Suffixes like “-less” transform existing words, primarily adjectives and occasionally nouns, into new adjectives with negated or diminished meanings. For instance, “hope” becomes “hopeless,” signifying an absence of hope, and “power” transforms into “powerless,” indicating a lack of power. These formations offer concise expressions of negation or deficiency.
This morphological process is highly productive in English, contributing significantly to the language’s flexibility and expressive capacity. Historically, the suffix derives from Old English “-las,” meaning “free from” or “without,” demonstrating a long-standing presence in the language’s evolution. The ability to readily create these negative adjectives contributes to nuanced communication, allowing for precise descriptions of qualities and states.
