Want to learn about the logical glue that holds language together and makes writing clear and flowing? Visit my Transitional Words and Phrases page. You will become a better writer if you learn to use transitions of thought and transitions of logic to make your writing coherent.
A Handful of Suffixes
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
| able, ible | able to be, capable of being | pourable, drinkable, readable, washable, curable, visible, flexible, collectible |
| ance, ancy | state of, process of | performance, reliance, defiance, radiance, acceptance, ascendancy, discrepancy, infancy |
| ator | one who does [the verb] | terminator, culminator, agitator, instigator, generator, incubator, accelerator, invigorator, elevator |
| dom | condition, office, state | kingdom, freedom, wisdom, sheikdom, fiefdom, sheikdom |
| ee | one who receives | payee, mortgagee, employee, appointee, abductee, examinee, referee, refugee |
| er, or | one who does [the verb] | driver, hiker, reader, manager, polisher, speaker, counselor, author, creator, director, sculptor |
| ful | filled with | frightful, delightful, wonderful, cupful, wakeful, bashful, bountiful, beautiful, cheerful, colorful, dreadful, fateful |
| ify | to make into | purify, deify, simplify, clarify, petrify, reify, exemplify, pacify |
| ification | process of making into | purification, deification, simplifiction, clarification, petrification |
| ish | the nature of, resembling | Cornish, Irish, bookish, freakish, foolish, boorish, selfish, sluggish, priggish |
| ism | doctrine, system, characteristic quality | capitalism, heroism, optimism, skepticism, realism, patriotism, communism, idealism, conservatism |
| ist | one who performs; an adherent of an ism | tympanist, cellist, idealist, communist, realist, moralist, pharamacist, pragmatist |
| ize | to make into | rationalize, normalize, realize, capitalize, sterilize, dramatize, utilize, colorize |
| ization | the process of making into | rationalization, normalization, realization, capitalization, dramatization |
| less | without, lacking | loveless, fearless, worthless, nameless, baseless, bottomless, effortless, friendless, noiseless, harmless |
Are you new to the English language? This is my recommended book from Amazon.com.
Want to build your vocabulary? Check out my list of 1062 really useful words.
Learn creatively! See Creative Ways to Learn Vocabulary Words. It’s really fun. I’m not kidding.
Want a vocabulary building book? Check these books out at Amazon.com