Monday, June 15, 2009

Suffixes

NOUNS

Nouns perform the function of naming. Nouns name persons, places animals or things, as well as groups, ideas and qualities. In a sentence, nouns can be subjects, objects, or appositives.

 

 

A

  • -acy, -cy
    • Noun: state or quality
      • privacy: the state of being alone
        • priv + acy
      • infancy: the state of being a baby or young child
        • in + fan + cy
  • -age
    • Noun: activity, or result of action
      • courage : having the spirit to overcome fear
        • cour + age
  • -al
    • Noun: action, result of action
      • referral : the action of directing a person to another place, person or thing
  • -an
    • Noun: person
      • artisan : a craftsperson
        • arti + san
  • -ance, -ence
    • Noun: action, state, quality or process
      • resistance : the action of opposing something
      • independence: the state of not being under the control of others, free, self-governing
  • -ancy, -ency
    • Noun: state, quality or capacity
      • vacancy : an empty room or position
      • agency: the capacity to exert power or influence, a position or person that performs a function
        • ag + ency
  • -ant, -ent
    • Noun: an agent, something that performs the action
      • disinfectant : an agent that destroys germs, somthing that cleans
      • dependent: a thing supported by another, a thing determined by another
  • -ate
    • Noun: state, office, fuction
      • candidate : a person nominated for an office or position
        • candid + ate
  • -ation
    • Noun: action, resulting state
      • specialization : the result of being distinguished by one quality or ability

 

D

  • -dom
    • Noun: place, state of being
      • wisdom : possessing knowledge
        • wis + dom

 

E

  • -er, -or
    • Noun: person or thing that does something
      • porter : a person who carries things
      • collector: a person who collects or gathers things

 

F

  • -ful
    • Noun: an amount or quanity that fills
      • mouthful : an amount that fills the mouth
        • mouth + ful

 

I

  • -ian, an
    • Noun: related to, one that is
      • pedestrian : a person who walks
        • ped + estr + ian
      • human: a person
        • hum + an
  • -ia
    • Noun: names, diseases
      • phobia : an illogical fear of something
        • phob + ia
  • -iatry
    • Noun: art of healing
      • psychiatry : branch of medicine that deals with the mind and emotions
  • -ic, ics
    • Noun: related to the arts and sciences
      • arithmetic : a branch of math that usually deals with non-negative numbers
        • arithm + et + ic
      • economics: the social science related to studying business
        • eco + nom + ics
  • -ice
    • Noun: act
      • malice : the desire to do evil
  • -ing
    • Noun: material made for, activity, result of an activity
      • flooring : a material made for floors
        • floor + ing
      • swimming: the activity of swimming or moving through water
        • swim(m) + ing
      • building: the result of making a structure
        • build + ing
  • -ion
    • Noun: condition or action
      • abduction : the action of carrying someone away by force
  • -ism
    • Noun: doctrine, belief, action or conduct
      • formalism : a belief in sticking to prescribed forms or artistic styles
  • -ist
    • Noun: person or member
      • podiatrist : a foot doctor
  • -ite
    • Noun: product or part
      • graphite : a black material used in making pencils
  • -ity, ty
    • Noun: state or quality
      • lucidity : clear thinking
        • luc + id + ity
      • novelty: something new or unusual
  • -ive
    • Noun: condition
      • native : a person born in a specific place

 

M

  • -ment
    • Noun: condition or result
      • document : an official paper usually showinf proof or evidence of something

 

N

  • -ness
    • Noun: state, condition, quality
      • kindness : the quality of being kind or nice
        • kind + ness

 

O

  • -or
    • Noun: condition or activity
      • valor : bravery, courage
        • val + or
  • -ory
    • Noun: place for, serves for
      • territory : an area around a place

 

S

  • -ship
    • Noun: status, condition
      • relationship : the state of being related or connected to something or someone

 

U

  • -ure
    • Noun: act, condition, process, function
      • exposure : the condition of being exposed or unprotected

 

Y

  • -y
    • Noun: state, condition, result of an activity
      • society : companionship
      • victory: the result of winning something
        • vict + or + y

 

VERBS

Verbs make statements about nouns, ask questions, give commands, or show states of being. Verbs can be active or passive. Verbs also show tense or time of action.

