What does the same-ish mean?Use of the suffix -ishWhat does “rather” mean in “rather Jimmy Olsen-ish”?“Underperform the debt”What does “Honeykins” mean?Intensifiers: Which one intensifies to the highest degree, and which one to the lowest?Are the verbs “parlay” and “draw on” interchangeable?Chill wind or Chilly windWhat's the difference between 'bluffing', 'bragging' and 'showing off'Is the phrase “repeat again” always symmantically when requesting a repetition?The spelling rule of -ment

Doing something right before you need it - expression for this?

How could indestructible materials be used in power generation?

How to model explosives?

How can I make my BBEG immortal short of making them a Lich or Vampire?

I would say: "You are another teacher", but she is a woman and I am a man

How is it possible to have an ability score that is less than 3?

90's TV series where a boy goes to another dimension through portal near power lines

Is it canonical bit space?

What do you call someone who asks many questions?

1960's book about a plague that kills all white people

Twin primes whose sum is a cube

Why do I get two different answers for this counting problem?

How can I fix/modify my tub/shower combo so the water comes out of the showerhead?

Should I tell management that I intend to leave due to bad software development practices?

Is it unprofessional to ask if a job posting on GlassDoor is real?

Is it legal for company to use my work email to pretend I still work there?

Why does Kotter return in Welcome Back Kotter

Why is Collection not simply treated as Collection<?>

Why is the 'in' operator throwing an error with a string literal instead of logging false?

How much of data wrangling is a data scientist's job?

When a company launches a new product do they "come out" with a new product or do they "come up" with a new product?

What's the difference between 'rename' and 'mv'?

Does a druid starting with a bow start with no arrows?

Watching something be written to a file live with tail



What does the same-ish mean?


Use of the suffix -ishWhat does “rather” mean in “rather Jimmy Olsen-ish”?“Underperform the debt”What does “Honeykins” mean?Intensifiers: Which one intensifies to the highest degree, and which one to the lowest?Are the verbs “parlay” and “draw on” interchangeable?Chill wind or Chilly windWhat's the difference between 'bluffing', 'bragging' and 'showing off'Is the phrase “repeat again” always symmantically when requesting a repetition?The spelling rule of -ment






.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;








8















I encounter such a sentence in a homework assignment:




It seems that the burn-in is adequate, that they are all converging to
the same-ish posteriour value, and that there is good mixing.




I don't know if the -ish is appended here just to reduce the extent of sameness? Is it just a synonym of similar or alike and etc?



And can I add -ish to any adjective to convey a same-ish meaning?










share|improve this question



















  • 3





    ish = 'or thereabouts'

    – mcalex
    2 days ago






  • 2





    Whenever I hear someone say 'this-or-that-ish', I append in my mind the words: 'Well, sort of!'

    – yunzen
    2 days ago












  • "... they are all converging to similar posterior(u)r values". And "same-ish" would imply that they values were similar enough for whatever purpose they were being used.

    – alephzero
    2 days ago






  • 1





    I agree with your conclusion that it "reduces the extent of X-ness". In this sentence I would replace "the same-ish" by "almost the same" or "roughly the same"

    – Michael Kay
    2 days ago






  • 1





    To the extent of my Chinese knowledge, it means "差不多”

    – The Photon
    2 days ago

















8















I encounter such a sentence in a homework assignment:




It seems that the burn-in is adequate, that they are all converging to
the same-ish posteriour value, and that there is good mixing.




I don't know if the -ish is appended here just to reduce the extent of sameness? Is it just a synonym of similar or alike and etc?



And can I add -ish to any adjective to convey a same-ish meaning?










share|improve this question



















  • 3





    ish = 'or thereabouts'

    – mcalex
    2 days ago






  • 2





    Whenever I hear someone say 'this-or-that-ish', I append in my mind the words: 'Well, sort of!'

    – yunzen
    2 days ago












  • "... they are all converging to similar posterior(u)r values". And "same-ish" would imply that they values were similar enough for whatever purpose they were being used.

    – alephzero
    2 days ago






  • 1





    I agree with your conclusion that it "reduces the extent of X-ness". In this sentence I would replace "the same-ish" by "almost the same" or "roughly the same"

    – Michael Kay
    2 days ago






  • 1





    To the extent of my Chinese knowledge, it means "差不多”

    – The Photon
    2 days ago













8












8








8


2






I encounter such a sentence in a homework assignment:




It seems that the burn-in is adequate, that they are all converging to
the same-ish posteriour value, and that there is good mixing.




