What are some commonly used English suffixes?

The English language has verb, noun and adjective suffixes, including the common noun suffixes -acy and -al. -Ate, -ify, -fy, -ize and -ise are examples of commonly used verb suffixes. -Ful, -ish and -less are some commonly used adjective suffixes.

The suffix -acy means state or quality and appears in the word privacy, while the noun suffix -al means the act or process of. The word refusal contains this suffix.

The verb suffix -ate means to become and pops up in words such as eradicate and frustrate. _Ify and -fy mean to become or make and they appear in words such as solidify and terrify. -Ize or -ise also means to become when appended to a verb. It appears in words such as civilize and emphasize.

The adjective suffix -ful means notable for and appears in English words such as fanciful and grateful. -Ish means having the quality of and comes up in words such as selfish and childish. -Less means without and appears in English words such as paperless, shameless and endless.

A suffix is a letter or a number of letters at the end of a word that modify the grammatical function of the word. Knowing the meaning of the common suffixes is helpful in figuring out the meaning of new words.