What this suffix does
-chosen evaluates how good a choice was: well-chosen (the right option), poorly-chosen / ill-chosen, carefully-chosen.
ESEN
Suffix · forms adjectives
-chosen
Judges how good a selection was: well-chosen (exactly right) versus poorly-chosen (a bad pick).
In Spanish: elegido / seleccionado / escogidoIntermediate
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
Very common for praising writing
"well-chosen words" or "a well-chosen example" is a common way to praise someone's writing: out of every option, they picked exactly the right one.
How it is formed
Adverb + chosen.
- well + chosenwell-chosen (the right pick)
- poorly + chosenpoorly-chosen (a bad pick)
- carefully + chosencarefully-chosen (picked with care)
This is not a productive rule you can apply freely: it is a closed set of fixed expressions. Learn them one by one as set phrases.
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-chosenHer well-chosen words made everyone feel better.
- carefullycarefully-chosenHe gave a carefully-chosen gift that showed he really knew her.
- poorlypoorly-chosenThat was a poorly-chosen example, it just confused everyone more.
- illill-chosenHis joke was ill-chosen for such a serious meeting.
- randomlyrandomly-chosenThe winner was randomly-chosen from everyone who entered.
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 = "well picked", the participle of "choose", which you already know from other contexts ("the chosen one"). Not a new word: it is "choose" in the past participle + well/poorly.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"poorly-chosen" describes a word that is...
Frequently asked questions
What does the suffix -chosen mean in English?
The suffix -chosen judges how good a selection was: well-chosen (exactly right) versus poorly-chosen (a bad pick). 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
Judges how well something is positioned: well-placed (in the right spot) versus ill-placed (poorly positioned).
-timed
Judges whether the moment chosen for something was right: well-timed versus ill-timed (badly timed).
-turned
Judges how well-crafted a phrase or sentence is: well-turned (elegantly phrased) versus ill-turned (clumsily phrased).
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