | noun | body cavity | mucocoel or mucocoele | |
| -cele | noun | tumor, hernia | hydatidocele | |
| -centesis | noun | puncturing | amniocentesis, rachicentesis | |
| -cephalic | adj | relating to the head | anencephaly, macrocephaly | |
| -chondrion | noun | small grainlike structure | mitochondrion | |
| -cide | noun | murder, killing agent | suicide, vespacide, regicide, fratricide | Neutral |
| -city | noun | practice | atrocity | |
| -cy | noun | expressing the quality of an adjective | diplomacy, literacy, idiocy | Neutral |
| -cycle | noun | circle, cycle, unit of radio frequency | epicycle, hydrocycle | Neutral |
| -dom | noun | state or condition of | freedom, boredom, kingdom | Neutral |
| -ectasia, -ectasis | noun | stretching out | brochiectasis, telangiectasia | |
| -ectomy | noun | surgical removal | laryngectomy, vasectomy | Stressed suffix |
| -ed | adj | bored, tiled | Neutral | |
| -ee | noun | changes verb to a noun (the object of that verb) | employee, referee, payee | Stressed suffix |
| -eer | adj | engineer, overseer | Stressed suffix | |
| -eme | noun | linguistic unit | lexeme, phoneme, morpheme | |
| -emia | noun | blood condition | leukemia, anaemia | Stressed suffix |
| -en | adj | golden, wooden, written, frozen | Neutral | |
| -en | verb | lessen, deafen, frighten | Neutral | |
| -enchyma | noun | cellular tissue | mesenchyma, karyenchyma | |
| -ence | noun | independence, violence, absence | Neutral | |
| -ency | noun | frequency, clemency, consistency | Neutral | |
| -ent | adj | different, excellent, independent | Neutral | |
| -ent | noun | resident, regent, superintendent | Neutral | |
| -eous | adj | courteous | Neutral | |
| -er | noun | changes verb to noun (the subject of that verb, see also -or) | write, writer | Neutral |
| -ergy | noun | work | energy, synergy | |
| -ern | adj | direction | western, northern | Neutral |
| -ery | noun | slavery, machinery, nunnery | Neutral | |
| -ese | adj, noun | nationality, language | Chinese, Lebanese, Portuguese | Stressed suffix |
| -esque | adj | in the style of | Pythonesque, Romanesque, picturesque | Stressed suffix |
| -ess | noun | female | actress, waitress, stewardess, priestess | Neutral |
| -esthesis, -esthesia | noun | sensation, feeling | synesthesia, kinesthesis | Stressed suffix |
| -etic | adj | energetic, sympathetic, frenetic | ||
| -ette | noun | small ~ | diskette, statuette, usherette | Stressed suffix |
| -fare | noun | how things are going / coming along | welfare, fanfare, warfare | Stressed suffix |
| -ful | adj | full of, having some or much | hopeful, useful | Neutral |
| -gate | noun | a scandal, often political (back-formed from the Watergate scandal) | Watergate, nipplegate | Neutral |
| -gnosis | noun | knowing | prognosis, diagnosis | Stressed suffix |
| -gon | noun | angle | polygon, pentagon | Neutral |
| -gry | noun | adjective form of only 2 or 3 nouns in the English language | angry, hungry | Neutral |
| -hedron | noun | seat, face | icosahedron, tetrahedron | Stressed suffix |
| -holic | adj | love, addiction | alcoholic, workaholic | Stressed suffix |
| -hood | noun | state/condition of, a group sharing characteristics | brotherhood, adulthood, falsehood | Neutral |
| -ia | noun | abnormal state | mania, apraxia, dementia, dysarthria | Stress on previous syllable |
| -iable | adj | sociable | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -ial | adj | special, filial, remedial | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -ian | adj | mammalian | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -ian | adj, noun | Brazilian, Christian | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -ian | noun | librarian, barbarian, physician | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -iant | adj | deviant, defiant | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -iary | adj | tertiary | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -iate | verb | asphyxiate, deviate | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -ible | adj | capable, can do (same as -able) | incredible, terrible, visible | |
