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.
Ready to give your vocabulary a little tailwind? Scroll to the bottom of the article for the free printable english suffixes vocabulary list PDF and the free downloadable printable english suffixes flashcards.
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.
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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 |
Free English Suffixes PDF Vocabulary List and Flashcards
Grab the purple english suffixes vocabulary list button for a 100% free download with no signup. Then tap the teal english suffixes flashcards button for another 100% free, no-signup set to help the suffixes stick.
