The Suffix -FUL is used in many words and has a meaning that’s easy to understand. In adjectives, it means “full of something” or “having the qualities of that thing.”
| beautiful bountiful careful cheerful colorful deceitful doubtful dreadful dutiful fanciful fateful fearful flavorful forceful forgetful frightful fruitful gleeful | graceful grateful harmful hateful helpful hopeful hurtful joyful lawful masterful painful peaceful pitiful playful plentiful powerful resentful respectful | restful shameful skillful soulful stressful tearful thankful thoughtful truthful unlawful useful wasteful watchful willful wishful wonderful youthful |
You will find a list of 58 words that end in the suffix -ful, real example sentences, and a video for a fun way to study this grammar. There is also find a Free PDF wordlist to download at the end of this post. Keep reading.
The Suffix -FUL Meaning
The suffix -ful is a common English suffix. A simple way to think of this suffix is that it comes from the adjective FULL which means: with no empty space/having a lot/as much as possible.
-ful suffix (in adjectives) full of; having the qualities of; tending to
careful – full of care
stressful – full of stress
In nouns, the suffix -ful means an amount that fills something
handful – an amount that fills your hand
spoonful – an amount that fills a spoon
ful suffix – OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com
I have divided the examples into an Adjective list and a Noun list. Each word has a link to its definition from Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries with an alternate definition. I hope this resource is helpful for you in your English study.
Adjectives with the Suffix FUL
Beautiful – pleasing to the senses; attractive.
- “I saw the most beautiful woman on the train today.”
Bountiful – abundant; plentiful.
- “The farmers were grateful for the bountiful harvest this year.”
Careful – taking great care; attentive to potential hazards.
- “I asked the movers to be careful with that box. It’s full of fragile dishes.”
Cheerful – happy and optimistic.
- “She had a cheerful attitude despite the bad weather.”
Colorful – having many colors; vivid.
- “The parrot was colorful with its bright red and blue feathers. It was also very noisy!”
Deceitful – dishonest.
- “The company was accused of using deceitful tactics in their advertising campaign.”
Doubtful – uncertain; skeptical.
- “It’s doubtful that I will ever work for that company again. My experience was not good.”
Dreadful – causing dread or fear; terrible.
- “The storm was dreadful, with strong winds and heavy rain. We decided to reschedule the picnic for next weekend.”
Dutiful – performing one’s duty; responsible.
- “He was a dutiful son who always looked out for his parents.”
Fanciful – imaginative; not based in reality.
- “The story was fanciful, filled with talking animals and magic spells.”
Fateful – having a significant and inevitable effect on the future.
- “The decision to leave the country was fateful and would change the course of their lives.”
Fearful – causing fear or alarm.
- “The embassy closed temporarily until the country restored order. The embassy staff were fearful of an attack.”
Flavorful – having a strong and distinct taste.
- “The dish was flavorful with a mix of spices that were new to me.”
Forceful – powerful; strong.
- “Mike was a good manager but his forceful personality turned some people off.”
Forgetful – prone to forgetfulness; absent-minded.
- “As I get older I get more forgetful.”
Frightful – causing fear or alarm.
- “I heard a frightful noise coming from the basement so I ran downstairs to see if everything was okay.”
Fruitful – producing good results; productive.
- “The meeting yesterday was fruitful and many good ideas were generated.”
Gleeful – joyful and carefree.
- “Sharon’s gleeful laugh could be heard all through the house.”
Graceful – characterized by elegance and poise.
- “The ballerina was very graceful as she danced across the stage. The crowd couldn’t take their eyes off her.”
*Learn the Idiom Can’t Take My Eyes Off Someone and MORE at my Eye Idioms Post here- https://worldenglishblog.com/idioms-with-eyes/
Grateful – feeling or showing gratitude.
- “Benjamin was grateful for all the help he received during the difficult time.”
Harmful – causing harm or injury.
- “The chemical was potentially harmful and needed to be stored correctly.”
Hateful – full of hate; very unkind.
- “John was a hateful old man who lived beside me. I made several attempts to befriend him but he’s just too negative.”
Helpful – providing assistance; useful.
- “My dad gave me some helpful advice after I got married.”
Hopeful – having hope; optimistic.
