A ‣ Productive suffixes

Many suffixes (and prefixes too) are productive. [still used to create new words] You might feel adventurous enough to try coining some words of your own! [creating] The meaning of the example words below is clear from the meanings of the root and the suffix.

-able can be used productively, whereas -ible never is. It combines with verbs to form adjectives.
Note that -able means ‘can be’: a washable jacket [one that can be washed], disposable nappies, predictable results, avoidable problems, a manageable situation

-conscious combines with nouns to form adjectives that describe people who consider one aspect of their lives especially important: health-conscious person, class-conscious society, safety-conscious company, time-conscious workforce

-free combines with nouns describing something undesirable to form adjectives to describe nouns without that undesirable aspect: stress-free life, tax-free shop, additive-free food

-rich combines with nouns (often chemical or organic substances) to form adjectives to describe nouns with a lot of that substance: fibre-rich diet, calcium-rich foods

-led combines with nouns and nationality adjectives to form adjectives describing things that are controlled or influenced by the original noun or nationality: community-led initiative, student-led protest, worker-led uprising

-minded combines with adjectives or nouns to form new adjectives describing people with particular characters, opinions or attitudes: like-minded friends [with similar interests], career-minded young women, money-minded managers, high-minded [having high moral standards]

-proof combines with nouns to form adjectives describing things that can resist the damage or difficulty caused by that noun: ovenproof dish, waterproof jacket, soundproof room, idiot-proof instructions

-related combines with nouns to form adjectives to describe one thing as connected with another: stress-related absence from work, age-related illness

-ridden combines with nouns to form adjectives describing people or things with a lot of that noun: guilt-ridden person, crime-ridden city, bedridden [a person who has to stay in bed because they are ill]

-worthy combines with nouns to form adjectives that describe people or things that merit whatever the original noun refers to: newsworthy incident [worth reporting in the news], praiseworthy action/pupil [deserving praise]

B ‣ Suffixes in different word classes

-ly is not only an adverb ending, it also forms quite a few adjectives: lively children [full of energy], costly holiday [expensive], leisurely walk [relaxed], miserly man [mean with money]

-ant is most familiar as an adjective ending (relevant information, distant hills) but it can also make nouns from verbs to describe a person: an applicant for a job, an insurance claimant, a police informant, a quiz contestant, an occupant of a house

-en makes adjectives from nouns (woollen jumper, golden hair) but it also makes verbs from adjectives: to moisten your lips, to sweeten tea, a situation worsens, a face reddens