Оглавление —> Все суффиксы прилагательных
Даже в очень простом английском тексте встречаются слова с окончаниями и приставками. Ну а если текст не адаптирован, то есть, является оригинальным, то “длинные” слова с суффиксами и префиксами можно встретить в каждой строчке . Твердые знания суффиксов и префиксов очень облегчают жизнь. Прочитав длинное слово с знакомым суффиксом, уже понятно, к какой части речи оно относится, да и о значении слова можно догадаться. .
Продолжаем тему словообразования и рассмотрим еще одну пару суффиксов прилагательных.
Суффикс — ISH = продуктивный, происхождением от греческого к среднеанглийскому. Имеет несколько основных значений.
ПЕРВЫЙ СМЫСЛ: Прибавляется к прилагательному, и означает уменьшение степени или качества, выраженного этим прилагательным. В русском языке для этого есть уменьшительные суффиксы. Например: короткий — коротковатый; сладкий — сладковатый. Не всегда можно перевести английское прилагательное дословно, так как в русском языке нет аналога; и тогда смысл передается словосочетанием.
Напишу несколько примеров:
thin (тонкий) + ish — thinnish = тонковатый
black (черный) + ish — blackish = черноватый
red ( красный) + ish — reddish = красноватый
fat (жирный, толстый)+ ish — fattish = довольно жирный, толстоватый
short ( короткий) + ish — shortish = коротковатый
narrow ( узкий) + ish — narrowish = узковатый
sweet ( сладкий) + ish — sweetish = сладковатый
dull ( скучный) + ish — dullish = скучноватый
wide ( широкий) + ish — widish = немного шире, чем надо
old ( старый) + ish – oldish = староватый
pale ( бледный)+ ish — palish = бледноватый
vague ( смутный) + ish — vaguish = довольно смутный
ВТОРОЙ СМЫСЛ: Прибавляется к существительному, означает какую –то “похожесть” на это существительное, что-то напоминающее это существительное; например по внешности или по поведению. Часто в переносном смысле.
boy ( мальчик) + ish — boyish = мальчишеский, живой ( о манере поведения);
child ( ребенок, дитя) + ish – childish = детский, ребяческий, несерьезный;
girl ( девочка) + ish — girlish = девический, изнеженный , то есть похожий на девочку;
woman (женщина) + ish — womanish = женоподобный, женственный;
bear ( медведь) + ish — bearish = медвежий, грубый ( о походке, о манерах);
fool ( дурак, глупец) + ish – foolish = глупый, безрассудный, дурашливый;
monk ( монах) + ish – monkish = монашеский;
hog ( боров, свинья) + ish — hoggish = свиноподобный, свинский, жадный;
clown ( клоун) + ish — clownish = шутовской, клоунский, неотесанный;
wolf ( волк)+ ish — wolfish = волчий, хищный;
monkey ( обезьяна) + ish — monkeyish = обезьяний, шаловливый.
ТРЕТИЙ СМЫСЛ: Обозначает принадлежность к национальности или к стране. В русском языке то же самое, например: Россия — русский; Англия — английский, Швеция — шведский.
Несколько примеров:
English — английский
British — британский
Swedish — шведский
Danish — датский
Turkish — турецкий
ЧЕТВЕРТЫЙ СМЫСЛ: Присоединяется к числительным и обозначает примерное, приблизительное количество. Перевод может быть вольным, надо только передать смысл. Например:
eleven ( одиннадцать) + ish — elevenish = около одиннадцати;
fifty ( пятьдесят) + ish = fiftyish = под пятьдесят;
ten ( десять) + ish – tennish = с десяток.
Суффикс –LIKE = продуктивный, происхождением со старо -английского. Обозначает подобие чему-то или кому-то или похожесть на что-то или кого-то. Иногда присоединяется через черточку , которая называется — “дефис”. Очень часто переводится не прилагательным, а словосочетанием с существительным.
Несколько примеров:
wife+ like — wifelike = подобающий жене, свойственный.
god + like — god-like = богоподобный, божественный.
tiger + like – tiger-like = похожий на тигра.
business + like — businesslike = деловой, практичный.
bird + like — bird-like = похожий на птицу.
snake + like — snake-like = похожий на змею, змеевидный.
egg + like — egg-like = похожий на яйцо.
Prefixes of like
-
alike
- adjective having the same or similar characteristics
similar; like.- all politicians are alike
- they looked utterly alike
- friends are generally alike in background and taste
- adverb equally
likewise.- parents and teachers alike demanded reforms
- More ‘alike’ Meaning
- alike Idioms/Phrases
- alike Associated Words
- alike Prefix/Suffix Words
- alike Related Words
- adjective having the same or similar characteristics
-
unlike
- adjective marked by dissimilarity
different; dissimilar.- for twins they are very unlike
- people are profoundly different
- adjective not equal in amount
- they distributed unlike (or unequal) sums to the various charities
- More ‘unlike’ Meaning
- unlike Idioms/Phrases
- unlike Associated Words
- unlike Prefix/Suffix Words
- unlike Related Words
- adjective marked by dissimilarity
-
dislike
- noun an inclination to withhold approval from some person or group
disfavor; disapproval; disfavour. - noun a feeling of aversion or antipathy
- my dislike of him was instinctive
- More ‘dislike’ Meaning
- dislike Associated Words
- dislike Prefix/Suffix Words
- dislike Related Words
- noun an inclination to withhold approval from some person or group
-
godlike
- adjective satellite appropriate to or befitting a god
divine.- the divine strength of Achilles
- a man of godlike sagacity
- man must play God for he has acquired certain godlike powers»-R.H.Roveref
- adjective satellite being or having the nature of a god; ’tis God-like to create»-J.G.Saxe
divine.- the custom of killing the divine king upon any serious failure of his…powers»-J.G.Frazier
- the divine will
- the divine capacity for love
- ‘Tis wise to learn
- More ‘godlike’ Meaning
- godlike Associated Words
- godlike Prefix/Suffix Words
- godlike Related Words
- adjective satellite appropriate to or befitting a god
-
lifelike
- adjective satellite evoking lifelike images within the mind
graphic; vivid; pictorial.- pictorial poetry and prose
- graphic accounts of battle
- a lifelike portrait
- a vivid description
- adjective satellite free from artificiality
natural.- a lifelike pose
- a natural reaction
- More ‘lifelike’ Meaning
- lifelike Associated Words
- lifelike Prefix/Suffix Words
- lifelike Related Words
- adjective satellite evoking lifelike images within the mind
-
warlike
- adjective satellite disposed to warfare or hard-line policies
militant; hawkish.- militant nations
- hawkish congressman
- warlike policies
- adjective satellite suggesting war or military life
martial.
- More ‘warlike’ Meaning
- warlike Associated Words
- warlike Prefix/Suffix Words
- warlike Related Words
- adjective satellite disposed to warfare or hard-line policies
-
childlike
- adjective satellite befitting a young child
childly.- childlike charm
- adjective satellite exhibiting childlike simplicity and credulity
simple; wide-eyed; dewy-eyed; round-eyed.- childlike trust
- dewy-eyed innocence
- listened in round-eyed wonder
- More ‘childlike’ Meaning
- childlike Associated Words
- childlike Prefix/Suffix Words
- childlike Related Words
- adjective satellite befitting a young child
-
businesslike
- adjective satellite exhibiting methodical and systematic characteristics that would be useful in business
- adjective satellite not distracted by anything unrelated to the goal
earnest.
- More ‘businesslike’ Meaning
- businesslike Associated Words
- businesslike Prefix/Suffix Words
- businesslike Related Words
-
suchlike
- adjective satellite of the same kind
- a locker that usually contained paper, ink, and suchlike equipment
- More ‘suchlike’ Meaning
- suchlike Associated Words
- suchlike Related Words
- adjective satellite of the same kind
-
christlike
- adjective satellite resembling or showing the spirit of Christ
christly.
- More ‘christlike’ Meaning
- christlike Associated Words
- christlike Prefix/Suffix Words
- christlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling or showing the spirit of Christ
-
humanlike
- adjective satellite suggesting human characteristics for animals or inanimate things
anthropomorphic; anthropomorphous.
- More ‘humanlike’ Meaning
- humanlike Associated Words
- humanlike Related Words
- adjective satellite suggesting human characteristics for animals or inanimate things
-
statesmanlike
- adjective marked by the qualities of or befitting a statesman
statesmanly.- a man of statesmanlike judgment
- a statesmanlike solution of the present perplexities»-V.L.Parrington
- More ‘statesmanlike’ Meaning
- statesmanlike Associated Words
- statesmanlike Related Words
- adjective marked by the qualities of or befitting a statesman
-
threadlike
- adjective satellite thin in diameter; resembling a thread
filiform; thready; filamentous; filamentlike.
- More ‘threadlike’ Meaning
- threadlike Associated Words
- threadlike Related Words
- adjective satellite thin in diameter; resembling a thread
-
ghostlike
- adjective satellite resembling or characteristic of a phantom
spectral; spiritual; phantasmal; ghostly; apparitional.- a ghostly face at the window
- a phantasmal presence in the room
- spectral emanations
- spiritual tappings at a seance
- More ‘ghostlike’ Meaning
- ghostlike Associated Words
- ghostlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling or characteristic of a phantom
-
snakelike
- adjective satellite resembling a serpent in form
snaky; serpentine.- a serpentine wall
- snaky ridges in the sand
- More ‘snakelike’ Meaning
- snakelike Associated Words
- snakelike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling a serpent in form
-
apelike
- adjective satellite resembling apes
anthropoid; anthropoidal. - adjective satellite being or given to servile imitation
apish.
- More ‘apelike’ Meaning
- apelike Associated Words
- apelike Prefix/Suffix Words
- apelike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling apes
-
hairlike
- adjective satellite long and slender with a very small internal diameter
capillary.- a capillary tube
- More ‘hairlike’ Meaning
- hairlike Associated Words
- hairlike Related Words
- adjective satellite long and slender with a very small internal diameter
-
ladylike
- adjective satellite befitting a woman of good breeding
- ladylike manners
- More ‘ladylike’ Meaning
- ladylike Associated Words
- ladylike Prefix/Suffix Words
- ladylike Related Words
- adjective satellite befitting a woman of good breeding
-
workmanlike
- adjective satellite worthy of a good workman
- a competent job
- the book is a workmanlike job with chronology and bibliography and index
- More ‘workmanlike’ Meaning
- workmanlike Associated Words
- workmanlike Prefix/Suffix Words
- workmanlike Related Words
- adjective satellite worthy of a good workman
-
unladylike
- adjective satellite lacking the behavior or manner or style considered proper for a lady
- More ‘unladylike’ Meaning
- unladylike Associated Words
- unladylike Related Words
-
wavelike
- adjective satellite uneven by virtue of having wrinkles or waves
rippled; wavy; crinkly; crinkled.