- “She was hopeful that the medicine the doctor gave her would work.”
Hurtful – causing emotional pain.
- “His words were hurtful and she felt tears well up in her eyes.”
Joyful – full of joy; happy.
- “The reporter called the paintings bright and joyful.”
Lawful – in accordance with the law.
- “The protest was peaceful and lawful. None of the protesters were arrested.”
The opposite of lawful is unlawful – not in accordance with the law.
- “The act was unlawful and would be punished with imprisonment.”
Masterful – displaying great skill and mastery.
- “The musician’s masterful performance on the piano received a standing ovation.”
Painful – causing physical or emotional pain.
- “The injury to my ankle will heal with time, but it’s too painful to walk on now.”
Peaceful – calm and tranquil.
- “The forest is very peaceful, I love to spend time here by myself, getting lost in nature.”
Pitiful – inspiring pity or sadness.
- “The homeless man on the street looked pitiful. Rather than give him any money I bought him a sandwich and a bottle of water.”
Playful – full of fun and mischief.
- “The playful puppy wagged its tail as it chased the children in the backyard.”
Plentiful – abundant; in great supply.
- “The orchard was plentiful with big red apples.”
Powerful – having great strength or influence.
- “The CEO is a rich and powerful man with many friends in the government.”
Resentful – feeling or showing resentment.
- “Dan was resentful at not being chosen for the team.”
Respectful – showing respect; polite.
- “The students were respectful during the assembly.”
Restful – that makes you feel relaxed and peaceful.
- “The deluxe hotel room was beautiful and had a very restful atmosphere.”
Shameful – causing shame or embarrassment.
- “Edgar’s behavior was shameful and he was kicked out of the party.”
Skillful – displaying great skill and expertise.
- “The cruise ship hired a skillful head chef to make sure that all the food on the ship was top level.”
Soulful – expressing deep emotion or sentiment.
- “The singer’s soulful performance brought tears to the audience’s eyes.”
Stressful – causing stress or anxiety.
- “Nicholas’ job is very stressful, it is time to make a change.”
Tearful – causing tears or filled with tears.
- “After graduation, I shared some tearful goodbyes with the close friends that I had made over the past 4 years.”
Thankful – feeling or showing gratitude.
- “Benjamin was thankful for all the help he received during the difficult time.”
Thoughtful – showing consideration for others.
- “Daniel was thoughtful enough to bring a nice bottle of wine for his host.”
Truthful – telling the truth; honest.
- “He was truthful in his testimony and didn’t lie to the court.”
Useful – serving a useful purpose; practical.
- “My tablet computer is very useful. It’s light and I can take it anywhere.”
Wasteful – not using resources efficiently.
- “The company’s practices were wasteful and they were losing money.”
Watchful – careful and vigilant.
- “The security guard kept a watchful eye on the front gate.”
Willful – stubborn; done deliberately.
- “It was a willful act of damage. Vandalism will not be tolerated on school grounds.”
The noun vandalism is made with the suffix -ISM. Do a deep dive into this English suffix here >> 55 Common Suffix -ISM Examples (Video + PDF Download)
Wishful – filled with longing or desire.
- “I hope the company increases our bonuses this year, but I’m afraid it’s just wishful thinking.”
Wonderful – inspiring delight or admiration; excellent.
- “The concert was wonderful, the orchestra played all my favorite songs.”
Youthful – having the qualities of youth.
- “I enjoyed it teaching English at a high school, the place was filled with a youthful energy and dreams of the future.”
Nouns with the Suffix FUL
Fistful – the amount that can be held in a clenched fist.
- “He picked up a fistful of sand and let it run through his fingers.”
Handful – the amount that can be held in the hand.
- “Chris picked up a handful of small stones and threw them in the lake.”
Mouthful – the amount that can be held in the mouth.
- “I love playing beach volleyball, but after I dove to return that serve I got a mouthful of sand.”
Spoonful – the amount that a spoon can hold
- “I like to add a spoonful of honey to my coffee as a sweetener.”
Can you think of any other words with the suffix -FUL that I didn’t include in my list? Tell me in the comments.
Printable Suffix -FUL PDF Word List
Download the Word List as a printable PDF. Great for teachers to use with private or group classes. PDF contains the live links from the post.
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