Sign in
Suffix -ed (compounds) in English
Joins an adjective or a number to a body or character noun to describe someone or something: blue eyes gives blue-eyed.
Used to make new words. With a color, a number or a size you can build your own: gray-bearded or six-legged make sense even though the dictionary does not list them one by one.
What it does
Joins an adjective or a number to a noun to describe someone or something
The body: what a part is like
- round + shouldergivesround-shouldered
- red + facegivesred-faced
- big + bonegivesbig-boned
Character or way of acting
- good + humorgivesgood-humored
- broad + mindgivesbroad-minded
- high + handgiveshigh-handed
It looks like a past tense, but there is no verb: -ed attaches to the noun. Many have a figurative meaning: light-fingered usually describes someone who steals, not someone with nimble fingers. It goes before or after the noun: a bad-tempered man, the man is bad-tempered.
How it is formed
Adjective or number + singular noun + -ed. For people, the noun usually comes from one of three themes (it works for things too: a double-edged sword):
- three + leggivesthree-leggedbody: number, color or shape + body part
- wide + eyegiveswide-eyed
- open + mindgivesopen-mindedcharacter: adjective + mind, will, temper, wit...
- strong + willgivesstrong-willed
- heavy + handgivesheavy-handedmanner: a body part used figuratively
- sure + footgivessure-footed
If the noun ends in -e, add only -d (two-faced); if it ends in a consonant + y, the y changes to i (body gives full-bodied). If it has one syllable and ends in one vowel + one consonant, double the consonant (skin gives thin-skinned; wit, quick-witted). Some older ones are written as one word (Merriam-Webster has warmhearted and nearsighted); a new one takes a hyphen.
Examples 10
three-legged
Our three-legged cat can still climb trees.
wide-eyed
The kids were wide-eyed when they saw the fireworks.
thin-skinned
He's too thin-skinned to handle criticism well.
open-minded
She's very open-minded about trying new things.
strong-willed
Her strong-willed daughter never backs down from a challenge.
Practice -ed
1 of 4Common mistakes
She adopted a one-eye cat.
She adopted a one-eyed cat.
Without -ed, eye is just a noun. It is not plural either: no one-eyes or three-legs.
I admire how cold-blooded she was during the emergency.
I admire how she kept her cool during the emergency.
Cold-blooded sounds cruel and heartless (a cold-blooded killer). To praise someone for staying calm, say they kept their cool.
-ed or -ed
In well-chosen or well-known, the second part is a participle (of choose and know). Here -ed attaches to a noun: hand gives left-handed.
See -edFrequently asked questions
What does the suffix -ed mean in English?
The suffix -ed joins an adjective or a number to a body or character noun to describe someone or something: blue eyes gives blue-eyed.
Can you use -ed to make new words?
Used to make new words. With a color, a number or a size you can build your own: gray-bearded or six-legged make sense even though the dictionary does not list them one by one.
What is -ed confused with?
In well-chosen or well-known, the second part is a participle (of choose and know). Here -ed attaches to a noun: hand gives left-handed.