- More ‘wavelike’ Meaning
- wavelike Associated Words
- wavelike Related Words
- adjective satellite uneven by virtue of having wrinkles or waves
-
deathlike
- adjective satellite having the physical appearance of death
deathly.- a deathly pallor
- More ‘deathlike’ Meaning
- deathlike Associated Words
- deathlike Related Words
- adjective satellite having the physical appearance of death
-
belike
- adverb with considerable certainty; without much doubt
probably; likely; in all likelihood; in all probability.- He is probably out of the country
- in all likelihood we are headed for war
- More ‘belike’ Meaning
- belike Associated Words
- belike Prefix/Suffix Words
- belike Related Words
- adverb with considerable certainty; without much doubt
-
wormlike
- adjective satellite totally submissive
grovelling; cringing; groveling; wormy.
- More ‘wormlike’ Meaning
- wormlike Associated Words
- wormlike Related Words
- adjective satellite totally submissive
-
homelike
- adjective satellite having a feeling of home; cozy and comfortable
homey; homy; homely.- the homely everyday atmosphere
- a homey little inn
- More ‘homelike’ Meaning
- homelike Associated Words
- homelike Related Words
- adjective satellite having a feeling of home; cozy and comfortable
-
trancelike
- adjective satellite as if in a trance
- More ‘trancelike’ Meaning
- trancelike Associated Words
- trancelike Related Words
-
dreamlike
- adjective satellite resembling a dream
surreal.- night invested the lake with a dreamlike quality
- as irrational and surreal as a dream
- More ‘dreamlike’ Meaning
- dreamlike Associated Words
- dreamlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling a dream
-
unalike
- adjective not alike or similar
dissimilar.- as unalike as two people could be
- More ‘unalike’ Meaning
- unalike Associated Words
- unalike Related Words
- adjective not alike or similar
-
manlike
- adjective possessing qualities befitting a man
manful; manly. - adjective satellite characteristic of a man
manful; male; manly; virile.- a deep male voice
- manly sports
- More ‘manlike’ Meaning
- manlike Associated Words
- manlike Prefix/Suffix Words
- manlike Related Words
- adjective possessing qualities befitting a man
-
knifelike
- adjective satellite cutting or able to cut as if with a knife
- adjective satellite having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
acute; penetrating; incisive; penetrative; piercing; discriminating; keen; sharp.- an acute observer of politics and politicians
- incisive comments
- icy knifelike reasoning
- as sharp and incisive as the stroke of a fang
- penetrating insight
- frequent penetrative observations
- More ‘knifelike’ Meaning
- knifelike Associated Words
- knifelike Related Words
-
spiderlike
- adjective relating to or resembling a member of the class Arachnida
spidery; arachnoid; spiderly; arachnidian.
- More ‘spiderlike’ Meaning
- spiderlike Associated Words
- spiderlike Related Words
- adjective relating to or resembling a member of the class Arachnida
-
loverlike
- adjective satellite like or in the manner of a lover
loverly.
- More ‘loverlike’ Meaning
- loverlike Associated Words
- loverlike Related Words
- adjective satellite like or in the manner of a lover
-
clownlike
- adjective satellite like a clown
clownish; zany; buffoonish.- a buffoonish walk
- a clownish face
- a zany sense of humor
- More ‘clownlike’ Meaning
- clownlike Associated Words
- clownlike Related Words
- adjective satellite like a clown
-
gentlemanlike
- adjective satellite befitting a man of good breeding
gentlemanly.- gentlemanly behavior
- More ‘gentlemanlike’ Meaning
- gentlemanlike Associated Words
- gentlemanlike Prefix/Suffix Words
- gentlemanlike Related Words
- adjective satellite befitting a man of good breeding
-
machinelike
- adjective satellite resembling the unthinking functioning of a machine
robotlike; automatonlike; automatic; robotic.- an automatic `thank you’
- machinelike efficiency
- More ‘machinelike’ Meaning
- machinelike Associated Words
- machinelike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling the unthinking functioning of a machine
-
cloudlike
- adjective satellite resembling a cloud
nebular.
- More ‘cloudlike’ Meaning
- cloudlike Associated Words
- cloudlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling a cloud
-
earthlike
- adjective satellite earth colored; of something having a color of soil or earth
- a range of earthlike colors
- adjective satellite resembling or characteristic of earth
- earthlike atmosphere
- More ‘earthlike’ Meaning
- earthlike Associated Words
- earthlike Related Words
- adjective satellite earth colored; of something having a color of soil or earth
-
wraithlike
- adjective satellite lacking in substance
shadowy.- strange fancies of unreal and shadowy worlds»- W.A.Butler
- dim shadowy forms
- a wraithlike column of smoke
- More ‘wraithlike’ Meaning
- wraithlike Associated Words
- wraithlike Related Words
- adjective satellite lacking in substance
-
ringlike
- adjective satellite having the shape of a ring
- More ‘ringlike’ Meaning
- ringlike Associated Words
- ringlike Prefix/Suffix Words
- ringlike Related Words
-
womanlike
- noun the trait of being womanly; having the characteristics of an adult female
womanliness. - adjective satellite resembling a woman
- a womanlike stone image
- More ‘womanlike’ Meaning
- womanlike Associated Words
- womanlike Related Words
- noun the trait of being womanly; having the characteristics of an adult female
-
moonlike
- adjective satellite resembling the moon in shape
moon-round.
- More ‘moonlike’ Meaning
- moonlike Associated Words
- moonlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling the moon in shape
-
winglike
- adjective satellite resembling a wing in shape or position
- More ‘winglike’ Meaning
- winglike Associated Words
- winglike Related Words
-
ribbonlike
- adjective satellite long and thin; resembling a ribbon
ribbony.- ribbonlike noodles
- More ‘ribbonlike’ Meaning
- ribbonlike Associated Words
- ribbonlike Related Words
- adjective satellite long and thin; resembling a ribbon
-
bladelike
- adjective satellite shaped like a sword blade
sword-shaped; ensiform; swordlike.- the iris has an ensiform leaf
- More ‘bladelike’ Meaning
- bladelike Associated Words
- bladelike Related Words
- adjective satellite shaped like a sword blade
-
disklike
- adjective satellite having a flat circular shape
discoidal; discoid; disc-shaped; disk-shaped; disclike.
- More ‘disklike’ Meaning
- disklike Associated Words
- disklike Related Words
- adjective satellite having a flat circular shape
-
featherlike
- adjective satellite resembling or suggesting a feather or feathers
feathery.- feathery palm trees
- More ‘featherlike’ Meaning
- featherlike Associated Words
- featherlike Prefix/Suffix Words
- featherlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling or suggesting a feather or feathers
-
saintlike
- adjective satellite marked by utter benignity; resembling or befitting an angel or saint
saintly; angelic; sainted; beatific; angelical.- angelic beneficence
- a beatific smile
- a saintly concern for his fellow men
- my sainted mother
- More ‘saintlike’ Meaning
- saintlike Associated Words
- saintlike Related Words
- adjective satellite marked by utter benignity; resembling or befitting an angel or saint
-
songlike
- adjective satellite having a melody (as distinguished from recitative)
ariose.
- More ‘songlike’ Meaning
- songlike Associated Words
- songlike Related Words
- adjective satellite having a melody (as distinguished from recitative)
-
swordlike
- adjective satellite shaped like a sword blade
sword-shaped; bladelike; ensiform.- the iris has an ensiform leaf
- More ‘swordlike’ Meaning
- swordlike Associated Words
- swordlike Related Words
- adjective satellite shaped like a sword blade
-
soldierlike
- adjective satellite (of persons) befitting a warrior
warriorlike; soldierly; martial.- a military bearing
- More ‘soldierlike’ Meaning
- soldierlike Associated Words
- soldierlike Related Words
- adjective satellite (of persons) befitting a warrior
-
robotlike
- adjective satellite resembling the unthinking functioning of a machine
machinelike; automatonlike; automatic; robotic.- an automatic `thank you’
- machinelike efficiency
- More ‘robotlike’ Meaning
- robotlike Associated Words
- robotlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling the unthinking functioning of a machine
-
wartlike
- adjective satellite (of skin) covered with warts or projections that resemble warts
warty; verrucose.
- More ‘wartlike’ Meaning
- wartlike Associated Words
- wartlike Related Words
- adjective satellite (of skin) covered with warts or projections that resemble warts
-
hooklike
- adjective satellite having or resembling a hook (especially in the ability to grasp and hold);
hooked.- hooklike thorns
- More ‘hooklike’ Meaning
- hooklike Associated Words
- hooklike Related Words
- adjective satellite having or resembling a hook (especially in the ability to grasp and hold);
-
nutlike
- adjective satellite having the flavor of nuts
nutty.- a nutty sherry
- adjective satellite resembling a nut in shape and size
- More ‘nutlike’ Meaning
- nutlike Associated Words
- nutlike Related Words
- adjective satellite having the flavor of nuts
-
sylphlike
- adjective satellite moving and bending with ease
lissome; lithesome; lissom; slender; lithe; svelte; supple.
- More ‘sylphlike’ Meaning
- sylphlike Associated Words
- sylphlike Related Words
- adjective satellite moving and bending with ease
-
treelike
- adjective satellite resembling a tree in form and branching structure
arboresque; tree-shaped; arboreal; arborescent; dendriform; arboriform; arboreous; dendroidal; dendroid.- arborescent coral found off the coast of Bermuda
- dendriform sponges
- More ‘treelike’ Meaning
- treelike Associated Words
- treelike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling a tree in form and branching structure
-
rodlike
- adjective satellite resembling a rod
rod-shaped.
- More ‘rodlike’ Meaning
- rodlike Associated Words
- rodlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling a rod
-
unsportsmanlike
- adjective satellite violating accepted standards or rules
cheating; dirty; foul; unsporting.- a dirty fighter
- used foul means to gain power
- a nasty unsporting serve
- fined for unsportsmanlike behavior
- More ‘unsportsmanlike’ Meaning
- unsportsmanlike Associated Words
- unsportsmanlike Related Words
- adjective satellite violating accepted standards or rules
-
doglike
- adjective satellite resembling a dog; especially in devotion
- a doglike affection
- More ‘doglike’ Meaning
- doglike Associated Words
- doglike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling a dog; especially in devotion
-
springlike
- adjective satellite resembling a spring or the action of a spring
- More ‘springlike’ Meaning
- springlike Associated Words
- springlike Related Words
-
jellylike
- adjective satellite thick like gelatin
gelatinlike; gelatinous.
- More ‘jellylike’ Meaning
- jellylike Associated Words
- jellylike Related Words
- adjective satellite thick like gelatin
-
leaflike
- adjective satellite resembling a leaf
leaf-like.
- More ‘leaflike’ Meaning
- leaflike Associated Words
- leaflike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling a leaf
-
fanlike
- adjective satellite resembling a fan
- More ‘fanlike’ Meaning
- fanlike Associated Words
- fanlike Related Words
-
rocklike
- adjective satellite hard as granite
granitelike; stony; granitic.- a granitic fist
- More ‘rocklike’ Meaning
- rocklike Associated Words
- rocklike Related Words
- adjective satellite hard as granite
-
weblike
- adjective satellite having open interstices or resembling a web
netted; webby; lacy; webbed; netlike.
