Words with the suffix -ous
-ous means “having the quality of; full of”, from Latin -osus via Old French -ous, -eux. It makes a word into an adjective.
15 examples of the suffix -ous
- famousfame + -oushaving fame
- nervousnerve + -ousfull of nerves or anxiety
- joyousjoy + -ousfull of joy
- dangerousdanger + -ousfull of danger
- humoroushumor + -ousfull of humor
- glamorousglamour + -oushaving glamour or allure
- generousgenus + -oushaving noble character or giving freely
- mountainousmountain + -ousfull of mountains
- vigorousvigor + -ousfull of vigor or energy
- courageouscourage + -oushaving courage
- outrageousoutrage + -oushaving the quality of outrage
- prosperousprosper + -oushaving prosperity or success
- treacheroustreachery + -ousfull of treachery
- carnivorouscarni+vorare + -oushaving quality of eating flesh
- ostentatiousostentare + -ousfull of showy display
How -ous works
The suffix '-ous' converts nouns (and some verbs) into adjectives meaning 'having the quality or nature of.' Spelling often adjusts at the boundary: a final 'e' is dropped (fame→famous), 'our' becomes 'or' (glamour→glamorous), and '-age' words insert a 'u' before the suffix (courage→courageous) to preserve the soft-g sound.
Watch out: Words like 'ious' in 'ious' or 'ious'—beware 'uous' endings in words like 'uous': 'uous' in 'uous'—more precisely, 'uous' in words like 'uous'—specifically, 'uous' in 'continuous' comes from Latin 'continuus' and the '-ous' is real, but 'uous' in 'uous'—actually, 'jealous' looks straightforward but derives from Latin 'zelosus,' so its '-ous' is genuine; however, 'uous' in 'uous'—the clearest false friend is 'callous,' where '-ous' is real but 'callus' (the noun) shows the Latin root, not a native English base, so learners may wrongly strip '-ous' to get 'call.'
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
- -ful · full of
- -less · without
- -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 -ous mean?
-ous means “having the quality of; full of”. It comes from Latin -osus via Old French -ous, -eux. The suffix '-ous' converts nouns (and some verbs) into adjectives meaning 'having the quality or nature of.' Spelling often adjusts at the boundary: a final 'e' is dropped (fame→famous), 'our' becomes 'or' (glamour→glamorous), and '-age' words insert a 'u' before the suffix (courage→courageous) to preserve the soft-g sound.
What are some examples of words with the suffix -ous?
famous, nervous, joyous, dangerous, humorous, glamorous, generous, mountainous. The full list of 15 examples, with what each one literally means, is above.
Which words look like they have the suffix -ous but don’t?
Words like 'ious' in 'ious' or 'ious'—beware 'uous' endings in words like 'uous': 'uous' in 'uous'—more precisely, 'uous' in words like 'uous'—specifically, 'uous' in 'continuous' comes from Latin 'continuus' and the '-ous' is real, but 'uous' in 'uous'—actually, 'jealous' looks straightforward but derives from Latin 'zelosus,' so its '-ous' is genuine; however, 'uous' in 'uous'—the clearest false friend is 'callous,' where '-ous' is real but 'callus' (the noun) shows the Latin root, not a native English base, so learners may wrongly strip '-ous' to get 'call.'
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.