Suffixes List in English: Complete Guide with Meanings & Examples

Introduction

Suffixes are powerful building blocks in the English language. They are word endings added to base words that change their meaning or grammatical function—helping us form nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. At Belekar Sir’s Academy, we believe that learning suffixes not only boosts your vocabulary but also improves your ability to decode unfamiliar words in reading and writing.

This guide will walk you through the most common suffixes in English, their meanings, and examples—so you can use them confidently in any context, whether you’re preparing for school exams or competitive English tests.

For more word formation tools, check out our Noun-Adjective Generator and guides on types of nouns and types of adjectives.

What Is a Suffix?

Definition of a Suffix

A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a base word to change its meaning, function, or part of speech. For example:

• happy + -ness = happiness
• walk + -ed = walked

Purpose of Suffixes in English

• Change the word type: quick → quickly (adjective to adverb)
• Show grammar changes: cat → cats, walk → walked, big → biggest
• Expand vocabulary: Once you know common suffixes, you can easily understand or create new words.

Types of English Suffixes

English suffixes are grouped into two main types: derivational and inflectional.

1. Derivational Suffixes

These suffixes change the meaning or part of speech of the base word. They help create new words with new functions.

• -ness (forms nouns): happy → happiness
• -less (forms adjectives): hope → hopeless
• -ly (forms adverbs): quick → quickly
• -ment (forms nouns): develop → development

2. Inflectional Suffixes

These suffixes do not change the word’s part of speech, but they adjust tense, number, or comparison.

• -s (plural): cat → cats
• -ed (past tense): walk → walked
• -ing (present participle): run → running
• -est (superlative): big → biggest

Suffixes That Form Nouns

Suffixes That Form Verbs

Suffixes That Form Adjectives

Suffixes That Form Adverbs

Complete List of English Suffixes (A–Z)

A–E

F–J

K–O

P–T

U–Z

Specialized Suffix Categories

Medical Suffixes

Scientific and Academic Suffixes

Legal and Formal Suffixes

How Suffixes Affect Spelling

1. Dropping the Final ‘E’

If the suffix starts with a vowel, drop the silent “e”:

• hope + ing = hoping
• make + er = maker

If the suffix starts with a consonant, keep the “e”:

• hope + ful = hopeful
• safe + ly = safely

2. Doubling the Final Consonant

Follow the 1-1-1 Rule (1 syllable, 1 vowel, 1 consonant):

• run + ing = running
• hop + ed = hopped
• big + est = biggest

3. Changing ‘Y’ to ‘I’

If a word ends in consonant + y, change y to i before adding a suffix (except if the suffix begins with “i”):

• happy + ness = happiness
• party + es = parties
• beauty + ful = beautiful
• cry + ing = crying (exception)

If the word ends in vowel + y, keep the y:

• play + ed = played
• buy + er = buyer

4. Irregular Plurals and Comparatives

• child → children
• man → men
• good → better, best
• bad → worse, worst

Suffix Practice Activities

Frequently Asked Questions

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Mangesh Belekar is the founder and lead instructor at Belekar Sir’s Academy, a trusted name in English language education. With over a decade of teaching experience, he has helped thousands of students—from beginners to advanced learners—develop fluency, confidence, and real-world communication skills.