A suffix refers to an individual letter or a group of letters that are attached to the ends of words to turn them into new words. For instance, “-ing” is a suffix that can change a root word like “bring” to the new word “bringing.”
Meanwhile, a derivational suffix is a suffix that ends up changing the meaning of a word entirely. However, the meaning of the new word is “derived” from the original word. For instance, “preach” can become “preacher” and “hate” can become “hateful.”
When to use derivational suffix?
A derivational suffix can be very helpful to use when you want to change the grammatical class of a word from one form to another. For instance, the noun “danger” can be turned into the adjective “dangerous” through the addition of the suffix “-ous.”
Using derivational suffixes is also helpful in the creation of brand new words. For instance, “reactionary” is a word that comes from the root word “reaction”—but the addition of the suffix “-ary” completely changes the meaning of the original word.
Why use derivational suffixes?
Derivational suffixes are helpful because they allow us to create new words with unique meanings that have been derived from their root words.
How to use a derivational suffix?
There are many derivational suffixes to choose from. To use them, you must simply add them to the end of the root word to change its meaning and to create a completely new word. For instance, the derivational suffix “-age” can be added to the word “store” to create the new word “storage.” Similarly, the addition of the suffix “-ive” can change the word “mass” to “massive.”
Derivational suffix examples
We can’t list all the derivational suffixes in existence because there are simply too many of them. However, the table below lists some of them:
| Suffix | Root Word | New Word |
| -able | Relate (verb) Change (noun/verb)Obtain (verb) | Relatable (adjective)Changeable (adjective)Obtainable (adjective) |
| -age | Patron (noun) Break (verb) Bag (noun) | Patronage (noun) Breakage (noun) Baggage (noun) |
| -al | Arrive (verb)Behaviour (noun)Environment (noun) | Arrival (noun) Behavioural (adjective)Environmental (adjective) |
| -ar | Lie (verb) Burgle (verb) Beg (verb) | Liar (noun) Burglar (noun) Beggar (noun) |
| -ary | Revolution (noun) Diction (noun) Station (noun) | Revolutionary (adjective/noun) Dictionary (noun) Stationary (adjective) |
| -ate | Origin (noun) Fortune (noun) Active (adjective) | Originate (verb) Fortunate (adjective) Activate (verb) |
| -ation | Imagine (verb) Emancipate (verb) Elate (verb) | Imagination (noun) Emancipation (noun) Elation (noun) |
| -ee | Interviewed (verb) Employed (verb) Trained (verb) | Interviewee (noun) Employee (noun) Trainee (noun) |
| -en | Bright (adjective) Straight (adjective) Wood (noun) | Brighten (verb) Straighten (verb) Wooden (adjective) |
| -ence | Depend (verb) Differ (verb) Depend (verb) | Dependence (noun) Difference (noun) Dependence (noun) |
| -er | Teach (verb) Preach (verb) Learn (verb) | Teacher (noun) Preacher (noun) Learner (noun) |
| -ess | Lion (noun) Hunter (noun) God (noun) | Lioness (noun) Huntress (noun) Goddess (noun) |
| -est | Early (adverb/adjective) Kind (adjective)Tall (adjective) | Earliest (adjective)Kindest (adjective)Tallest (adjective) |
| -ette | Kitchen (noun) Cigar (noun) Statue (noun) | Kitchenette (noun) Cigarette (noun)Statuette (noun) |
| -ful | Care (noun) Pain (noun) Fear (noun) | Careful (adjective) Painful (adjective) Fearful (adjective) |
| -hood | Neighbour (noun)Boy (noun)Priest (noun) | Neighbourhood (noun)Boyhood (noun)Priesthood (noun) |
| -ication | Beautify (verb) Complexify (verb) Electrify (verb) | Beautification (noun) Complexification (noun) Electrification (noun) |
| -ing | Think (verb) Speak (verb) Breathe (verb) | Thinking (noun) Speaking (noun) Breathe (noun) |
| -ism | Perfection (noun)Human (noun)Race (noun) | Perfectionism (noun)Humanism (noun)Racism (noun) |
| -ist | Art (noun) Strategy (noun) Caricature (noun) | Artist (noun) Strategist (noun) Caricaturist (noun) |
| -ise | Union (noun) Idol (noun) Legal (noun) | Unionise (verb) Idolise (verb) Legalise (verb) |
| -less | State (noun) Breath (noun) Fear (noun) | Stateless (adjective)Breathless (adjective)Fearless (adjective) |
| -like | God (noun)Life (noun) Lady (noun) | Godlike (adjective)Lifelike (adjective)Ladylike (adjective) |
| -ly | Friend (noun) Glad (adjective)Love (noun) | Friendly (adjective)Gladly (adjective)Lovely (adjective) |
| -ment | Atone (verb) Treat (verb) Bereave (verb) | Atonement (noun)Treatment (noun)Bereavement (noun) |
| -ness | Together (adverb) Weird (adjective) Smart (adjective) | Togetherness (adverb) Weirdness (noun) Smartness (noun) |
| -or | Realty (noun) Act (noun) Create (verb) | Realtor (noun) Actor (noun) Creator (noun) |
| -ous | Danger (noun) Adventure (noun) Gluten (noun) | Dangerous (adjective) Adventurous (adjective) Glutenous (adjective) |
| -ship | Friend (noun) Relation(noun) Mentor (noun) | Friendship (noun) Relationship (noun) Mentorship (noun) |
| -tion | Relate (verb)Absorb (verb) Prevent (verb) | Relation (noun) Absorption (noun) Prevention (noun) |
Hi, I am Srishti Mukherjee. I have completed my M.A. in English.
I always like to explore new zones in the field of English Literature
Apart from this, I like to read Novels and watch movies.