Suffixes: Definition with Examples

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Suffixes are the letter/s which are added at the end of a stem to make new words. The affixes used in the suffixed words are different from the affixes used in the prefixed words, and they make different kinds of words.

Most of the affixes that are used in the suffixed words have no meaning of their own.

“A suffix (also called ending) is an affix that is placed after the stem of a word.”
– Wikipedia

Example:

Reader = ‘read’ is the stem of the word which has different meaning and different grammatical function in a sentence but the affix ‘er’ changes both the meaning and the grammatical function of the word to make a new word.

Reading
Readable
Creator
Creation

Note: It is not necessary that a suffix change both meaning and grammatical property of the words. It can perform either of them.

List of Common Suffixes

A suffix can make a word/stem of a word a noun, verb, adverb, or adjective. A suffix can also make a transition in the degree of an adjective or in the tense of a verb.

Noun Suffixes
Suffix	Meaning	Example
-age	a condition	leakage, bondage, marriage
-al	an action	denial, removal, approval
-ar	one who performs the action	beggar, liar, scholar
-cy	state quality	urgency, emergency, fallacy accuracy, decency, lunacy
-dom	place state of being	kingdom, dukedom, earldom boredom, freedom, stardom
-ee	one who performs an action	interviewee, internee, employee, nominee
-er	one who performs the action	reader, driver, maker, painter
-hood	state of being	boyhood, childhood, manhood
-ion	condition	union, opinion
-ism	doctrine or belief	marxism, Sufism, egotism
-ist	one who is something	dentist, chemist, Marxist, atheist
-ice	the result of an action	service, cowardice
-logy	theory	biology, geology, ecology
-ment	the condition of an action	acknowledgement, punishment, agreement
-on/en/an	doer	artisan, citizen, surgeon
-ness	state of being	sadness, happiness, rudeness, business
-nce	state quality	abundance, absence, presence brilliance, endurance, obidience
-or	one who performs the action	creator, supervisor, sailor
-ship	position held	internship, partnership, kinship
-sion	state of being	illusion, inclusion, extension
-tion	state of being	creation, information, confirmation
-tude	result of an action	fortitude, magnitude, servitude
-ty	quality state	flexibility, sensibility, frailty serenity, safety, reality
Verb Suffixes
-ate	do	captivate, annihilate, exterminate
-en	do	broaden, awaken, strengthen
-er	do	chatter, glitter, glimmer
-ish	do	publish, nourish, punish, banish
-fy	make	rectify, simplify, amplify
-ize	become	humanize, organize, socialize, legalize
Adjective Suffixes
-able	capable of being	presentable, readable, believable
-al	belonging to	legal, local, mental, mortal, fatal, musical
-ar	quality	familiar, regular, circular
-ed	quality	gifted, talented, learned, cultured
-en	made of	golden, wooden, woolen, leaden
-ful	notable for	beautiful, wonderful, doubtful
-ible	capable of	admissible, divisible, sensible
-ic	pertaining to	allergic, mythic, domestic, historic
-ish	belonging to	selfish, Turkish, Irish, Polish, childish
-istic	characterized by an attribute	fantastic, pessimistic, optimistic, sarcastic
-ile	having the nature of	fragile, juvenile, servile
-ian/an	belonging to	Indian, American, Russian, Victorian
-ive	having the nature of	creative, punitive, divisive, decisive
-less	without	fearless, helpless, endless, tireless
-ous	characterized by an attribute	studious, pious, religious, joyous
-y	characterized by	smelly, healthy, greedy, wealthy