- More ‘weblike’ Meaning
- weblike Associated Words
- weblike Related Words
- adjective satellite having open interstices or resembling a web
-
platelike
- adjective satellite as the hard flattened scales of e.g. sharks
placoid.
- More ‘platelike’ Meaning
- platelike Associated Words
- platelike Related Words
- adjective satellite as the hard flattened scales of e.g. sharks
-
scalelike
- adjective satellite reduced to a small appressed thing that resembles a scale
- scalelike leaves
- More ‘scalelike’ Meaning
- scalelike Associated Words
- scalelike Related Words
- adjective satellite reduced to a small appressed thing that resembles a scale
-
spongelike
- adjective satellite easily squashed; resembling a sponge in having soft porous texture and compressibility
squishy; spongy; squashy.- spongy bread
- adjective satellite like a sponge in being able to absorb liquids and yield it back when compressed
spongy.
- More ‘spongelike’ Meaning
- spongelike Associated Words
- spongelike Related Words
- adjective satellite easily squashed; resembling a sponge in having soft porous texture and compressibility
-
rubberlike
- adjective satellite having an elastic texture resembling rubber in flexibility or toughness
rubbery.
- More ‘rubberlike’ Meaning
- rubberlike Associated Words
- rubberlike Related Words
- adjective satellite having an elastic texture resembling rubber in flexibility or toughness
-
netlike
- adjective satellite having open interstices or resembling a web
weblike; netted; webby; lacy; webbed.
- More ‘netlike’ Meaning
- netlike Associated Words
- netlike Related Words
- adjective satellite having open interstices or resembling a web
-
hornlike
- adjective satellite made of horn (or of a substance resembling horn)
corneous; horny.
- More ‘hornlike’ Meaning
- hornlike Associated Words
- hornlike Related Words
- adjective satellite made of horn (or of a substance resembling horn)
-
prisonlike
- adjective satellite resembling a prison
- More ‘prisonlike’ Meaning
- prisonlike Associated Words
- prisonlike Related Words
-
stonelike
- adjective satellite (of bone especially the temporal bone) resembling stone in hardness
petrous.
- More ‘stonelike’ Meaning
- stonelike Associated Words
- stonelike Related Words
- adjective satellite (of bone especially the temporal bone) resembling stone in hardness
-
witchlike
- adjective satellite being or having the character of witchcraft
- More ‘witchlike’ Meaning
- witchlike Associated Words
- witchlike Related Words
-
sheeplike
- adjective satellite like or suggestive of a sheep in docility or stupidity or meekness or timidity
sheepish.
- More ‘sheeplike’ Meaning
- sheeplike Associated Words
- sheeplike Related Words
- adjective satellite like or suggestive of a sheep in docility or stupidity or meekness or timidity
-
yeastlike
- adjective of or resembling or containing yeast
yeasty.
- More ‘yeastlike’ Meaning
- yeastlike Associated Words
- yeastlike Related Words
- adjective of or resembling or containing yeast
-
straplike
- adjective satellite long and narrow like a strap
- straplike leaves
- More ‘straplike’ Meaning
- straplike Associated Words
- straplike Related Words
- adjective satellite long and narrow like a strap
-
conelike
- adjective relating to or resembling a cone
conic; conical; cone-shaped.- conical mountains
- conelike fruit
- More ‘conelike’ Meaning
- conelike Associated Words
- conelike Related Words
- adjective relating to or resembling a cone
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boylike
- adjective satellite befitting or characteristic of a young boy
schoolboyish; boyish.- a boyish grin
- schoolboyish pranks
- adverb like a boy
boyishly.- he smiled boyishly at his fiancee
- More ‘boylike’ Meaning
- boylike Associated Words
- boylike Related Words
- adjective satellite befitting or characteristic of a young boy
-
lamblike
- adjective satellite like a lamb in meekness and gentleness
- More ‘lamblike’ Meaning
- lamblike Associated Words
- lamblike Related Words
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parrotlike
- adjective satellite mechanically imitated or repeated without thought or understanding
- a mere parrotlike word-calling process
- a voice quality sounding parrotlike
- More ‘parrotlike’ Meaning
- parrotlike Associated Words
- parrotlike Related Words
- adjective satellite mechanically imitated or repeated without thought or understanding
-
shelflike
- adjective resembling a shelf (or considered to resemble a shelf)
- shelflike table
- More ‘shelflike’ Meaning
- shelflike Associated Words
- shelflike Related Words
- adjective resembling a shelf (or considered to resemble a shelf)
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ungentlemanlike
- adjective satellite not befitting a gentleman
ungentlemanly.
- More ‘ungentlemanlike’ Meaning
- ungentlemanlike Associated Words
- ungentlemanlike Related Words
- adjective satellite not befitting a gentleman
-
dustlike
- adjective satellite as fine and powdery as dust
- More ‘dustlike’ Meaning
- dustlike Associated Words
- dustlike Related Words
-
boxlike
- adjective satellite resembling a box in rectangularity
boxy; box-shaped.
- More ‘boxlike’ Meaning
- boxlike Associated Words
- boxlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling a box in rectangularity
-
needlelike
- adjective satellite ending in a sharp point
sharp; acuate; acute.
- More ‘needlelike’ Meaning
- needlelike Associated Words
- needlelike Related Words
- adjective satellite ending in a sharp point
-
starlike
- adjective satellite resembling a star
- they saw a starlike object in the sky
- More ‘starlike’ Meaning
- starlike Associated Words
- starlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling a star
-
mirrorlike
- adjective satellite capable of reflecting light like a mirror
specular.- mirrorlike surface of the lake
- a specular metal
- More ‘mirrorlike’ Meaning
- mirrorlike Associated Words
- mirrorlike Related Words
- adjective satellite capable of reflecting light like a mirror
-
sportsmanlike
- adjective satellite exhibiting or calling for sportsmanship or fair play
sporting; sporty; clean.- a clean fight
- a sporting solution of the disagreement
- sportsmanlike conduct
- More ‘sportsmanlike’ Meaning
- sportsmanlike Associated Words
- sportsmanlike Prefix/Suffix Words
- sportsmanlike Related Words
- adjective satellite exhibiting or calling for sportsmanship or fair play
-
tubelike
- adjective satellite constituting a tube; having hollow tubes (as for the passage of fluids)
tube-shaped; tubular; vasiform; cannular.
- More ‘tubelike’ Meaning
- tubelike Associated Words
- tubelike Related Words
- adjective satellite constituting a tube; having hollow tubes (as for the passage of fluids)
-
whiplike
- adjective having or resembling a lash or whip (as does a flagellum)
flagellated; lash-like; flagellate.
- More ‘whiplike’ Meaning
- whiplike Associated Words
- whiplike Related Words
- adjective having or resembling a lash or whip (as does a flagellum)
-
grasslike
- adjective satellite resembling grass
- More ‘grasslike’ Meaning
- grasslike Associated Words
- grasslike Related Words
-
sheetlike
- adjective satellite resembling a sheet
- More ‘sheetlike’ Meaning
- sheetlike Associated Words
- sheetlike Related Words
-
wolflike
- adjective resembling or characteristic (or considered characteristic) of a wolf
wolfish.- ran in wolflike packs
- wolfish rapacity
- More ‘wolflike’ Meaning
- wolflike Associated Words
- wolflike Related Words
- adjective resembling or characteristic (or considered characteristic) of a wolf
-
chainlike
- adjective satellite having a chainlike form
catenulate.- catenulate bacterial cell colonies
- More ‘chainlike’ Meaning
- chainlike Associated Words
- chainlike Related Words
- adjective satellite having a chainlike form
-
ratlike
- adjective resembling or characteristic of a rat
- More ‘ratlike’ Meaning
- ratlike Associated Words
- ratlike Related Words
-
lacelike
- adjective satellite made of or resembling lace
lacy.- a lacy gown
- a lacy leaf
- More ‘lacelike’ Meaning
- lacelike Associated Words
- lacelike Related Words
- adjective satellite made of or resembling lace
-
mouselike
- adjective satellite of something having a drab pale brown color resembling a mouse
mousy; mouse-colored; mousey.- a mousy brownish-grey color
- mousy hair
- mouse-colored hair
- More ‘mouselike’ Meaning
- mouselike Associated Words
- mouselike Related Words
- adjective satellite of something having a drab pale brown color resembling a mouse
-
waxlike
- adjective satellite having the paleness of wax
waxen; waxy.- the poor face with the same awful waxen pallor»- Bram Stoker
- the soldier turned his waxlike features toward him
- a thin face with a waxy paleness
- More ‘waxlike’ Meaning
- waxlike Associated Words
- waxlike Related Words
- adjective satellite having the paleness of wax
-
seamanlike
- adjective characteristic of or befitting a seaman; indicating competent seamanship
seamanly.
- More ‘seamanlike’ Meaning
- seamanlike Associated Words
- seamanlike Related Words
- adjective characteristic of or befitting a seaman; indicating competent seamanship
-
slavelike
- adjective satellite suitable for a slave or servant
- More ‘slavelike’ Meaning
- slavelike Associated Words
- slavelike Related Words
-
beadlike
- adjective satellite small and round and shiny like a shiny bead or button
beady; buttony; buttonlike.- bright beady eyes
- black buttony eyes
- More ‘beadlike’ Meaning
- beadlike Associated Words
- beadlike Related Words
- adjective satellite small and round and shiny like a shiny bead or button
-
paperlike
- adjective of or like paper
papery; chartaceous.
- More ‘paperlike’ Meaning
- paperlike Associated Words
- paperlike Related Words
- adjective of or like paper
-
priestlike
- adjective befitting or characteristic of a priest or the priesthood
priestly.- priestly dedication to the people of his parish
- More ‘priestlike’ Meaning
- priestlike Associated Words
- priestlike Related Words
- adjective befitting or characteristic of a priest or the priesthood
-
pastelike
- adjective satellite resembling paste in color; pallid
pasty.- he looked pasty and red-eyed
- a complexion that had been pastelike was now chalky white
- More ‘pastelike’ Meaning
- pastelike Associated Words
- pastelike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling paste in color; pallid
-
cheeselike
- adjective satellite having the consistency of cheese
- More ‘cheeselike’ Meaning
- cheeselike Associated Words
- cheeselike Related Words
-
viselike
- adjective satellite clamped as in a vise
- a viselike grip
- More ‘viselike’ Meaning
- viselike Associated Words
- viselike Related Words
- adjective satellite clamped as in a vise
-
saclike
- adjective satellite shaped like a pouch
pouchlike; bursiform; pouch-shaped.
