The Suffix -ish: The Suffix -ish, Part 4

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. impish
    naughtily or annoyingly playful
    Sometimes she is an impish child, too, sneaking chocolates and bringing worms into the house. The Unfinished Angel
  2. rakish
    marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
    Diaz Castellano had a pencil moustache and a rakish straw hat. 1491
    Rakehell is a 16th-century word for a scoundrel, and that was shortened to rake as the definition shifted somewhat toward describing someone who dresses well but has a naughty air.
  3. skittish
    unpredictably excitable, especially of horses
    And he seemed so agitated....Anything that could make a fearless horse skittish should have terrified Hazel. The House of Hades
    Skittish means nervous, physically agitated. Its origin is unclear, but it might be Scandinavian.
  4. gibberish
    unintelligible talking
    A young man’s voice stood out from the others, high-pitched, shouting gibberish, like a child learning to speak. Half of a Yellow Sun
    Gibber, like jabber, is an onomatopoeic word that imitates the sound of a language you can't understand.
  5. boorish
    ill-mannered and coarse in behavior or appearance
    “To begin with, I could teach these boorish ogres how to eat properly.” Ella Enchanted
    Boor, meaning a rude and ignorant person, comes from the Dutch boer, meaning "peasant."
  6. mawkish
    very sentimental or emotional
    “No one else gets it like you get it,” Ms. Turner said to her, sincerely, before turning playfully mawkish: “No one gets me like you do.” New York Times (Apr 1, 2015)
    Mawk is an Old English word for a maggot, and mawkish originally referred to something disgusting. Over time the meaning shifted to describing a person or performance that's emotionally overwrought: still capable of making you feel queasy, but due to ridiculous sentimentality rather than squirming grubs.
  7. waggish
    witty or joking
    They are witty and waggish and wildly amusing. Washington Post (May 20, 2021)
  8. mulish
    unreasonably stubborn or rigid
    He will be back soon, possibly at Madrid, as mulish as ever, still refusing to bend for anyone. The Guardian (Jan 20, 2019)
    Mules are stubborn, and mulish people are too.
  9. standoffish
    lacking cordiality; unfriendly
    Employees were instructed to be standoffish and aloof, to speak to customers only if spoken to first. Washington Post (Nov 22, 2021)
  10. peckish
    somewhat hungry
    For those feeling peckish after the farm fun, the market sells midway-style bites, such as corn dogs, kettle corn, snow cones and roasted nuts. Washington Post (Sep 23, 2021)
    Birds peck at their food, so if you're peckish you're not fully hungry, though you could nibble on a little something.
  11. faddish
    intensely fashionable or popular for a short time
    But a faddish interest in houseplants in America seems to perennially blossom and then die out. Washington Post (Sep 6, 2017)
Created on Fri Oct 23 11:13:43 EDT 2020 (updated Thu Apr 21 09:58:15 EDT 2022)

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