I don't know if the -ish is appended here just to reduce the extent of sameness? Is it just a synonym of similar or alike and etc?



And can I add -ish to any adjective to convey a same-ish meaning?










share|improve this question
















I encounter such a sentence in a homework assignment:




It seems that the burn-in is adequate, that they are all converging to
the same-ish posteriour value, and that there is good mixing.




I don't know if the -ish is appended here just to reduce the extent of sameness? Is it just a synonym of similar or alike and etc?



And can I add -ish to any adjective to convey a same-ish meaning?







grammar word-usage adjectives suffixes






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 2 days ago









J.R.

100k8129249




100k8129249










asked 2 days ago









Lerner ZhangLerner Zhang

89611129




89611129







  • 3





    ish = 'or thereabouts'

    – mcalex
    2 days ago






  • 2





    Whenever I hear someone say 'this-or-that-ish', I append in my mind the words: 'Well, sort of!'

    – yunzen
    2 days ago












  • "... they are all converging to similar posterior(u)r values". And "same-ish" would imply that they values were similar enough for whatever purpose they were being used.

    – alephzero
    2 days ago






  • 1





    I agree with your conclusion that it "reduces the extent of X-ness". In this sentence I would replace "the same-ish" by "almost the same" or "roughly the same"

    – Michael Kay
    2 days ago






  • 1





    To the extent of my Chinese knowledge, it means "差不多”

    – The Photon
    2 days ago












  • 3





    ish = 'or thereabouts'

    – mcalex
    2 days ago






  • 2





    Whenever I hear someone say 'this-or-that-ish', I append in my mind the words: 'Well, sort of!'

    – yunzen
    2 days ago












  • "... they are all converging to similar posterior(u)r values". And "same-ish" would imply that they values were similar enough for whatever purpose they were being used.

    – alephzero
    2 days ago






  • 1





    I agree with your conclusion that it "reduces the extent of X-ness". In this sentence I would replace "the same-ish" by "almost the same" or "roughly the same"

    – Michael Kay
    2 days ago






  • 1





    To the extent of my Chinese knowledge, it means "差不多”

    – The Photon
    2 days ago







3




3





ish = 'or thereabouts'

– mcalex
2 days ago





ish = 'or thereabouts'

– mcalex
2 days ago




2




2





Whenever I hear someone say 'this-or-that-ish', I append in my mind the words: 'Well, sort of!'

– yunzen
2 days ago






Whenever I hear someone say 'this-or-that-ish', I append in my mind the words: 'Well, sort of!'

– yunzen
2 days ago














"... they are all converging to similar posterior(u)r values". And "same-ish" would imply that they values were similar enough for whatever purpose they were being used.

– alephzero
2 days ago





"... they are all converging to similar posterior(u)r values". And "same-ish" would imply that they values were similar enough for whatever purpose they were being used.

– alephzero
2 days ago




1




1





I agree with your conclusion that it "reduces the extent of X-ness". In this sentence I would replace "the same-ish" by "almost the same" or "roughly the same"

– Michael Kay
2 days ago





I agree with your conclusion that it "reduces the extent of X-ness". In this sentence I would replace "the same-ish" by "almost the same" or "roughly the same"

– Michael Kay
2 days ago




1




1





To the extent of my Chinese knowledge, it means "差不多”

– The Photon
2 days ago





To the extent of my Chinese knowledge, it means "差不多”

– The Photon
2 days ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















18














Adding an '-ish' at the end of a word is generally done in informal contexts, mostly to make the reference sound deliberately vague and approximate. (Source)



Here, the speaker has added the suffix because he isn't completely sure of the similarity with the posterior value.



You can add the suffix to words, to bring about a hint of uncertainty. For example,




Person 1 : What time is it?
Person 2 : I don't know. I think it should be around twelve-ish?





Update



As pointed out by Michael Kay, if the adjective points to an extreme, then '-ish' implies less extreme; 'small-ish' is less small than small; 'cold-ish' is less cold than cold; 'same-ish' is less similar than same. So '-ish' not only conveys approximation but can also assign less of the characteristic than if "-ish" were omitted.






share|improve this answer




















  • 2





    Note that if the adjective points to an extreme, then -ish implies less extreme; small-ish is less small than small; cold-ish is less cold than cold; same-ish is less similar than same. So it's not just approximate or vague; it's explicitly assigning less of the characteristic than if "-ish" were omitted.

    – Michael Kay
    2 days ago


















2














Another answer already explains the meaning of -ish, but I'd like to address this question you also asked:




can I add -ish to any adjective to convey a same-ish meaning?




My answer to that would be: perhaps – but don't overdo it.