- More ‘saclike’ Meaning
- saclike Associated Words
- saclike Related Words
- adjective satellite shaped like a pouch
-
fernlike
- adjective satellite resembling ferns especially in leaf shape
ferny.- the ferny shadows of locust leaves
- More ‘fernlike’ Meaning
- fernlike Associated Words
- fernlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling ferns especially in leaf shape
-
cuplike
- adjective satellite resembling the shape of a cup
- More ‘cuplike’ Meaning
- cuplike Associated Words
- cuplike Related Words
-
daisylike
- adjective resembling a daisy
- More ‘daisylike’ Meaning
- daisylike Associated Words
- daisylike Related Words
-
grapelike
- adjective resembling the fruit of a grape vine
- More ‘grapelike’ Meaning
- grapelike Associated Words
- grapelike Related Words
-
bonelike
- adjective satellite resembling bone
- a bonelike tumor
- More ‘bonelike’ Meaning
- bonelike Associated Words
- bonelike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling bone
-
spikelike
- adjective satellite resembling a spike
- More ‘spikelike’ Meaning
- spikelike Associated Words
- spikelike Related Words
-
brushlike
- adjective satellite resembling a brush
- brushlike blue blooms
- More ‘brushlike’ Meaning
- brushlike Associated Words
- brushlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling a brush
-
berrylike
- adjective resembling a berry
baccate.
- More ‘berrylike’ Meaning
- berrylike Associated Words
- berrylike Related Words
- adjective resembling a berry
-
pouchlike
- adjective satellite shaped like a pouch
saclike; bursiform; pouch-shaped.
- More ‘pouchlike’ Meaning
- pouchlike Associated Words
- pouchlike Related Words
- adjective satellite shaped like a pouch
-
clawlike
- adjective satellite resembling a claw
- More ‘clawlike’ Meaning
- clawlike Associated Words
- clawlike Related Words
-
toothlike
- adjective satellite resembling a tooth
- More ‘toothlike’ Meaning
- toothlike Associated Words
- toothlike Related Words
-
fingerlike
- adjective satellite resembling a finger
digitate.- digitate leaves of the horse chestnut
- More ‘fingerlike’ Meaning
- fingerlike Associated Words
- fingerlike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling a finger
-
beaklike
- adjective satellite resembling the beak of a bird
- a grizzled man with a beaklike nose
- More ‘beaklike’ Meaning
- beaklike Associated Words
- beaklike Related Words
- adjective satellite resembling the beak of a bird
-
eyelike
- adjective satellite suggesting an eye or eyes
- eyelike markings on a butterfly’s wings
- the eyelike gleam of two distant windows in the dark
- More ‘eyelike’ Meaning
- eyelike Associated Words
- eyelike Related Words
- adjective satellite suggesting an eye or eyes
Suffixes of like
-
liked
- adjective found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
- a well-liked teacher
- verb prefer or wish to do something
wish; like; care.- Do you care to try this dish?
- Would you like to come along to the movies?
- More ‘liked’ Meaning
- liked Associated Words
- liked Prefix/Suffix Words
- liked Related Words
- adjective found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
-
like
- noun a similar kind
the likes of; the like.- dogs, foxes, and the like», «we don’t want the likes of you around here
- noun a kind of person
ilk.- We’ll not see his like again
- I can’t tolerate people of his ilk
- More ‘like’ Meaning
- likes Associated Words
- likes Prefix/Suffix Words
- likes Related Words
- noun a similar kind
-
likewise
- adverb in like or similar manner
similarly.- He was similarly affected
- some people have little power to do good, and have likewise little strength to resist evil»- Samuel Johnson
- adverb in addition
also; as well; too; besides.- he has a Mercedes, too
- More ‘likewise’ Meaning
- likewise Associated Words
- likewise Related Words
- adverb in like or similar manner
-
likelihood
- noun the probability of a specified outcome
likeliness.
- More ‘likelihood’ Meaning
- likelihood Idioms/Phrases
- likelihood Associated Words
- likelihood Prefix/Suffix Words
- likelihood Related Words
- noun the probability of a specified outcome
-
likely
- adjective has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
- these services are likely to be available to us all before long
- she is likely to forget
- a likely place for a restaurant
- the broken limb is likely to fall
- rain is likely
- a likely topic for investigation
- likely candidates for the job
- adjective likely but not certain to be or become true or real
probable.- a likely result
- he foresaw a probable loss
- More ‘likely’ Meaning
- likely Associated Words
- likely Prefix/Suffix Words
- likely Related Words
- adjective has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
-
likeness
- noun similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things
alikeness; similitude.- man created God in his own likeness
- noun picture consisting of a graphic image of a person or thing
semblance.
- More ‘likeness’ Meaning
- likeness Associated Words
- likeness Prefix/Suffix Words
- likeness Related Words
- noun similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things
-
liken
- verb consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous
compare; equate.- We can compare the Han dynasty to the Romans
- You cannot equate success in financial matters with greed
- More ‘liken’ Meaning
- likened Associated Words
- likened Related Words
- verb consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous
-
likeness
- noun similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things
alikeness; similitude.- man created God in his own likeness
- noun picture consisting of a graphic image of a person or thing
semblance.
- More ‘likeness’ Meaning
- likenesses Associated Words
- likenesses Prefix/Suffix Words
- likenesses Related Words
- noun similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things
-
liken
- verb consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous
compare; equate.- We can compare the Han dynasty to the Romans
- You cannot equate success in financial matters with greed
- More ‘liken’ Meaning
- likens Associated Words
- likens Related Words
- verb consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous
-
likeable
- adjective (of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings
sympathetic; appealing; likable.- the sympathetic characters in the play
- adjective satellite easy to like; agreeable
likable.- an attractive and likable young man
- More ‘likeable’ Meaning
- likeable Associated Words
- likeable Prefix/Suffix Words
- likeable Related Words
- adjective (of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings
-
liken
- verb consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous
compare; equate.- We can compare the Han dynasty to the Romans
- You cannot equate success in financial matters with greed
- More ‘liken’ Meaning
- liken Associated Words
- liken Prefix/Suffix Words
- liken Related Words
- verb consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous
-
likening
- noun the act of comparing similarities
- verb consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous
liken; compare; equate.- We can compare the Han dynasty to the Romans
- You cannot equate success in financial matters with greed
- More ‘likening’ Meaning
- likening Associated Words
- likening Related Words
-
likelihood
- noun the probability of a specified outcome
likeliness.
- More ‘likelihood’ Meaning
- likelihoods Associated Words
- likelihoods Related Words
- noun the probability of a specified outcome
-
likely
- adjective has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
- these services are likely to be available to us all before long
- she is likely to forget
- a likely place for a restaurant
- the broken limb is likely to fall
- rain is likely
- a likely topic for investigation
- likely candidates for the job
- adjective likely but not certain to be or become true or real
probable.- a likely result
- he foresaw a probable loss
- More ‘likely’ Meaning
- likeliest Associated Words
- likeliest Prefix/Suffix Words
- likeliest Related Words
- adjective has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
-
likely
- adjective has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
- these services are likely to be available to us all before long
- she is likely to forget
- a likely place for a restaurant
- the broken limb is likely to fall
- rain is likely
- a likely topic for investigation
- likely candidates for the job
- adjective likely but not certain to be or become true or real
probable.- a likely result
- he foresaw a probable loss
- More ‘likely’ Meaning
- likelier Associated Words
- likelier Related Words
- adjective has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
-
like
- noun a similar kind
the likes of; the like.- dogs, foxes, and the like», «we don’t want the likes of you around here
- noun a kind of person
ilk.- We’ll not see his like again
- I can’t tolerate people of his ilk
- More ‘like’ Meaning
- liker Associated Words
- liker Prefix/Suffix Words
- liker Related Words
- noun a similar kind
-
like
- noun a similar kind
the likes of; the like.- dogs, foxes, and the like», «we don’t want the likes of you around here
- noun a kind of person
ilk.- We’ll not see his like again
- I can’t tolerate people of his ilk
- More ‘like’ Meaning
- likest Associated Words
- likest Related Words
- noun a similar kind
-
likeliness
- noun the probability of a specified outcome
likelihood.
- More ‘likeliness’ Meaning
- likeliness Associated Words
- likeliness Prefix/Suffix Words
- likeliness Related Words
- noun the probability of a specified outcome
Derived words of like
-
unlikely
- adjective not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred
improbable.- legislation on the question is highly unlikely
- an improbable event
- adjective has little chance of being the case or coming about
- an unlikely story
- an unlikely candidate for reelection
- a butcher is unlikely to preach vegetarianism
- More ‘unlikely’ Meaning
- unlikely Associated Words
- unlikely Related Words
- adjective not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred
-
disliked
- adjective regarded with aversion
- he was intensely disliked
- verb have or feel a dislike or distaste for
dislike.- I really dislike this salesman
- More ‘disliked’ Meaning
- disliked Associated Words
- disliked Related Words
- adjective regarded with aversion
-
dislike
- noun an inclination to withhold approval from some person or group
disfavor; disapproval; disfavour. - noun a feeling of aversion or antipathy
- my dislike of him was instinctive
- More ‘dislike’ Meaning
- dislikes Associated Words
- dislikes Related Words
- noun an inclination to withhold approval from some person or group
-
unlikeness
- noun dissimilarity evidenced by an absence of likeness
dissimilitude.
- More ‘unlikeness’ Meaning
- unlikeness Associated Words
- unlikeness Prefix/Suffix Words
- unlikeness Related Words
- noun dissimilarity evidenced by an absence of likeness
-
unlikelihood
- noun the improbability of a specified outcome
unlikeliness.
- More ‘unlikelihood’ Meaning
- unlikelihood Associated Words
- unlikelihood Related Words
- noun the improbability of a specified outcome
-
alikeness
- noun similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things
similitude; likeness.- man created God in his own likeness
- More ‘alikeness’ Meaning
- alikeness Associated Words
- alikeness Related Words
- noun similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things
-
unlikeable
- adjective (of characters in literature or drama) tending to evoke antipathetic feelings
unsympathetic; unlikable; unappealing.- all the characters were peculiarly unsympathetic
- adjective satellite difficult or impossible to like
unlikable.- a disagreeable and unlikable old woman
- More ‘unlikeable’ Meaning
- unlikeable Associated Words
- unlikeable Related Words
- adjective (of characters in literature or drama) tending to evoke antipathetic feelings
-
unlikeness
- noun dissimilarity evidenced by an absence of likeness
dissimilitude.
- More ‘unlikeness’ Meaning
- unlikenesses Related Words
- noun dissimilarity evidenced by an absence of likeness
-
unlikeliness
- noun the improbability of a specified outcome
unlikelihood.
- More ‘unlikeliness’ Meaning
- unlikeliness Associated Words
- unlikeliness Related Words
- noun the improbability of a specified outcome
-
kylix
- noun a shallow drinking cup with two handles; used in ancient Greece
cylix.
