Meanings of Common Derivational Suffixes
A suffix is a letter or group of letters that come at the end of a word and have meaning. A derivational suffix is a type of suffix that creates a new word; the new word is derived from the base word, e.g., adding -er to the word teach creates a new word teacher.
Meanings of the Most Common Derivational Suffixes
The most frequently occurring derivational suffixes are as follows:
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -able | capable of, worthy of being | lovable, learnable & fixable |
| -ar | of or relating to | beggar & liar |
| -en | to become or cause to be | weaken, sharpen & lengthen |
| -er | comparative; more | hotter, bigger & smarter |
| -er | person connected with | teacher, painter & shipper |
| -ess | female | princess, waitress & actress |
| -est | comparative; most | smartest, fastest & quickest |
| -ette | small | dinette, diskette & barrette |
| -ible | capable of , worthy of being | gullible & durable |
| -ful | full of | joyful, fearful & cheerful |
| -ish | relating to | childish, bookish & selfish |
| -less | without; not having | tireless, ageless & careless |
| -like | resembling or characteristic of | childlike, doglike & homelike |
| -ly | resembling; similar to | fatherly, scholarly & motherly |
| -ment | action or process | government, development & experiment |
| -ness | state or quality of: condition | kindness, goodness & happiness |
| -or | person connected with | doctor, actor & editor |
| -ship | state or quality of: condition | friendship, hardship & citizenship |
Source:
Fry, E.B., Ph.D. & Kress, J.E., Ed.D. (2006). The Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists 5th Edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
This is great, thank you! What about “ize”, i.e., deorderize, magnetize? Does it place emphasis on the root word (emphasize)?