Words with the suffix -ful
-ful means “full of; characterized by; tending to”, from Old English -full. It makes a word into an adjective.
16 examples of the suffix -ful
- helpfulhelp + -fultending to give help
- carefulcare + -fulfull of care or caution
- painfulpain + -fulcharacterized by pain
- joyfuljoy + -fulfull of joy
- fearfulfear + -fulfull of fear
- playfulplay + -fultending to play or frolic
- hopefulhope + -fulfull of hope
- handfulhand + -fulamount a hand holds
- thankfulthank + -fulfeeling or expressing thanks
- powerfulpower + -fulfull of power or strength
- colorfulcolor + -fulfull of vivid color
- spoonfulspoon + -fulamount a spoon holds
- skillfulskill + -fulcharacterized by great skill
- boastfulboast + -fultending to boast or brag
- vengefulvenge + -fulcharacterized by desire for revenge
Also: beautiful
How -ful works
The suffix '-ful' converts nouns (and occasionally verbs) into adjectives meaning 'full of' or 'tending to,' though when attached to nouns of capacity (handful, spoonful) it forms nouns meaning 'the amount that fills.' When the base word ends in a consonant cluster or double-l, the spelling is generally preserved as-is, but note that the suffix itself is spelled with a single 'l' (not '-full'), even though the free-standing word 'full' has two.
Watch out: The word 'awful' looks like 'awe' + '-ful' (full of awe), and historically it was, but its modern meaning ('terrible') has drifted so far from the literal composition that it functions as a lexicalized exception rather than a transparent example of the suffix.
To see suffixes combine with other parts, try the word dissector and root builder, or test yourself in the vocabulary quiz.
Other common suffixes
- -able · capable of
- -ible · capable of
- -tion · act
- -ness · state
- -ly · in a specified manner
- -er · one who performs an action
- -ment · result
- -less · without
- -ous · having the quality of
- -ity · state
- -ism · doctrine
- -ist · one who practices or believes in
- -ize · to make or cause to become
- -al · of
- -ance · action
- -ence · action
- -ive · tending to
- -ship · state
Questions people ask
What does the suffix -ful mean?
-ful means “full of; characterized by; tending to”. It comes from Old English -full. The suffix '-ful' converts nouns (and occasionally verbs) into adjectives meaning 'full of' or 'tending to,' though when attached to nouns of capacity (handful, spoonful) it forms nouns meaning 'the amount that fills.' When the base word ends in a consonant cluster or double-l, the spelling is generally preserved as-is, but note that the suffix itself is spelled with a single 'l' (not '-full'), even though the free-standing word 'full' has two.
What are some examples of words with the suffix -ful?
helpful, careful, painful, joyful, fearful, playful, hopeful, handful. The full list of 16 examples, with what each one literally means, is above.
Which words look like they have the suffix -ful but don’t?
The word 'awful' looks like 'awe' + '-ful' (full of awe), and historically it was, but its modern meaning ('terrible') has drifted so far from the literal composition that it functions as a lexicalized exception rather than a transparent example of the suffix.
What is a suffix?
A suffix is a word part added to the end of a word. It often changes the part of speech: -ness turns the adjective kind into the noun kindness, and -ly turns quick into the adverb quickly.