- More ‘kylix’ Meaning
- kylikes Related Words
- noun a shallow drinking cup with two handles; used in ancient Greece
-
unlikely
- adjective not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred
improbable.- legislation on the question is highly unlikely
- an improbable event
- adjective has little chance of being the case or coming about
- an unlikely story
- an unlikely candidate for reelection
- a butcher is unlikely to preach vegetarianism
- More ‘unlikely’ Meaning
- unlikeliest Associated Words
- unlikeliest Related Words
- adjective not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred
-
unlike
- adjective marked by dissimilarity
different; dissimilar.- for twins they are very unlike
- people are profoundly different
- adjective not equal in amount
- they distributed unlike (or unequal) sums to the various charities
- More ‘unlike’ Meaning
- unlikes Related Words
- adjective marked by dissimilarity
About Prefix and Suffix Words
This page lists all the words created by adding prefixes, suffixes to the word `like`. For each word, youwill notice a blue bar below the word. The longer the blue bar below a word, the more common/popular the word. Very short blue bars indicate rare usage.
While some of the words are direct derivations of the word `like`, some are not.
You can click on each word to see it’s meaning.
About Prefix and Suffix Words
This page lists all the words created by adding prefixes, suffixes to the word `like`. For each word, youwill notice a blue bar below the word. The longer the blue bar below a word, the more common/popular the word. Very short blue bars indicate rare usage.
While some of the words are direct derivations of the word `like`, some are not.
You can click on each word to see it’s meaning.
How the ubiquitous, often-reviled word associated with young people and slackers represents the ever-changing English language
In our mouths or in print, in villages or in cities, in buildings or in caves, a language doesn’t sit still. It can’t. Language change has preceded apace even in places known for preserving a language in amber. You may have heard that Icelanders can still read the ancient sagas written almost a thousand years ago in Old Norse. It is true that written Icelandic is quite similar to Old Norse, but the spoken language is quite different—Old Norse speakers would sound a tad extraterrestrial to modern Icelanders. There have been assorted changes in the grammar, but language has moved on, on that distant isle as everywhere else.
It’s under this view of language—as something becoming rather than being, a film rather than a photo, in motion rather than at rest—that we should consider the way young people use (drum roll, please) like. So deeply reviled, so hard on the ears of so many, so new, and with such an air of the unfinished, of insecurity and even dimness, the new like is hard to, well, love. But it takes on a different aspect when you consider it within this context of language being ever-evolving.
Recommended Reading
First, let’s take like in just its traditional, accepted forms. Even in its dictionary definition, like is the product of stark changes in meaning that no one would ever guess. To an Old English speaker, the word that later became like was the word for, of all things, “body.” The word was lic, and lic was part of a word, gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of,” which was a way of saying “similar to”—as in like. Gelic over time shortened to just lic, which became like. Of course, there were no days when these changes happened abruptly and became official. It was just that, step by step, the syllable lic, which to an Old English speaker meant “body,” came to mean, when uttered by people centuries later, “similar to”—and life went on.
Like has become a piece of grammar: It is the source of the suffix —ly. To the extent that slowly means “in a slow fashion,” as in “with the quality of slowness,” it is easy (and correct) to imagine that slowly began as “slow-like,” with like gradually wearing away into a —ly suffix. That historical process is especially clear in that there are still people who, colloquially, say slow-like, angry-like. Technically, like yielded two suffixes, because —ly is also used with adjectives, as in portly and saintly. Again, the pathway from saint-like to saint- ly is not hard to perceive.
Like has become a part of compounds. Likewise began as like plus a word, wise, which was different from the one meaning “smart when either a child or getting old.” This other wise meant “manner”: Likewise meant “similar in manner.” This wise disappeared as a word on its own, and so now we think of it as a suffix, as in clockwise and stepwise. But we still have likeminded, where we can easily perceive minded as having independent meaning. Dictionaries tell us it’s pronounced “like-MINE-did,” but I, for one, say “LIKE- minded” and have heard many others do so.
Therefore, like is ever so much more than some isolated thing clinically described in a dictionary with a definition like “(preposition) ‘having the same characteristics or qualities as; similar to.’” Think of a cold, limp, slimy squid splayed wet on a cutting board, its lifeless tentacles dribbling in coils, about to be sliced into calamari rings—in comparison to the brutally fleet, remorseless, dynamic creatures squid are when alive underwater—like as “(preposition) …” is wet on a cutting board.
There is a lot more to it: It swims, as it were. What we are seeing in like’s transformations today are just the latest chapters in a story that began with an ancient word that was supposed to mean “body.”
Because we think of like as meaning “akin to” or “similar to,” kids decorating every sentence or two with it seems like overuse. After all, how often should a coherently minded person need to note that something is similar to something rather than just being that something? The new like, then, is associated with hesitation. It is common to label the newer generations as harboring a fear of venturing a definite statement.
That analysis seems especially appropriate in that this usage of like first reached the national consciousness with its usage by Beatniks in the 1950s, as in, “Like, wow!” We associate the Beatniks, as a prelude to the counterculture with their free-ranging aesthetic and recreational sensibilities, with relativism. Part of the essence of the Beatnik was a reluctance to be judgmental of anyone but those who would dare to (1) be judgmental themselves or (2) openly abuse others. However, the Beatniks were also associated with a certain griminess—why would others imitate them?— upon which it bears mentioning that the genealogy of the modern like traces farther back. Ordinary people, too, have long been using like as an appendage to indicate similarity with a trace of hesitation. The “slow-like” kind of usage is a continuation of this, and Saul Bellow has thoroughly un- Beatnik characters in his novels of the 1950s use like in a way we would expect a decade or two later. “That’s the right clue and may do me some good. Something very big. Truth, like,” says Tommy Wilhelm in 1956’s Seize the Day, a character raised in the 1910s and ’20s, long before anyone had ever heard of a Beatnik. Bellow also has Henderson in Henderson the Rain King use like this way. Both Wilhelm and Henderson are tortured, galumphing char- acters riddled with uncertainty, but hippies they are not.
So today’s like did not spring mysteriously from a crowd on the margins of unusual mind-set and then somehow jump the rails from them into the general population. The seeds of the modern like lay among ordinary people; the Beatniks may not even have played a significant role in what happened later. The point is that like transformed from something occasional into something more regular. Fade out, fade in: recently I heard a lad of roughly sixteen chatting with a friend about something that had happened the weekend before, and his utterance was—this is as close to verbatim as I can get: So we got there and we thought we were going to have the room to ourselves and it turned out that like a family had booked it already. So we’re standing there and there were like grandparents and like grandkids and aunts and uncles all over the place. Anyone who has listened to American English over the past several decades will agree that this is thoroughly typical like usage.
The problem with the hesitation analysis is that this was a thoroughly confident speaker. He told this story with zest, vividness, and joy. What, after all, would occasion hesitation in spelling out that a family was holding an event in a room? It’s real-life usage of this kind—to linguists it is data, just like climate patterns are to meteorologists—that suggests that the idea of like as the linguistic equivalent to slumped shoulders is off.
Understandably so, of course—the meaning of like suggests that people are claiming that everything is “like” itself rather than itself. But as we have seen, words’ meanings change, and not just because someone invents a portable listening device and gives it a name composed of words that used to be applied to something else (Walkman), but because even the language of people stranded in a cave where life never changed would be under constant transformation. Like is a word, and so we’d expect it to develop new meanings: the only question, as always, is which one? So is it that young people are strangely overusing the like from the dictionary, or might it be that like has birthed a child with a different function altogether? When one alternative involves saddling entire generations of people, of an awesome array of circumstances across a vast nation, with a mysteriously potent inferiority complex, the other possibility beckons as worthy of engagement.
In that light, what has happened to like is that it has morphed into a modal marker—actually, one that functions as a protean indicator of the human mind at work in conversation. There are actually two modal marker likes—that is, to be fluent in modern American English is to have subconsciously internalized not one but two instances of grammar involving like.
Let’s start with So we’re standing there and there were like grandparents and like grandkids and aunts and uncles all over the place. That sentence, upon examination, is more than just what the words mean in isolation plus a bizarre squirt of slouchy little likes. Like grandparents and like grandkids means, when we break down what this teenager was actually trying to communicate, that given the circumstances, you might think it strange that an entire family popped up in this space we expected to be empty for our use, but in fact, it really was a whole family. In that, we have, for one, factuality—“no, really, I mean a family.” The original meaning of like applies in that one is saying “You may think I mean something like a couple and their son, but I mean something like a whole brood.”
And in that, note that there is also at the same time an acknowledgment of counterexpectation. The new like acknowledges unspoken objection while underlining one’s own point (the factuality). Like grandparents translates here as “There were, despite what you might think, actually grandparents.” Another example: I opened the door and it was, like, her! certainly doesn’t mean “Duhhhh, I suppose it’s okay for me to identify the person as her . . .” Vagueness is hardly the issue here. That sentence is uttered to mean “As we all know, I would have expected her father, the next-door neighbor, or some other person, or maybe a phone call or e-mail from her, but instead it was, actually, her.” Factuality and counterexpectation in one package, again. It may seem that I am freighting the little word with a bit much, but consider: It was, like, her! That sentence has a very precise meaning, despite the fact that because of its sociological associations with the young, to many it carries a whiff of Bubble Yum, peanut butter, or marijuana.
We could call that version of like “reinforcing like.” Then there is a second new like, which is closer to what people tend to think of all its new uses: it is indeed a hedge. However, that alone doesn’t do it justice: we miss that the hedge is just plain nice, something that has further implications for how we place this like in a linguistic sense. This is, like, the only way to make it work does not mean “Duhhhh, I guess this seems like the way to make it work.” A person says this in a context in which the news is unwelcome to the hearer, and this was either mentioned before or, just as likely, is unstatedly obvious. The like acknowledges—imagine even a little curtsey—the discomfort. It softens the blow—that is, eases—by swathing the statement in the garb of hypotheticality that the basic meaning of like lends. Something “like” x is less threatening than x itself; to phrase things as if x were only “like,” x is thus like offering a glass of water, a compress, or a warm little blanket. An equivalent is “Let’s take our pill now,” said by someone who is not, themselves, about to take the pill along with the poor sick person. The sick one knows it, too, but the phrasing with “we” is a soothing action, acknowledging that taking pills can be a bit of a drag.
Note that while this new like cushions a blow, the blow does get delivered. Rather than being a weak gesture, the new like can be seen as gentle but firm. The main point is that it is part of the linguistic system, not something merely littering it up. It isn’t surprising that a word meaning “similar to” morphs into a word that quietly allows us to avoid being bumptious, via courteously addressing its likeness rather than the thing itself, via considering it rather than addressing it. Just as uptalk sounds like a question but isn’t, like sounds like a mere shirk of certainty but isn’t.
