Prefixes  Suffixes



English Suffixes

English suffixes are many and varied. What you'll find here on this site should help you tremendously when it comes to learning about prefixes and suffixes.

Learning English suffixes... that is, how they are formed, the spelling changes that take place when they are attached to a word, plus the meanings of the different suffixes and how they are used are all part of what you'll learn here on this site.

For instance, you should know that a word ending in 'ly' forms an adverb.

You should also know that adverbs typically tell you the 'how' of something.

But what about adjectives? nouns? pronouns? etc.,... what do they show?

Well, some of the more common English suffixes and how are they used are listed below. What's more you can find more English suffixes on different pages within this site. Just use the MENU bar at the left of this page to find those items you're interested in.

The most common English suffixes are shown below. They show you the kind of word formed and the type of suffix they are.

Suffix      Meaning     Use

able, ible
capable of
(adjective suffix)
drinkable - able to be drank
legible - able to be read
ac, ic
like, pertaining to
cardiac - pertaining to heart
democratic - pertaining to democracy
acious, icious
full of
audacious - full of daring,
avaricious - full of greed
pertaining to
maniacal - insane
portal - doorway
logical - pertaining to logic
ant, ent
full of
eloquent - pertaining to fluid, effective speech.
verdant - green
like, connected with
dictionary - book connected with words
honorary - connected with honor
to make
(verb suffix)
consecrate - to make holy
mitigate - make less severe
that which is
(noun suffix)
irritation - that which is irritated
state of being
(noun suffix)
democracy - ruled by people
obstinacy - obstinate state, stubbornness
eer, er, or
person who
(noun suffix)
mountaineer - mountain climber
teacher - person who teaches
advisor - person who advises
becoming (adjective suffix)
evanescent - tending to vanish
pubescent - arriving at puberty
making, doing
(adjective suffix)
fantastic - arousing great wonder
terrific - arousing great fear
to make (verb suffix)
magnify - to enlarge
petrify - turn to stone
producing, bearing
(adjective suffix)
pestiferous - carrying disease
vociferous - having a loud voice
il, ile
pertaining to, capable of
(adjective suffix)
civil - polite
docile - easily taught or led
doctrine, belief
(noun suffix)
monotheism - belief in one God
communism - real bad idea
dealer, doer
(noun suffix)
realist - one who is realistic
socialist - hardly a realist
state of being
(noun suffix)
sagacity - state of being wise
like (adjective suffix)
quantitative - concerned with number or volume
ize, ise
to make
(verb suffix)
harmonize - make harmonious
revolutionize - make revolutionary
resembling, like
(adjective suffix)
ovoid - like an egg
anthropoid - resembling a human
full of (adjective suffix)
verbose - full of words
condition (noun suffix)
psychosis - diseased mental condition
hypnosis - induced sleep
full of
(adjective suffix)
nauseous - full of nausea
ludicrous - foolish
state of (noun suffix)
fortitude - state of strength
certitude - state of certainty

For a list of suffixes just click on English suffixes and you'll go to a page containing a list of English suffixes.