| -ibly | adv | incredibly, responsibly, terribly | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -ic | adj | (adjective) | neurotic, electronic, historic | Stress on previous syllable |
| -ical | adj | historical, phonological, economical | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -ics | noun | the study of | Physics,Aerodynamics,Forensics, economics | Stress on previous syllable |
| -id | adj | (categorical) property (aspect) of | hominid, tepid, candid, fervid (compare -al) | |
| -iency | noun | expedieny | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -ient | adj | salient, sentient, expedient | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -ier | noun | cashier, financier, gondolier | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -ify, -fy | verb | to become, make | clarify, specify, basify, vilify | Stress on previous syllable |
| -ile | adj | tactile, facile, volatile | Neutral | |
| -illion | large numbers | million, billion | ||
| -ious | adj | delicious, ambitious, religious, vivacious | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -ing | noun | noun from verb, in the process of | doing, acting | Neutral |
| -ing | noun | bedding, stuffing, roofing | Neutral | |
| -ion | noun | action, companion | ||
| -ish | adj | adjective from noun; sort of; approximately | foolish, selfish, greenish, tallish | Stress on previous syllable |
| -ish | adj, noun | nationality, language | Spanish, Turkish, English | Stress on previous syllable |
| -ism | noun | doctrine, act, practice, condition | Protestantism, alcoholism, Buddhism, southernism | Neutral |
| -ist | noun | person | dentist, socialist, cellist | Neutral |
| -ista | adept | fashionista | ||
| -ite | noun | member of a group | socialite, Carmelite | Neutral |
| -itis | noun | disease, inflammation | hepatitis, gingivitis | Stressed suffix |
| -itive | adj | sensitive | Neutral | |
| -itude | noun | attitude, gratitude, Beatitude | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -ity | noun | expressing state or condition | normality, formality, banality | Stress on previous syllable |
| -ium | noun | metallic element (exception: helium) | sodium, Calcium | Stress on previous syllable |
| -ive | adj | make the noun an adjective | defensive, aggressive, passive | Neutral |
| -ization/-isation | noun | organization/organisation, categorization/categorisation | Neutral | |
| -ize/-ise | verb | to cause, to be, to become | materialize/materialise, idolize/idolise | Neutral |
| -izzle | used for hip hop slang | Americizzle | ||
| -kinesis | noun | movement (ability thereof) | telekinesis | |
| -less | adj | lack of | homeless, useless, careless | Neutral |
| -let | noun | diminutive, or denoting a relation to some part of the body | ringlet, hamlet, anklet | Neutral |
| -like | adj | having the qualities of | childlike | Neutral |
| -ling | noun | smaller, younger, cuter or weaker version of the noun root OR sharing an identity or quality of the noun root (e.g. as a follower) | darling, duckling, earthling, sapling | Neutral |
| -ly | adj | -like, having the attributes of | stately, monthly | Neutral |
| -ly | adv | -like, having the attributes of | quickly | Neutral |
| -man | noun | person | fireman, statesman | Neutral |
| -mancy | noun | divination by | crystallomancy, bibliomancy, necromancy | Neutral |
| -mania | noun | an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action | kleptomania, megalomania, mythomania | Stressed suffix |
| -ment | noun | abstract noun | movement, amazement, government | Neutral |
| -meter | noun | measuring device | barometer, thermometer | |
| -metry | noun | measure | symmetry, geometry, isometry | |
| -mony | noun | testimony, ceremony | Neutral | |
| -morphism | noun | form | isomorphism, homomorphism | |
| -most | adj | utmost, innermost | Neutral | |
| -ness | noun | abstract noun | kindness, ruthlessness, darkness | Neutral |
| -nik | noun | Slavic origin; corresponds to "-er" | otkaznik, beatnik | |
