Answer Key

Suffixes (3)

Use the words in brackets to form adjectives, nouns or verbs with the help of suffixation.
  1. This new lotion, produced according to an ancient recipe, will help  [lessen] (less) your acne problems. 
  2. Wow! This is an incredibly good way to  [sweeten] (sweet) the deal. A really great idea, Jack! 
  3. Subsidies and other  [favorable, favourable] (favor) policies are expected to be further ramped up in the next year. 
  4. This technology is going to  [revolutionise, revolutionize] (revolution) web browsing. 
  5. A recently published book, “The  [disastrous] (Disaster) Effects of Online Dating”, provides new rules for 21st century dating, what you can do when these rules are broken, and how to make it through the tough times. 
  6. If a  [requester] (request) is denied access to a particular government record, the  [custodian] (custody) must then provide them with the reason(s) for this  [denial] (deny). 
  7. The book was praised by some critics for its  [realism] (real) in showing the horrors of World War II. 
  8. The Chief  [editor] (edit) believed the two essays had certain  [similarities] (similar), but that this was merely [coincidental] (coincidence) as opposed to plagiarism. 
  9. We are seeking a strong business  [partnership] (partner) and, to that end, we can only consider cooperation with people who are  [reliable] (rely) and trustworthy. 
  10. As we ourselves grow into unique persons, we learn to respect the  [uniqueness] (unique) of others. 

Common adjective suffixes

-ful Useful, careful, hopeful
-less Useless, careless, hopeless
-y Healthy, sleepy, windy
-ly Friendly, monthly, homely
-ish Childish, selfish, foolish
-ous Humorous, dangerous, nervous
-able Considerable, fashionable, curable
-ible Incredible, illegible, convertible
-ed Amazed, embarrassed, confused
-ing Amazing, embarrassing, confusing
-al / -ical Hysterical, national, political
-ic Optimistic, pessimistic, specific
-ive Creative, attractive, sensitive
-ant / -ent Excellent, brilliant, confident
-ary / -ory Introductory, compulsory, explanatory
-ate Considerate, accurate, moderate
-ian Canadian, Brazilian, Indian

Common noun suffixes

-eer Mountaineer, puppeteer, engineer
-er Player, teacher, employer
-or Inspector, collector, censor
-ee Employee, trainee, licensee
-ist Capitalist, communist, pianist
-ant / -ent Consultant, applicant, disinfectant
-ian Custodian, comedian
-ance / -ence Performance, preference, reference
-ion<
(-ation / otion / ution…)
Organization, participation, promotion
-ity / -ety Possibility, infinity, variety
-ism egoism, sadism, criticism
-al Refusal, arrival, approval
-ment Advertisement, improvement, appointment
-hood Neighborhood, brotherhood, childhood
-ness Sadness, madness, shyness
-ship Membership, partnership, ownership
-cy Fluency, accuracy, bureaucracy
-dom Kingdom, freedom, boredom
-age Postage, leakage, package

Common verb suffixes

-en Brighten, loosen, strengthen
-ify Simplify, certify, magnify
-ize (American) / -ise (British) Modernize, specialize, popularize