Like LOL, like, entrenched in all kinds of sentences, used subconsciously, and difficult to parse the real meaning of without careful consideration, has all the hallmarks of a piece of grammar—specifically, in the pragmatic department, modal wing. One thing making it especially clear that the new like is not just a tic of heedless, underconfident youth is that many of the people who started using it in the new way in the 1970s are now middle-aged. People’s sense of how they talk tends to differ from the reality, and the person of a certain age who claims never to use like “that way” as often as not, like, does—and often. As I write, a sentence such as There were like grandparents and like grandkids in there is as likely to be spoken by a forty-something as by a teenager or a college student. Just listen around the next time you’re standing in a line, watching a talk show, or possibly even listening to yourself.
Then, the two likes I have mentioned must be distinguished from yet a third usage, the quotative like—as in “And she was like, ‘I didn’t even invite him.’ ” This is yet another way that like has become grammar. The meaning “similar to” is as natural a source here as it was for —ly: mimicking people’s utterances is talking similarly to, as in “like,” them. Few of the like-haters distinguish this like from the other new usages, since all are associated with young people and verbal slackerdom. But the third new like doesn’t do the jobs the others do: there is nothing hesitational or even polite about quotative like, much less especially forceful à la the reinforcing like. It is a thoroughly straightforward way of quoting a person, often followed by a verbatim mimicry complete with gestures. That’s worlds away from This is, like, the only way to make it work or There were like grandkids in there. Thus the modern American English speaker has mastered not just two, but actually three different new usages of like.
This article has been adapted from John McWhorter’s latest book , Words on the Move: Why English Won’t—and Can’t—Sit Still (Like, Literally).
способность,
inability
неспособность;
disability
нетрудоспособность
способный, умелый
unable
неспособный
disabled
искалеченный; инвалид
дать возможность
disable
делать неспособным, калечить
умело, искусно
абсурдность
абсурдный
приемлемость
приемлемый
unacceptable
неприемлемый
принимать, соглашаться
доступ
accessibility
доступность
доступный
доступно
случай, случайность
случайный
нечаянно, случайно
действие
actor
актер
actress
актриса
activity
активность
activities
деятельность
acting
представление
активный
acting
действующий, работающей
действовать
активно
достижение
достигать
привычка, приверженность, увлеченность
addict
увлеченный человек, имеющий стойкую привычку
способный вызывать привычку
увлекаться, предаваться
восхищение
восхитительный
восхищаться
восхитительно
совет
рекомендуемый
советовать
притворство, искусственность
affection
привязанность, любовь
притворный
affectionate
любящий
affective
эмоциональный
воздействовать, влиять; притворяться
соглашение, согласие
disagreement
разногласие, несогласие
соответствующий, приятный
соглашаться
disagree
не соглашаться
соответственно
агрессия
aggressor
агрессору зачинщик
агрессивный
нападать
агрессивно
цель
бесцельный
целиться, намереваться
бесцельно
то, что может быть позволено
unaffordable
то, что невозможно себе позволить
позволять себе
развлечение
приятно изумленный
amusing
забавный
развлекать, забавлять
изумленно
внешность; появление
disappearance
исчезновение
появляться
disappear
исчезать
назначение; деловая встреча
disappointment
разочарование, досада
назначенный
disappointed
огорченный
disappointing
разочаровывающий
назначать
disappoint
разочаровывать
одобрение
одобренный
approving
одобрительный
одобрять
одобрительно
соглашение; расположение
приведенный в порядок
приводить в порядок, организовывать
аргумент, довод
argumentation
аргументация
доказуемый (в споре)
argumentative
спорный, конфликтный
утверждать, спорить, ссориться
доказательно
присвоение; ассигнование
подходящий, соответствующий
inappropriate
несоответствущий, неуместный
присваивать, предназначать
соответственно, подходяще
прибытие
прибывать, приезжать
притяжение, привлекательность
привлеченный
attractive
привлекательный
привлекать
привлекательно
избежание, отмена
то, чего можно избежать
unavoidable
неизбежный
избегать
неизбежно
красота; красавица
красивый
украшать
красиво
роды
сносный, допустимый
unbearable
невыносимый
носить; терпеть
невыносимо
вера
вероятный, правдоподобный
unbelievable
невероятный
верить
выгода
выгодный
получать выгоду
зануда
boredom
скука
испытывающий скуку
boring
скучный, надоедливый
надоедать
скучно
дыхание, дуновение
breathing
дыхание
breather
короткая передышка
дышащий
breathless
бездыханный
дышать
затаив дыхание
дело
businessman
деловой мужчина
businesswoman
деловая женщина
занятой
businesslike
деловой, практичный
занимать делом
деловито, по-деловому
забота, уход
заботливый
careless
небрежный
заботиться, любить
заботливо
carelessly
небрежно
празднование
celebrity
знаменитость
знаменитый, прославленный
праздновать, прославлять
определенность
uncertainty
неопределенность, неуверенность
определенный
uncertain
неопределенный
определенно, уверенно
изменение; мелочь, сдача
изменчивый
changed
изменившийся
changeless
неизменный
unchanged
не изменившийся
менять; обменивать(ся)
неизменно
характер
характерный, типичный
характеризовать
выбор
разборчивый
выбирать
ребенок
children
дети
детский; ребяческий
очистка; устранение препятствий
четкий, ясный
очищать, расчищать
четко, ясно
облако
облачный
cloudless
безоблачный
собрание; коллекция
collector
сборщик
коллективный, совокупный
собирать; коллекционировать
колония
колониальный
колонизировать
цвет
цветной
colourless
бесцветный
multi-coloured
разноцветный
раскрашивать
комфорт; утешение
discomfort
беспокойство; неудобство
удобный, комфортабельный
uncomfortable
неудобный
утешать, успокаивать
удобно
uncomfortably
неудобно
община, общество
общественный, коллективный
сообщение
communicator
коммуникатор, переговорщик
использующийся в общении; коммуникативный
сообщать; общаться
сравнение
сравниваемый
comparative
сравнительный
сравнивать
сравнительно, относительно
соревнование; конкуренция
competitor
конкурент, соперник
соревновательный
соревноваться, конкурировать
в форме соревнования, конкуренции
завершение, окончание
законченный
complete
полный, завершенный
incomplete
неполный, назавершенный
заканчивать, завершать
полностью
поздравление
поздравлять
соединение, объединение
связанный, соединенный
соединять
disconnect
разъединять
внимание; рассмотрение, обсуждение
значительный
considerate
внимательный, деликатный, тактичный
inconsiderate
неосмотрительный; невнимательный к другим
считать, полагать; рассматривать
значительно
совесть
совестливый, добросовестный
conscientiousless
бессовестный
добросовестно
сознание
осознающий
unconscious
без сознания
сознательно, осознанно
консультация
consultant
консультант
консультирующий
консультировать
вместилище, контейнер
содержащий
содержать, вмещать
непрерывность
продолжающийся, длящийся
продолжать
непрерывно
управление, руководство
поддающийся управлению
uncontrollable
неподдающийся управлению
controlled
управляемый
uncontrolled
неуправляемый
управлять, регулировать
бесконтрольно
убеждение
убедительный
convinced
убежденный
убеждать
убедительно
повар
cooker
плита, духовка
переваренный
under-cooked
недоваренный
готовить еду
исправление
corrector
корректор
правильный
incorrect
неправильный
исправлять
правильно
прилавок
discount
скидка
accountant
бухгалтер
исчисляемый
uncountable
неисчисляемый
считать
немеряно, без счета
храбрость
храбрый
encouraged
воодушевленный
encouraging
подбадривающий
discouraged
обескураженный
приободрять, поддерживать
discourage
отговаривать, обескураживать
смело, храбро
создание
creativity
творчество
creator
творец, создатель
creature
творение; живое существо
творческий
создавать, творить
творчески
вера, доверие
вероятный, заслуживающий доверия
incredible
невероятный
вероятно
incredibly
невероятно
критик
criticism
критика
критический; переломный; рискованный
критиковать
критично, критически
культивация, обработка
культивированный, обработанный
обрабатывать
культура
культурный, воспитанный
cultural
культурный (как часть культуры)
культурно
лекарство; лечение
излечимый
incurable
неизлечимый
вылечивать, исцелять
неизлечимо
опасность
опасный
угрожать
опасно
день
ежедневный
ежедневно
обман, заблуждение
обманчивый
deceitful
обманчивый, лживый
обманывать
обманчиво, предательски
решение
определенный, явный
undecided
нерешительный, неясный
decisive
решительный, убежденный, убедительный
решать, принимать решение
решительно, определенно
определение
четкий, определенный
indefinite
неопределенный
определять, давать определение
определенно, ясно
indefinitely
нечетко, неопределенно
восторг, наслаждение
восхитительный
delighted
польщенный
восхищаться
с восторгом
доставка, поставка
доставленный
доставлять
зависимость
independence
независимость
зависимый
independent
независимый
зависеть
независимо
депрессия, подавленность
депрессивный, вызывающий депрессию
depressed
подавленный
подавлять
описание
описательный, наглядный
описывать
проект, дизайн
designer
дизайнер, проектировщик
проектировать
желание, стремление
желательный, желаемый
undesirable
нежелательный
желать, стремиться
желательно
разрушение
разрушенный
разрушать, уничтожать
решительность; определение
решительный
решать, определять
развитие
developer
разработчик
развитой
developing
развивающийся
undeveloped
неразвитый
развивать(ся)
умирающий
умирать
разница, различие
indifference
безразличие
другой, отличающийся
indifferent
безразличный
отличаться
по-другому
indifferently
с безразличием
тревога, беспокойство; нарушение тишины, порядка
обеспокоенный
disturbing
беспокоящий
беспокоить, мешать
сомнение
сомнительный
doubtless
несомненный
undoubted
бесспорный
сомневаться
с сомнением
doubtlessly
не сомневаясь
undoubtedly
без сомнения
легкость, свобода
disease
болезнь
легкий
uneasy
неловкий, тревожный
облегчать, ослаблять
легко
uneasily
неловко
хозяйство
экономический
economical
экономный
экономить
экономически; экономно
воспитатель, педагог
education
образование
образованный
uneducated
необразованный
educative
образовательный
воспитывать, давать образование
следствие, результат
effectiveness
эффективность
эффективный, действующий
производить, выполнять
эффективно, действенно
электричество
electrician
электрик
электрический
электрифицировать
империя
empiror
император
имперский
empiric / empirical
исходящий из опыта, эмпирический
служба, работа
unemployment
безработица
employer
наниматель, работодатель
employee
работающий по найму
нанятый, занятый
unemployed
безработный
нанимать
конец, окончание
бесконечный
unending
нескончаемый
конец, окончание
бесконечно
окружающая среда
природный
развлечение
развлекательный
развлекать
энтузиазм, восторг
enthusiast
энтузиаст, восторженный человек
восторженный
с восторгом
оборудование
снаряженный, оборудованный
снаряжать
сущность
главный, основной
главным образом
экзамен; медосмотр
проэкзаменованный; осмотренный врачом
экзаменовать; осматривать
возбуждение, волнение
возбуждающий
excitable
возбудимый
excited
возбужденный, взволнованный
возбуждать, волновать
взволнованно, возбужденно
ожидание, предчувствие
ожидаемый
unexpected
неожиданный
ожидать, предчувствовать
расход(ы), затраты
дорогой
inexpensive
недорогой
тратить, расходовать
дорого
опыт, опытность
inexperience
неопытность
experiment
эксперимент
опытный
inexperienced
неопытный
experimental
эспериментальный
испытывать
взрыв
explosive
взрывчатое вещество
взрывчатый
взрываться
выражение
выразительный
выражать
выразительно
пространство, степень
длительный,обширный