The suffix works well for some adjectives, such as colors:




They're so slow that sedentary that algae grows on their coats, giving sloths a greenish tint that can be used as camouflage in the trees. (Indianapolis Star, 2018)




However, I would NOT recommend applying the suffix haphazardly to just about any adjective. There are many cases where an -ish suffix would sound, well, amateurish, where it would probably be better to avoid using it, especially in formal contexts.



For example, consider size adjectives. Adjectives that connote extremes (such as tiny, infinitesimal, massive, or vast) don't work very well with -ish, and the ngrams reflect that.



Also, if a friend asked if I was hungry, I suppose I could say, "I'm hungryish," but most natives would opt for a phrase like, "I'm kind of hungry," or "I'm a little hungry," instead, and the ngrams support that, too.



Other adjectives that sound odd with -ish would include: delicious, tired, or miserable, but faint and loud seem to work okay:




Two-thirds the way along the Arcturus-to-Vega line brings you to a pattern of four faintish stars resembling the shape of the stone block (The Telegraph, 2017)



On Monday night, a few dozen noodleists came out for cocktails, soup, loudish Ramones and the bar's retro, antique-radio vibe. (New York Times, 2014).




If your spellchecker puts a red squiggly line under a word with -ish, it might be better to use an adverb like rather instead. (For example: He was rather thirsty after the game might be a safer option than He was thirstyish after the game.)






share|improve this answer


















  • 2





    often when writing, people (at least in Britain), place a hyphen before the -ish suffix. There is a well known brand of ready made sauces in the UK, and they used to have TV ads featuring the same family. One seasonal ad played on the fact that people would have leftover turkey for some time after Christmas. The mother announced at supper time that they were having curry. The daughter speaks for them all when she says "It isn't turkey again, is it?" Mother says "Well, it's turk-ish".

    – Michael Harvey
    2 days ago







  • 1





    Some devout UK Jews describe themselves thus and denounce their less fervent brethren as being "Jew-ish".

    – Michael Harvey
    2 days ago












  • The reason "massive-ish" doesn't work very well is because "massive" means "very big" and "ish" means" not very", so "massive-ish" contradictory.

    – Acccumulation
    2 days ago











  • Isn't there an extra "that" in "They're so slow that sedentary that algae grows on their coats"? I see you are quoting the Indianapolis Star word by word, but I think it's a copy/paste error from the original National Geographic article

    – Fabio Turati
    yesterday











Your Answer








StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "481"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);

else
createEditor();

);

function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);



);













draft saved

draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f203478%2fwhat-does-the-same-ish-mean%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown

























2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









18














Adding an '-ish' at the end of a word is generally done in informal contexts, mostly to make the reference sound deliberately vague and approximate. (Source)



Here, the speaker has added the suffix because he isn't completely sure of the similarity with the posterior value.



You can add the suffix to words, to bring about a hint of uncertainty. For example,




Person 1 : What time is it?
Person 2 : I don't know. I think it should be around twelve-ish?





Update



As pointed out by Michael Kay, if the adjective points to an extreme, then '-ish' implies less extreme; 'small-ish' is less small than small; 'cold-ish' is less cold than cold; 'same-ish' is less similar than same. So '-ish' not only conveys approximation but can also assign less of the characteristic than if "-ish" were omitted.






share|improve this answer




















  • 2





    Note that if the adjective points to an extreme, then -ish implies less extreme; small-ish is less small than small; cold-ish is less cold than cold; same-ish is less similar than same. So it's not just approximate or vague; it's explicitly assigning less of the characteristic than if "-ish" were omitted.

    – Michael Kay
    2 days ago















18














Adding an '-ish' at the end of a word is generally done in informal contexts, mostly to make the reference sound deliberately vague and approximate. (Source)



Here, the speaker has added the suffix because he isn't completely sure of the similarity with the posterior value.



You can add the suffix to words, to bring about a hint of uncertainty. For example,




Person 1 : What time is it?
Person 2 : I don't know. I think it should be around twelve-ish?





Update



As pointed out by Michael Kay, if the adjective points to an extreme, then '-ish' implies less extreme; 'small-ish' is less small than small; 'cold-ish' is less cold than cold; 'same-ish' is less similar than same. So '-ish' not only conveys approximation but can also assign less of the characteristic than if "-ish" were omitted.






share|improve this answer




















  • 2





    Note that if the adjective points to an extreme, then -ish implies less extreme; small-ish is less small than small; cold-ish is less cold than cold; same-ish is less similar than same. So it's not just approximate or vague; it's explicitly assigning less of the characteristic than if "-ish" were omitted.

