Harnessing the power of suffixes is an effective way to expand your vocabulary quickly and easily. Many common words can be transformed into new words through the addition of suffixes. Adding -ful or -less to the end of a word can instantly provide your vocabulary with more words that can accurately express your thoughts. For instance, if you think of the word “unlucky,” you can easily transform it into the more powerful “luckless” by adding the suffix -less. Similarly, “satisfied” can be made into “satisfying” with the addition of -ing.
Adding the suffix -tion often creates a verb into a noun. For example, consider the word “educate,” which can be transformed into the noun “education.” Or, you could turn the verb “produce” into the noun “production.” By understanding the meaning of the suffixes, you can quickly expand your vocabulary.
Furthermore, understanding the origins of some suffixes can help you to accurately choose the correct word. For example, the suffix -ous is derived from the Latin root, “osus,” which means “full of.” Thus, if you want to describe something as full of emotion, then the correct word would be “emotional.” With a few core suffixes and understanding of their origin, you can rapidly expand your vocabulary! Improve Your Vocabulary With Suffixes
Do you know what a suffix is? A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word or root to form a new word, or to change the word’s meaning or usage, like “-ly” in “fearlessly.” Knowing just one suffix can help you understand the meanings and uses of a lot of different words that look similar. Here are some of the most common suffixes to help you build your English vocabulary.
First, let’s look at “-ment.” This suffix is often used to make nouns out of verbs, like “exchange” becoming “exchangement.” Words that end in “-ment” typically mean an action or an operation of some kind. For example, “improvement” would mean the action of improving something, and “treatment” would refer to the operation of treating something.
The suffix “-ness” can also be useful for forming nouns on different words. This suffix is used to refer to a quality or condition of a thing, like with “tiredness” or “loneliness.” If you can think of the root word, like “tired” or “lonely”, you can likely figure out what the -ness word means.
The suffix “-ful” is commonly used with adjectives. For example, adding “-ful” to the word “care” gives you the adjective “careful,” which means “exercising great care or caution.” Other words that follow this pattern include “thoughtful,” “peaceful,” “useful,” and more.
Another suffix used to form adjectives is “-ic,” which refers to things that are related to certain actions or qualities. The root words that you pair with this suffix are typically related to ideas or emotions, like “tragic” (a sad event), “comic” (something funny), “romantic” (having to do with love or romance), and more.
Finally, the suffix “-able” is used to form adjectives that refer to something being able to be done. Take the root word “enjoy,” for example. When you add “-able” to it, you get the adjective “enjoyable,” which means something that can be enjoyed. Other words that follow this pattern include “understandable,” “educable,” and “loveable.”
Learning to recognize and use suffixes can help you vastly expand your English vocabulary. Start paying attention to the endings of common words you use, and you may be surprised at just how many suffixes you already know. With a little practice, you’ll be using suffixes to add new dimension to your English conversations in no time.
Using suffixes to help expand your vocabulary doesn’t have to be tedious or boring. In fact, embracing this method of mastering language can be an enlightening and enriching process. So, the next time you’re looking for a way to boost your vocabulary, don’t forget about the magical power of suffixes. They could be your key to unleashing a whole new world of words.