English Vocabulary for learners
Words ending in 'ISH'
The suffix '-ish' added to words in English.
The suffix '-ish', in an informal context, is commonly added to words to mean 'approximately',
'somewhat', 'sort of' or 'similar to'.
The list below shows some examples of these.
| WORD | EXAMPLE OF USE |
| awkwardish | "With his ex-wife standing nearby, it was awkwardish to talk about his plans for the weekend." |
| biggish | "The house is biggish but badly in need of repair." |
| bookish | “One of the twins is athletic while the other is more bookish.” |
| childish | “Her attitude can be immature at times, even childish.” |
| coldish | “The food was quite nice but the restaurant was coldish.” |
| dampish | “The dress is not quite dry. Just feel it - it’s dampish.” |
| darkish | “The only person I noticed was a small man with darkish hair.” |
| devilish | “Charlie often gets into trouble with his devilish ideas!” |
| dullish | “The hat she wore was a dullish shade of purple.” |
| fortyish | “How old is the author? He looks fortyish to me.” |
| greenish | “The tank was full of fish swimming in greenish water.” |
| hottish | “It turned out to be a hottish day and we were all dressed too warmly.” |
| loudish | “Those present commented in loudish whispers as he explained the problem.” |
| mannish | “The actress sang beautifully in a deep mannish voice.” |
| noonish | "If we leave early tomorrow, we should get there at noonish.” |
| oddish | “My new colleague doesn't mix much with people. He's an oddish sort of guy.” |
| oldish | "Our neighbours are oldish – over 60 at least.” |
| outlandish | "She's a bit eccentric and sometimes wears outlandish clothes!” |
| reddish | “She's tall and slim, with reddish hair.” |
| sevenish | “Dinner is at 8 pm. I imagine drinks will start at sevenish.” |
| squarish | “I suppose you could describe the animal's nose as squarish.” |
| sweetish | “I don’t like the fish. It has a sweetish taste.” |
| tallish | “Tall or short? Let’s say he appeared to be tallish.” |
| weakish | “She's an interesting candidate but her English is weakish.” |
| youngish | “The designer attended the event accompanied by a youngish man.” |
| NB: - Some adjectives ending in –ish are standard, for example: foolish, selfish, stylish … - Others denote nationality: British, Swedish, Irish, Danish … |
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