Adjective Suffixes

-y: "having the quality of" or "characterized by"
-ly: "having the characteristics of"
-ous: "full of" or "having the quality of"
-ful: "full of" or "characterized by"
-less: "without" or "lacking"
-al: "relating to" or "having the nature of"

-ly : having the characteristics of
friend + -ly = friendly
love + -ly = lovely
cost + -ly = costly

-ous : full of
danger + -ous = dangerous
fame + -ous = famous
joy + -ous = joyous

-ful: full of
help + -ful = helpful
care + -ful = careful
wonder + -ful = wonderful

-less : without or lacking
care + -less = careless
hope + -less = hopeless
harm + -less = harmless

-al: relating to or having the nature of
music + -al = musical
magic + -al = magical
nature + -al = natural

Interactive Lesson, Practice & Quiz

Adjective Suffixes Interactive Lesson

📚 Adjective Suffixes

Master the art of creating descriptive words!

What are Adjective Suffixes?

Adjective suffixes are word endings that transform nouns and verbs into descriptive words (adjectives). They help us create rich, expressive language by adding meaning to root words.

-y

Means "having the quality of" or "characterized by"

rain + -y = rainy

sun + -y = sunny

dirt + -y = dirty

-ly

Means "having the characteristics of"

friend + -ly = friendly

love + -ly = lovely

cost + -ly = costly

-ous

Means "full of" or "having the quality of"

danger + -ous = dangerous

fame + -ous = famous

joy + -ous = joyous

-ful

Means "full of" or "characterized by"

help + -ful = helpful

care + -ful = careful

wonder + -ful = wonderful

-less

Means "without" or "lacking"

care + -less = careless

hope + -less = hopeless

harm + -less = harmless

-al

Means "relating to" or "having the nature of"

music + -al = musical

magic + -al = magical

nature + -al = natural

Adjective Suffixes with Practice and key