| -cracy | noun | system of government | kakistocracy, democracy, androcracy | Stressed suffix |
| -ogram | noun | writing, description | ideogram | Stressed suffix |
| -ography | noun | study of | stenography, geography, photography | Stressed suffix |
| -oid | adj | resembling | solenoid, hominoid | |
| -oid | noun | resembling | planetoid | |
| -ologist | noun | one who studies a scientific subject | archaeologist | Stressed suffix |
| -ology | study, science | biology, psychology, planetology | Stressed suffix | |
| -ome | noun | subject of an -omics | genome | |
| -omics | noun | study of rules | proteomics, economics | Stressed suffix |
| -onomy | noun | knowledge of | astronomy | Stressed suffix |
| -onym | noun | name, word | antonym, consonym, heteronym | |
| -opsy | noun | examination | autopsy, biopsy | |
| -or | noun | changes verb to noun (see also -er), person | actor, governor | Neutral |
| -or or -our | noun | candor, fervour, color | ||
| -ory | adj | auditory, sensory | Neutral | |
| -ory | noun | history, repository | ||
| -ose | adj | full of, like, given to; carbohydrates, protein derivatives | verbose; globose | |
| -osis | noun | process, action, formation, diseased condition | mitosis, osmosis, ostosis, psychosis | |
| -ous | adj | adjectival suffix | porous, disastrous, nervous | Neutral |
| -phagy, -phagia | noun | eating | monophagy | |
| -philia | noun | attraction | hemophilia | |
| -phobia | noun | fear | acrophobia, mysophobia | |
| -phone | noun, adj | sound, audio; speaker of a language | telephone, homophone; Anglophone | Neutral |
| -phyte | noun | plant, used in botany to create terms which categorise plants based on their life-history, growth-form or ecological preferences | therophyte, halophyte | |
| -polis | noun | referring to city or big area | Metropolis, Indianapolis | |
| -science | noun | knowing | omniscience, prescience, conscience | |
| -scope | noun | from Greek skopos, view; instrument for viewing and observing spaces | microscope, telescope, kaleidoscope, periscope | |
| -script | noun | written | manuscript, transcript | |
| -ship | noun | abstract noun, state of being | friendship, relationship, dictatorship | Neutral |
| -sion | noun | noun that has been altered from a process | decision, illusion | Stress on previous syllable |
| -some | adj | tiresome, awesome, fulsome | Stress on previous syllable | |
| -stan | noun | land, country | Afghanistan | |
| -ster | noun | person | youngster, gangster | Neutral |
| -t | adj | burnt, spoilt | Neutral | |
| -th, -eth | adj | ordinal number | tenth, millionth, twentieth | |
| -th | noun | forming a noun | growth, health, depth, strength | |
| -tion | noun | noun that has been altered from a process | evaporation, introduction | Stress on previous syllable |
| -tom, -tome | noun | part or segment | dermatome | |
| -tropism | noun | to turn | phototropism | |
| -ty | noun | certainty, loyalty | Neutral | |
| -uary | noun | sanctuary, mortuary | ||
| -ulent | adj | turbulent, fraudulent | ||
| -uous | adj | tempestuous, unctuous, sensuous | Neutral | |
| -ure | noun | failure, exposure, temperature | Neutral | |
| -us | noun | inflammation | ulcus | |
| -ville | noun | city, town from French | Nashville | |
| -vore, -vorous | noun / adj | to devour | carnivore, herbivore | |
| -ward or -wards | adj, adv | direction | southward, inward, upward | Neutral |
| -ware | noun | software | hardware, software, freeware | |
| -ways | adj | sideways, longways | Neutral | |
| -wise | adj | direction | clockwise, lengthwise | Neutral |
| -wright | noun | person who makes | playwright, wheelwright, shipwright | |
| -y | adj | having the quality of, inclined to | runny, messy, chewy | Neutral |
See also
- Classical compound
- List of generic forms in British place names
- List of English prefixes
- List of medical suffixes
- Table Biology Prefixes And Suffixes
- Table Suffixes
External links
- Acsmedicalbilling.com Medwords (PDF document)
"List of English suffixes"