SpeakUP Academy
Descubre tu nivel
HomeSuffixes-chosen
ESEN

Suffix · forms adjectives

-chosen

selected in a specified manner or with a specified degree of care; evaluating the quality of selection

In Spanish: elegido / seleccionado / escogidoLiterary

Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated June 2026

What this suffix does

-chosen forms compound adjectives that evaluate the quality of a selection — whether of words, examples, people, or strategies. Well-chosen, carefully-chosen, poorly-chosen, ill-chosen, randomly-chosen — each compound judges not just what was chosen but how well the choosing was done. In literary and critical writing, "well-chosen" and its contraries are essential tools: a well-chosen example does more argumentative work than any number of poorly-chosen ones; a carefully-chosen word can change the entire meaning of a sentence. These compounds belong to the vocabulary of editorial and analytical judgment.

How it is pronounced

-chosen

Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.

Examples

Base word
With -chosen
In a phrase
  • wellwell-chosenThe three well-chosen examples did more to establish the argument than the fifty pages of theory that preceded them.
  • carefullycarefully-chosenThe carefully-chosen words of the apology acknowledged responsibility without admitting any specific liability.
  • poorlypoorly-chosenThe poorly-chosen analogy did more damage to the lecture than the material it was meant to clarify.
  • illill-chosenThe ill-chosen moment to raise the salary question was the afternoon before the redundancy announcement.
  • randomlyrandomly-chosenThe randomly-chosen sample of two hundred respondents was large enough to be statistically valid.

Common mistakes

well-chosen = well-liked or popular
well-chosen = selected with good judgment; appropriate for the purpose

"Well-chosen" is a judgment about the quality of the selection process — was the right thing chosen for the purpose? It does not describe popularity or affection. A well-chosen example is one that is exactly right for the argument it is meant to illustrate. It could be an unpopular example; what matters is that it is the right one.

"ill-chosen" and "poorly-chosen" are identical
"ill-chosen" has a slightly more formal register and often implies a specific awkwardness; "poorly-chosen" is more general

"Ill-chosen" often implies a specific kind of bad selection — one that creates an awkwardness, offence, or misfit that makes the choice actively counterproductive. "Poorly-chosen" is more neutral and simply means the selection was not made with adequate care or judgment. "Ill-chosen words" suggests they caused specific damage; "poorly-chosen words" suggests they were merely inadequate.

A trick to remember it

"Well-chosen" is one of the most precise forms of praise available to a critic, editor, or reader. It says exactly this: among all the possible options, the writer selected the right one. This sounds simple but is one of the hardest things to achieve in writing — finding the one word, example, image, or comparison that is exactly right, not merely adequate. When you encounter "well-chosen" in a review, you are reading praise of judgment rather than mere facility.

Practise what you learned

Exercise 1 · Form the word

Fill in: "Her ___ examples illuminated each theoretical point in a way that no amount of abstract explanation could have achieved." (selected with good judgment; exactly right for the purpose)

Hint: Well + chosen = selected with the judgment needed to pick exactly the right option.

Exercise 2 · Pick the right one

"The ill-chosen metaphor compared the company to a sinking ship on the morning its quarterly results were announced." What does "ill-chosen" mean here?

Exercise 3 · Form the word

Fill in: "The ___ words of the statement acknowledged the facts without creating any legal liability." (selected with deliberate, precise care; each word tested against its possible consequences)

Hint: Carefully + chosen = selected through deliberate, attentive care; each option weighed before being used.

Frequently asked questions

What does the suffix -chosen mean in English?

The suffix -chosen selected in a specified manner or with a specified degree of care; evaluating the quality of selection In Spanish it usually maps to elegido / seleccionado / escogido.

Can you give an example of a word with -chosen?

"well" becomes "well-chosen". It is a typical example of the -chosen suffix.

Other useful suffixes

  • -placed

    positioned or situated in a specified location or manner; describing the quality of positioning, placement, or strategic location

  • -timed

    occurring, delivered, or executed at a specified moment; evaluating whether the timing was appropriate or appropriate to the circumstances

  • -turned

    shaped, formed, or expressed in a specified manner through turning or crafting; describing the quality of expression, form, or transformation

Learn every English suffix

-tion, -ness, -ful, -ly, -able... every ending you need to understand thousands of words at once.

View all suffixes
SpeakUP Academy

Aprende

  • Lecciones gratis
  • Test de nivel
  • Glosario
  • Falsos amigos

SpeakUP

  • Nosotros
  • Iniciar sesión

Legal

  • Términos
  • Privacidad
© 2026 SpeakUP Academy. Todos los derechos reservados.