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Q&A Suffixing words with -ness, -ish, -like, and others

The extent to which you can do this varies depending on your audience, but generally, I wouldn't do it with a thoroughly unknown word. Tonitrus is an excellent example. Great word, means what you n...

posted 8y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T12:00:42Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/26152
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T05:57:38Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/26152
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T05:57:38Z (almost 5 years ago)
The extent to which you can do this varies depending on your audience, but generally, I wouldn't do it with a thoroughly unknown word. _Tonitrus_ is an excellent example. Great word, means what you need it to mean, but in itself it's already so rare that your readers will have to look it up. If you are then coining an adjective on top of it, you're going to lose people entirely, because you _can't_ look that one up. So yes, create new words, but base them on familiar stems.

Keeping that in mind, I wouldn't overdo it in any one story, but go ahead and use it when you think it works. As long as your base word is understandable, make your new adjectives where necessary. Just check with your beta readers to make sure you're not too heavy-handed.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-01-18T20:32:52Z (almost 8 years ago)
Original score: 1