Suffixes: tiny word endings that flip a word’s entire job. Slap -er onto “teach” and you’ve got a person. Add -ness to “dark” and it becomes a thing you can feel. This list rounds up around 132 English suffixes — the ones you’ll actually meet in daily life, not the obscure stuff from a dusty grammar book.
We’ve kept it simple. Each suffix comes with a plain-English meaning, a realistic example sentence, and easy-to-read US IPA so you pronounce everything clearly. There’s a play button right in the table — tap it to hear the word out loud, because your ears need training just as much as your eyes.
Once you know a handful of suffixes, you can guess hundreds of new words without reaching for a dictionary. Work through the interactive table at your own pace, then grab the free PDF download just below the list for offline practice.
Lists are great, but real conversations flow in whole chunks. Our free bite-sized lessons teach you natural phrases with audio — start with the intro and jump into Lesson 1 when you’re ready to chat.
English Suffix Quiz
Quiz time! See how many suffixes you already recognize — it’s a quick warm-up before you dive into the full list.
English Suffix List with Meanings
| Root | IPA | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| -pathy | /pəθi/ | feeling, diseased | sympathy, empathy, antipathy, apathy, telepathy, homeopathy, osteopathy, neuropathy, psychopathy, sociopathy |
| -phile | /faɪl/ | one who loves | audiophile, bibliophile, cinephile, francophile, Anglophile, technophile, zoophile, pedophile, logophile |
| -phobia | /foʊbiə/ | abnormal fear of | claustrophobia, agoraphobia, arachnophobia, acrophobia, hydrophobia, nyctophobia, xenophobia, homophobia, technophobia, coulrophobia |
| -phone | /foʊn/ | sound | telephone, microphone, headphone, earphone, cellphone, smartphone, megaphone, homophone, xylophone, francophone |
| -phyte | /faɪt/ | plant, to grow | epiphyte, hydrophyte, xerophyte, mesophyte, halophyte, saprophyte, neophyte, lithophyte, heliophyte |
| -plegia | pliːdʒə | paralysis | paraplegia, quadriplegia, hemiplegia, monoplegia, diplegia |
| -plegic | pliːdʒɪk | one who is paralyzed | paraplegic, quadriplegic, hemiplegic, monoplegic, diplegic |
| -pnea | niːə | air, spirit | apnea, dyspnea, hyperpnea, hypopnea, orthopnea |
| -scope | skoʊp | visual exam | microscope, telescope, endoscope, stethoscope, bronchoscope |
| -scopy | skəpi | visual exam | endoscopy, colonoscopy, bronchoscopy, laparoscopy, microscopy |
| -scribe | skraɪb | to write | describe, prescribe, subscribe, transcribe, proscribe |
| -script | skrɪpt | to write | manuscript, transcript, postscript, conscript, description |
| -sect | sɛkt | to cut | dissect, intersect, bisect, trisect, vivisect |
| -ship | ʃɪp | state or condition of, skill of | friendship, leadership, citizenship, ownership, relationship |
| -sion | ʒən | state or quality | vision, revision, division, decision, collision |
| -some | səm | characterized by, group of | handsome, troublesome, lonesome, wholesome, fearsome |
| -sophic | sɑːfɪk | wisdom, knowledge | philosophic, theosophic, anthroposophic, misosophic, pansophic |
| -sophy | sɑːfi | wisdom, knowledge | philosophy, theosophy, anthroposophy, misosophy, pansophy |
| -th | θ | state or quality | growth, strength, depth, width, length |
| -tion | ʃən | state or quality | action, nation, station, education, information |
| -tome | /toʊm/ | to cut | microtome, dermatome, osteotome, lobotome, craniotome |
| -tomy | /təmi/ | to cut | lobotomy, tracheotomy, gastrotomy, craniotomy, hysterotomy |
| -trophy | /trəfi/ | nourishment, growth | atrophy, hypertrophy, dystrophy, eutrophy, oligotrophy |
| -tude | /tud/ | state, condition or quality | attitude, gratitude, solitude, altitude, magnitude, multitude, fortitude |
| -ty | /ti/ | state, condition or quality | safety, beauty, honesty, liberty, equality, unity, clarity, severity |
