Forming Adjectives – List

  • Adding '-ful':  Used to express the fullness or amount of a certain quality. Example: Beautiful, wonderful, tasteful.
  • Adding '-less':  Used to indicate the lack of a quality or state. Example: Hopeless, fearless, painless.
  • Adding '-ous': Usually added to the end of a noun to create an adjective that means 'full of' the noun. Example: Courageous, poisonous, dangerous.
  • Adding '-y':  Used to indicate the presence of a quality or character in a high degree. Example: Sunny, windy, happy.
  • Adding '-al': Often used to form adjectives from nouns that refer to activities or fields of study. Example: Musical, industrial, national.
  • Adding '-ish':  Used to indicate affiliation or resemblance with something. Example: Childish, selfish, bookish.
  • Adding '-ive':  Used to form adjectives from verbs, indicating a tendency or capability. Example: Creative, active, destructive.
  • Adding '-ic': Used to add on to a noun to create an adjective. Example: Public, dramatic, poetic.
  • Adding '-able' or '-ible': Used to form adjectives from verbs to indicate the capacity or worth of being the action of the verb. Example: Readable, edible, movable.
  • Adding '-ant' or '-ent':  Used to turn a verb into an adjective that means 'tending to' or 'performing' the action of the verb. Example: Confident, resistant, different.
  • Adding '-ary': Often added to nouns referring to things or people, indicating a connection or relation. Example: Elementary, necessary, complimentary.
  • Adding '-like':  Used to form adjectives indicating similarity or manner. Example: Lifelike, childlike, catlike.
  • Adding '-en': Used to form adjectives from nouns and from adjectives to denote the material or color. Example: Golden, wooden, frozen.
  • Adding '-wise':  Used to form adjectives indicating manner or respect. Example: Otherwise, clockwise, lengthwise.
  • Adding '-some':  This suffix forms adjectives meaning 'inclined to' or 'causing'. Example: Handsome, burdensome, lonesome.
  • Adding '-free': Indicates that something does not have or is not affected by the stated thing. Example: Carefree, gluten-free, toll-free.
  • Adding '-sized': Used to indicate the size of something. Example: Life-sized, over-sized, bite-sized.
  • Adding '-ed': Used to form adjectives from verbs to indicate the object's state or condition. Example: Tired, annoyed, worried.
  • Adding '-ing': Used to form adjectives from verbs to signify performing or causing an action. Example: Exciting, amazing, comforting.
  • Adding '-ward' or '-wards': Used to form adjectives that indicate direction. Example: Upward, inward, forward.
  • Adding '-esque': Used to form adjectives that indicate style or manner. Example: Grotesque, picturesque, statuesque.
  • Adding '-age': Used to form adjectives that indicate quality, condition, or function. Example: Vintage, postage, breakage.
  • Adding '-oid' : Mainly forms adjectives from nouns to mean 'resembling' or 'like'. Example: Spheroid, humanoid, planetoid.
  • Adding '-al' : This suffix forms adjectives meaning 'pertaining to' or 'related to'. Example: Astronomical, biological, cultural.
  • Adding '-ary' : This suffix forms adjectives meaning 'pertaining to', 'relating to', or 'connected with'. Example: Arbitrary, revolutionary, contrary.

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