extensive
обширный
простираться, тянуться
обширно, протяженно
крайняя степень, крайность
крайний, чрезвычайный
крайне
очарование, обаяние
чарующий
fascinated
очарованный
очаровывать
справедливость; порядочность
порядочный, справедливый
unfair
несправедливый
справедливо, честно; довольно-таки
финансы
финансовый
финансировать
финансово
твердость
твердый
утверждать
твердо
физическая форма, физическое состояние
находящийся в хорошей форме; подходящий
unfit
неподходящий
подгонять, подстраивать
следующий
следовать
глупыш, дурак
глупый
обманывать
глупо
забываемый
unforgettable
незабываемый
forgetful
забывчивый
forgotten
забытый
забывать
прощение
прощающий
forgivable
простительный
unforgivable
непростительный
прощать
с прощением
судьба, счастье; богатство, состояние
счастливый
unfortunate
несчастный
к счастью
unfortunately
к сожалению
свобода
свободный; бесплатный
свободно
частота
частый
часто посещать
часто
друг
friendship
дружба
friendliness
дружелюбие
дружеский, дружелюбный
unfriendly
недружеский
дружелюбно
страх, испуг
страшный
frightened
испуганный
frightening
пугающий
пугать, устрашать
страшно; испуганно
щедрость
щедрый
щедро
джентльмен
мягкий, нежный
мягко, нежно
привидение, призрак
похожий на привидение
трава
травяной
привычка, обычай
habitant
обитатель
habitat
естественная среда
habitation
жилище, обиталище
привычный
приучать
обычно
рука; рабочий
handful
горсть
удобный (для использования)
handmade
изготовленный вручную
вручать
счастье
unhappiness
несчастье
счастливый
unhappy
несчастный
счастливо
unhappily
несчастливо
вред
вредный
harmless
безвредный
повредить, навредить
вредно
здоровье
здоровый
unhealthy
нездоровый
дом, жилище
бездомный
честь
почетный
почитать, чтить
почетно
надежда
hopefulness
оптимизм, надежда
надеющийся
hopeless
безнадежный
надеяться
с надеждой
человечество
человеческий
humane
гуманный
inhuman
бесчеловечный
humanitarian
гуманитарный
юмор
юмористический
с юмором
спешка
торопливый, спешащий
hurried
торопливый
торопиться
торопливо
лед
ледяной
важность
важный
unimportant
незначительный
важно
впечатление
впечатленный
impressive
впечатляющий
unimpressed
безучастный
производить впечатление
впечатляюще
улучшение
улучшенный
улучшать
толчок, побуждение
импульсивный
импульсивно
несчастный случай; конфликт, инцидент
случайный
случайно
рост, увеличение
растущий
увеличивать(ся)
с ростом
промышленность
промышленный
industrious
трудолюбивый. усердный
индустриализовать
в промышленном отношении
сообщение, информация
informant
осведомитель
formality
формальность
осведомленный
well-informed
знающий, хорошо информированный
misinformed
неверно информированный
formal
формальный, официальный
informal
неофициальный
информировать
misinform
неверно сообщать; дезинформировать
информационно
интенсивность
интенсивный
интенсифицировать
интенсивно
интерес
заинтересованный
interesting
интересный
интересовать
изобретатель
invention
изобретение
изобретательный
изобретать
изобретательно
приглашение
приглашенный
приглашать
вдохновение
вдохновленный
inspiring
вдохновляющий
вдохновлять
знание
acknowledgement
признание; расписка
признанный
признавать, подтверждать
законность, легальность
юридический, законный
illegal
незаконный, подпольный
легализовать
законно
illegally
незаконно
сходство, подобие
приятный
unlike
непохожий
like
аналогичный
относиться хорошо
dislike
относиться отрицательно
вероятно
unlikely
невероятно
unlike
в отличие
жизнь
living
жизнь
оживленный, веселый
live
актуальный, реальный
жить
оживленно
литература
буквальный
literary
литературный
literate
грамотный
illiterate
неграмотный
буквально
место, поселение
местный
размещать
в определенном месте
одиночество
одинокий; один
удача
удачливый
unlucky
неудачливый, неудачный
к счастью
роскошь
шикарный
большинство
главный, основной
управляющий, руководитель
управленческий
управлять; справляться
женитьба
женатый / замужняя
unmarried
неженатый / незамужняя
жениться
встреча; собрание
встречать, знакомиться
память
memorial
мемориал
памятный
заучивать наизусть
нищета
нищенский, ничтожный
месяц
ежемесячный
ежемесячно
движение
неподвижный
показывать жестом
тайна, загадка
таинственный, загадочный
таинственно, загадочно
необходимость
необходимый
unnecessary
ненужный
необходимо
нерв
нервный
нервировать
нервно
число; количество
многочисленный
numerate
умеющий считать
innumerate
неумеющий считать
обозначать цифрами
объект, предмет
objective
цель; возражение
объективный
возражать
объективно
упрямый
упрямо
случай, происшествие
происходить
операция; оперирование, приведение в действие
управлять, действовать
возможность
opportunist
оппортунист
своевременный, подходящий
оппозиция, противостояние
opponent
оппонент, противник
напротив
opposed
противоположный
противопосталять
владелец, хозяин
собственный
владеть
боль
болезненный
painless
безболезненный
болезненно
painlessly
безболезненно
терпение
impatience
нетерпение
patient
пациент
терпеливый
impatient
нетерпеливый
терпеливо
impatiently
нетерпеливо
участник
participation
участие
участвующий
принимать участие
подробности
особенный
особенно
совершенство
совершенный, идеальный
imperfect
несовершенный
совершенствовать, улучшать
отлично, безупречно
период, срок
периодический
периодически
представление; исполнение
performer
исполнитель
исполнять, выполнять, совершать
мир, спокойствие
мирный
мирно
разрешение
permissiveness
вседозволенность
permit
пропуск
позволяющий
позволять
с позволением
удовольствие
приятный
pleased
довольный
displeased
недовольный
доставлять удовольствие
приятно
точка; пункт
остроконечный, нацеленный
pointful
уместный, удачный
pointless
бесцельный
указывать, направлять
остро, по существу
вежливость
вежливый
impolite
невежливый
вежливо
популярность
популярный
unpopular
непопулярный
популяризировать
владение, собственность
possessor
обладатель, владелец
собственнический
владеть, обладать
вероятность, возможность
возможный
impossible
невозможный
возможно
сила, мощь
мощный
powerless
бессильный
уполномочивать
предпочтение
предпочтительный
preferential
пользующийся препочтением
предпочитать
предпочтительно
подготовка
подготовленный
unprepared
неподготовленный
подготовить
с готовностью
престиж
престижный
престижно
профессия
профессиональный
профессионально
выгода
выгодный
unprofitable
не приносящий выгоды
получать выгоду
выгодно
прогресс, продвижение
прогрессивный
продвигаться вперед
постепенно, продвигаясь вперед
предложение
предложенный
делать предложение
процветание
процветающий
процветать
процветающе
общественность
общественный
разглашать
открыто, публично
быстрота
быстрый
убыстрять
быстро
реальность
realization
реализация, осуществление
реальный, настоящий
unreal
нереальный
реализовать, осуществлять
действительно, в самом деле
признание, узнавание
признанный
узнавать; признавать
снижение, понижение
уменьшенный; сниженный
снижать; сбавлять
отдых, расслабление
расслабленный
relaxing
отдыхающий; расслабляющий
отдыхать, расслабляться
расслабленно
надежность
надежный
unreliable
ненадежный
доверять, полагаться
надежно
религия
религиозный
нежелание, неохота
неохотный
неохотно
регулярность
irregularity
нерегулярность
регулярный, правильный
irregular
неправильный; нестандартный
регулировать
регулярно
замечание
замечательный
замечать, отмечать
замечательно
представление
representative
представитель
представительный
представлять
упрек
безупречный
упрекать
с упреком
репутация
имеющий хорошую репутацию, почтенный
disreputable
имеющий плохую репутацию
давать репутацию
disrepute
компрометироватъ
сопротивление
ударопрочный;
irresistible
неотразимый
resistant
прочный
сопротивляться
неотразимо
уважение
уважительный
уважать
с уважением
отдых
беспокойный
отдыхать
беспокойно
награда
стоящий награды
unrewarded
невознагражденный
награждать
богатства
richness
богатство
богатый
обогащать
богато
риск
рискованный
рисковать
грусть
грустный
огорчать
грустно
сейф
safety
безопасность
безопасный
unsafe
опасный
спасать; экономить
безопасно
удовлетворение
dissatisfaction
неудовлетворенность; недовольство
довольный
dissatisfied
недовольный
satisfactory
удовлетворительный
unsatisfactory
неудовлетворительный
удовлетворять
dissatisfy
разочаровывать; огорчать
исследование
искать, осуществлять поиск
безопасность
безопасный
insecure
находящийся в опасности
охранять, гарантировать
безопасно
серьезность
серьезный
серьезно
наука
scientist
ученый
научный
научно
чувство
insensibility
отсутствие чувствительности
чувствительный
insensitive
несочувствующий
sensible
разумный
insensible
нечувствительный, неосознающий
ощущать
чувствительно
sensibly
разумно
услуга, обслуживание
servant
слуга
обслуженный; поданный на стол
служить, обслуживать, подавать на стол
значительный
insignificant
незначительный
иметь значение
значительно
сходство, похожесть
похожий, подобный
похоже, подобно
искренность
искренний
insincere
неискренний
искренне
шорты
короткий
укорачивать
кратко
сон
sleeper
спящий; спальный вагон
спящий
sleepless
бессонный
спать
без сна
решение; раствор
решенный; растворенный
решать; находить выход; растворять
специальность; фирменное блюдо
specialty
особенность
особенный; специальный
specific
специфический
точно определять
specialize
специализировать(ся)
специально
specifically
специфично
сила
сильный
укреплять
сильно
стресс
стрессовый
ударять, ставить ударение
в состоянии стресса
успех
успешный
unsuccessful
безуспешный
преуспевать
успешно
достаточность
insufñcience
недостаточность
достаточный
insufficient
недостаточный
быть достаточным
достаточно
подходящий
unsuitable
неподходящий
подходить, устраивать
предложение
предлагать
подозреваемый
подозрительный
подозревать
подозрительно
пловец
swimming
плавание
плавающий, плавательный
плавать
сочувствие, понимание
сочувствующий
сочувствовать
с пониманием; сочувственно
уверенность
уверенный
unsure
неуверенный
assured
обеспеченный; уверенный
self-assured
уверенный в себе
обеспечивать; гарантировать
assure
уверять, обеспечивать
конечно; уверенно
assuredly
с уверенностью
окружение
окруженный
окружать
беседа, разговор
разговорчивый
беседовать
вкус
distaste
отсуствие вкуса
сделанный со вкусом; обладающий вкусом
tasteless
безвкусный
пробовать
со вкусом
tastelessly
без вкуса
террор
terrorist
террорист
ужасный
terrific
потрясающий
terrifying
ужасающий
terrified
напуганный
ужасать
ужасно
terrifically
потрясающе
жажда
испытывать жажду
колготки
плотный, тесный
сжимать, натягивать
тесно, плотно
мысль
задумчивый
thoughtless
бездумный
думать, иметь мнение
задумчиво
трагедия
трагичный
tragical
трагический
трагично
путешествие
traveller
путешественник
путешествующий
путешествовать
правда
untruth
неправда
правильный; настоящий
untrue
неверный, не соответствующий действительности
truthful
правдивый
по-настоящему, искренне
truthfully
правдиво
ценность
ценимый
valuable
ценный
ценить, оценивать
разнообразие
variability
изменчивость, непостоянство
изменяемый
invariable
неизменный
менять, разнообразить
неизменно
год
ежегодный
ежегодно
понимание
misunderstanding
непонимание; недоразумение
понятный
понимать
польза
misuse
неправильное использование;
usage
использование
полезный
useless
бесполезный
used
использованный
unused
неиспользованный
использовать, пользоваться
полезно
uselessly
бесполезно
неделя
еженедельный
еженедельно
ширина
широкий
расширять
широко
воля, желание; завещание
жаждущий, желающий
unwilling
не желающий
проявлять волю, желать
охотно, с удовольствием
unwillingly
неохотно
ветер
ветренный
windless
безветренный
мудрость
мудрый
unwise
неблагоразумный
мудро
unwisely
неблагоразумно
стоимость, ценность
достойный
worthless
не имеющий ценности
Some added letters at the end of a word can also make a word by themselves
DEFINITION OF ENGLISH SUFFIXES
A suffix is a kind of subdivision found in some words. It is likely to be:
(i) Added onto the end of an existing English word, modifying its meaning.