 

A

  • -ate
    • Verb: cause to be
      • graduate : to give a degree to, to pass from one stage to the next

 

E

  • -ed
    • Verb: past tense
      • attained : something that has been reached or grasped
  • -en
    • Verb: to cause to become
      • moisten : to cause to become moist or damp
        • moist + en
  • -er, -or
    • Verb: action
      • ponder : to think about
      • clamor: to make noise, to call for loudly

 

I

  • -ify
    • Verb: cause
      • specify : to name or indicate in detail
  • -ing
    • Verb: present participle
      • depicting : showing, describing with images or pictures
  • -ize
    • Verb: cause
      • fantasize : to dream about something, to create images in the mind

 

U

  • -ure
    • act
      • Verb: conjecture : to come to a conclusion by supposition or guesswork

 

ADJECTIVES

Adjectives describe or modify nouns. Adjectives tell the reader more about the noun used in the sentence.

 

A

  • -able, -ible
    • Adjective: worth, ability
      • solvable : able to be solved or explained
      • incredible: not able to be believed, amazing
  • -al, -ial, -ical
    • Adjective: quality, relation
      • structural : related to the physical make up of a thing
      • territorial: related to nearby or local areas
      • categorical: related to a category, aboslute
  • -ant, -ent, -ient
    • Adjective: kind of agent, indication
      • important : marked by worth
      • dependent: determined or relying upon something else
      • convenient: at hand, easy to use
  • -ar, -ary
    • Adjective: resembling, related to
      • spectacular : related to something that is eye-catching or amazing
      • unitary : related to units or single groups representing quantities
  • -ate
    • Adjective: kind of state
      • inviolate : not disturbed, pure
        • in + viol + ate

 

E

  • -ed
    • Adjective: having the quality of
      • terraced : having terraces or steps
  • -en
    • Adjective: material
      • silken : made from silk, a fiber produced by worms
        • silk + en
  • -er
    • Adjective: comparative
      • brighter : more light
        • bright + er
  • -est
    • Adjective: superlative
      • strongest : having the most strength
        • strong + est

 

F

  • -ful
    • Adjective: having, giving, marked by
      • fanciful : marked by imagination

 

I

  • -ic
    • Adjective: quality, relation
      • generic : related to a whole group
  • -ile
    • Adjective: having the qualities of
      • projectile : something thrown with an outside force
  • -ing
    • Adjective: activity
      • cohering : the act of sticking together
  • -ish
    • Adjective: having the character of
      • newish : modern, recent
        • new + ish
  • -ive, -ative, -itive
    • Adjective: having the quality of
      • festive : having the quality of a festival or party
        • fest + ive
      • cooperative : being able or willing to work with another person or thing
      • sensitive: easily felt, responsive to the senses

 

L

  • -less
    • Adjective: without, missing
      • motiveless : a reason for someone to do something

 

O

  • -ous, -eous, -ose, -ious
    • Adjective: having the quality of, relating to
      • adventurous : charcterized by the desire to seek new experiences or risks
      • courageous : characterized by courage, brave
        • cour + ag + eous
      • verbose: having more words than needed
      • fractious: characterized by being difficult or troublesome

 

Y

  • -y
    • Adjective: marked by, having
      • hungry : having hunger, marked by a desire
        • hungr + y

ADVERBS

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.

 

 

  • -fold
    • Adverb: in a manner of, marked by
      • fourfold : being four times as great
        • four + fold

 

L

  • -ly
    • Adverb: in the manner of
      • fluently : marked by ease of movement, effortlessly smooth

 

W

  • -ward
    • Adverb: in a direction or manner
      • homeward : toward home
        • home + ward
  • -wise
    • Adverb: in the manner of, with regard to
      • timewise : with regard to time
        • time + wise

 

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