(ii) Meaningful.
(iii) Present in numerous different words.
(iv) Unable to be used alone as a word.
Well-known examples of suffixes are -s on nouns and verbs, -ness and -tion on some nouns, -ing and -fy on verbs, and -ly on some adverbs. A major reason for studying suffixes is that familiarity with them can make it easier to guess the meanings of unfamiliar words in a text (see 177. How to Guess Meanings in a Text).
Some suffixes are considered to belong to grammar, others to vocabulary. Grammar ones normally create different forms of the same word, vocabulary ones new words altogether. The suffix -s is of the former kind – see and sees are different forms of the same verb SEE, showing respectively plural and singular meaning. The suffix -ly, on the other hand, is of the latter kind: sad and sadly are two different words, one an adjective and one an adverb.
The last of the four characteristics above helps suffixes to be differentiated from “roots” – meaningful word parts that are more than just additions to another word, such as -work in homework (see 26. One Word or Two?). However, some word endings that may be best thought of as suffixes (of the vocabulary-like kind) can also occur by themselves. One reason for still classifying them as suffixes is that they are very widely used in different words.
This post is about suffixes that resemble roots. I wish first to examine the occurrence of -ful and -less, which are quite widespread in English, and then to consider some others that are not so frequent. Other posts that contain information about suffixes are 41. Unexpected Vowels in Derived Words, 135. French Influences on English Vocabulary, 172. Multi-Use Suffixes, 249. Action Noun Endings, 255. Nouns Made from Adjectives and 304. Adjectives Made from a Verb. For information about prefixes, see 146. Some Important Prefix Types.
.
THE SUFFIXES “-ful” AND “-less”
The suffixes -ful and -less can be used at the end of numerous English nouns to change them into adjectives. For example, the noun joy can be made into the adjectives joyful and joyless. The former means “happy” (“full of joy”), the latter “unhappy” or “unattractive” (“lacking joy”). Most -ful and -less adjectives can then be made into new nouns by the addition of -ness (e.g. joyfulness: see 255. Nouns Made from Adjectives).
Unfortunately, the use of -ful and -less is not trouble-free. The main problems are that many nouns do not allow them at all, that some words with -ful are nouns rather than adjectives, that some nouns allow only one of the two suffixes but not both, and finally that some words ending in -ful or -less , such as baleful and reckless, are not also a word when the ending is removed.
Words with -ful that are nouns rather than adjectives include spoonful, cupful, glassful and mouthful. The ability of a particular English suffix to make words of different classes is not so unusual (see 172. Multi-Use Suffixes). Fortunately, -ful nouns are quite easy to recognise from the fact that the noun they are made from is usually the name of a container.
Probably the best way to learn which nouns allow -ful and -less and which do not is simply to gain exposure to as much English in use as possible. However, there can also be merit in seeing many examples of the words presented together in lists. Here is a sample of adjectives with -ful. Those that can replace -ful with -less are underlined.
.
Adjectives Ending in “-ful”
awful, baleful, bashful, beautiful, bountiful, careful, colourful, delightful, doubtful, dreadful, dutiful, eventful, faithful, fateful, fearful, forceful, frightful, harmful, hateful, helpful, hopeful, hurtful, joyful, masterful, meaningful, merciful, mindful, painful, peaceful, pitiful, playful, plentiful, powerful, remorseful, resentful, respectful, restful, rightful, spiteful, stressful, successful, tactful, tasteful, tearful, thankful, thoughtful, truthful, useful, vengeful, wishful, wistful, wonderful, wrongful, youthful, zestful.
Adjectives that one might expect to end with -ful but in fact have a different suffix include angry, risky, dirty, irksome, troublesome, charitable, problematic, flawed and loving.
Adjectives ending in -less seem slightly more numerous than the -ful ones. In the following list, the underlined ones again have a -ful equivalent.
Adjectives Ending in “-less”
aimless, *blameless, *bloodless, bottomless, careless, ceaseless, childless, *cloudless, clueless, colourless, defenceless, *doubtless, *effortless, emotionless, endless, expressionless, faithless, *faultless, *fearless, *flawless, hapless, *harmless, heartless, heedless, helpless, hopeless, joyless, landless, lifeless, meaningless, merciless, mindless, *motionless,*odourless, *painless, penniless, pitiless, pointless, powerless, *priceless, reckless, relentless, remorseless, restless, ruthless, senseless, sleepless, soundless, speechless, tactless, tasteless, tearless, thankless, thoughtless, *timeless, *tireless, *topless, toothless (etc.), useless, worthless.
The “(etc.)” in this list next to toothless is because many other names of body parts besides tooth can have -less, for example headless and hairless. An interesting feature of the list as a whole is that most of the words are negative in their meaning (see 13. Hidden Negatives and 16. Ways of Distinguishing Similar Words, #2). Exceptions are marked *.
It is unfortunately not always the case that -ful and -less create opposite meanings in the way that they do in joyful and joyless. Important exceptions include:
doubtful = “doubting” or “untrustworthy”) / doubtless = “undoubtedly”
helpful = “providing help” / helpless = “unable to act”
hopeful = “hoping” / hopeless = “not giving hope”
pitiful = “deserving pity” / pitiless = “not feeling pity”
remorseful = “feeling regret” / remorseless = “unstoppable”
thankful = “grateful” / thankless = “unrewarding”
useful = “possessing a good use” / useless = “inept” or “failing”
Special care is needed with useless, which can cause offence. To meet the politeness demands of formal writing, a preferable alternative is something like not very useful or of no use (see 166. Appropriacy in Professional English).
For more on doubtless, see 157. Tricky Word Contrasts 5, #1. For more on useless, hopeless, priceless and hateful, see 284. Words with a Surprising Meaning, #3, #6, #8 and #12. For more on hopeful, see 296. Tricky Word Contrasts 12, #2.
Another suffix with similar meaning to -less is -free. It is found (with a hyphen in front) in words like sugar-free, risk-free and trouble-free. The suggestion here is always positive – a feature that makes -free a particular favourite with advertisers!
.
OTHER ROOT-LIKE SUFFIXES
Suffixes like -less, -ful and -free are different from those like -ly and -ness in that they closely resemble ordinary words. However, they seem better classifiable as suffixes than as roots like -work because they combine with ordinary words more widely than roots do.
Here is a list of some interesting word-like suffixes that I have gathered. Many need to follow a hyphen in the same way that -free does (rules for having or not having a hyphen are hard to find – see 223. Uses of Hyphens, #3 and #4). Most of the suffixes in the list create adjectives, but some (indicated) make adverbs.
-ABLE (or -IBLE): advisable, understandable, accessible, divisible (for a valuable use of this suffix, see 27. How to Avoid Passive Verbs)
-EVER: however, whenever, whatever (see 272. Uses of “Ever”)
-FRIENDLY: child-friendly, user-friendly, car-friendly
-LIKE: childlike, insect-like, soldier-like, flu-like (see 149. Saying How Things are Similar)
-PRONE: accident-prone, disaster-prone, flood-prone
-PROOF: accident-proof, fireproof, waterproof, idiot-proof, leak-proof
-RICH: butter-rich, cash-rich, vitamin-rich, colour-rich, time-rich
-SHY: camera-shy, crowd-shy, publicity-shy
-SOME: fearsome, gruesome, handsome, irksome, tiresome, troublesome
-STYLE/-FASHION (adj/adv.): American-style, sports-style, skyscraper-style
-TIGHT: watertight, airtight
-TYPE: flu-type, racing-type, British-type
-WIDE (adj/adv.): countrywide, nationwide, institution-wide
-WISE(1) (manner- or direction-showing adv.): crabwise, lengthwise, clockwise
-WISE(2) (= “regarding” adv.): accommodation-wise, cost-wise (see 121. Sentence-Spanning Adverbs)
-WORTHY: newsworthy, noteworthy, praiseworthy
In addition, there are many suffixes that look like a verb in the “participle” form (with -ing or -ed: see 52. Participles Placed Just after their Noun). However, they and their partner noun together make not a verb but an adjective (see 245. Adjectives with a Participle Ending). One typical use is for naming physical properties of things (e.g. water-borne, action-packed, bitter-tasting, rough-looking – see 163. Ways of Naming Properties).
Outside of property-naming, more suffix-like participles seem to have –ing than -ed. Examples are -taking (pains-, liberty-), -seeking (pleasure-, answer-), -grabbing (money-, headline-), -causing (trouble-, disease-), -supporting (government-, football-), -seeming (innocent-, friendly-), -loving (fun-, sport-), -looking (good-, green-, suspicious-), -setting (trend-, example-), -breaking (law-, record-), -sounding (positive-, promising-) and -eating (meat-, ant-).