    – Michael Kay
    2 days ago













18












18








18







Adding an '-ish' at the end of a word is generally done in informal contexts, mostly to make the reference sound deliberately vague and approximate. (Source)



Here, the speaker has added the suffix because he isn't completely sure of the similarity with the posterior value.



You can add the suffix to words, to bring about a hint of uncertainty. For example,




Person 1 : What time is it?
Person 2 : I don't know. I think it should be around twelve-ish?





Update



As pointed out by Michael Kay, if the adjective points to an extreme, then '-ish' implies less extreme; 'small-ish' is less small than small; 'cold-ish' is less cold than cold; 'same-ish' is less similar than same. So '-ish' not only conveys approximation but can also assign less of the characteristic than if "-ish" were omitted.






share|improve this answer















Adding an '-ish' at the end of a word is generally done in informal contexts, mostly to make the reference sound deliberately vague and approximate. (Source)



Here, the speaker has added the suffix because he isn't completely sure of the similarity with the posterior value.



You can add the suffix to words, to bring about a hint of uncertainty. For example,




Person 1 : What time is it?
Person 2 : I don't know. I think it should be around twelve-ish?





Update



As pointed out by Michael Kay, if the adjective points to an extreme, then '-ish' implies less extreme; 'small-ish' is less small than small; 'cold-ish' is less cold than cold; 'same-ish' is less similar than same. So '-ish' not only conveys approximation but can also assign less of the characteristic than if "-ish" were omitted.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited yesterday

























answered 2 days ago









Varun NairVarun Nair

7,31351944




7,31351944







  • 2





    Note that if the adjective points to an extreme, then -ish implies less extreme; small-ish is less small than small; cold-ish is less cold than cold; same-ish is less similar than same. So it's not just approximate or vague; it's explicitly assigning less of the characteristic than if "-ish" were omitted.

    – Michael Kay
    2 days ago












  • 2





    Note that if the adjective points to an extreme, then -ish implies less extreme; small-ish is less small than small; cold-ish is less cold than cold; same-ish is less similar than same. So it's not just approximate or vague; it's explicitly assigning less of the characteristic than if "-ish" were omitted.

    – Michael Kay
    2 days ago







2




2





Note that if the adjective points to an extreme, then -ish implies less extreme; small-ish is less small than small; cold-ish is less cold than cold; same-ish is less similar than same. So it's not just approximate or vague; it's explicitly assigning less of the characteristic than if "-ish" were omitted.

– Michael Kay
2 days ago





Note that if the adjective points to an extreme, then -ish implies less extreme; small-ish is less small than small; cold-ish is less cold than cold; same-ish is less similar than same. So it's not just approximate or vague; it's explicitly assigning less of the characteristic than if "-ish" were omitted.

– Michael Kay
2 days ago













2














Another answer already explains the meaning of -ish, but I'd like to address this question you also asked:




can I add -ish to any adjective to convey a same-ish meaning?




My answer to that would be: perhaps – but don't overdo it.



The suffix works well for some adjectives, such as colors:




They're so slow that sedentary that algae grows on their coats, giving sloths a greenish tint that can be used as camouflage in the trees. (Indianapolis Star, 2018)




However, I would NOT recommend applying the suffix haphazardly to just about any adjective. There are many cases where an -ish suffix would sound, well, amateurish, where it would probably be better to avoid using it, especially in formal contexts.



For example, consider size adjectives. Adjectives that connote extremes (such as tiny, infinitesimal, massive, or vast) don't work very well with -ish, and the ngrams reflect that.



Also, if a friend asked if I was hungry, I suppose I could say, "I'm hungryish," but most natives would opt for a phrase like, "I'm kind of hungry," or "I'm a little hungry," instead, and the ngrams support that, too.



Other adjectives that sound odd with -ish would include: delicious, tired, or miserable, but faint and loud seem to work okay:




Two-thirds the way along the Arcturus-to-Vega line brings you to a pattern of four faintish stars resembling the shape of the stone block (The Telegraph, 2017)



On Monday night, a few dozen noodleists came out for cocktails, soup, loudish Ramones and the bar's retro, antique-radio vibe. (New York Times, 2014).




If your spellchecker puts a red squiggly line under a word with -ish, it might be better to use an adverb like rather instead. (For example: He was rather thirsty after the game might be a safer option than He was thirstyish after the game.)






share|improve this answer


















  • 2





    often when writing, people (at least in Britain), place a hyphen before the -ish suffix. There is a well known brand of ready made sauces in the UK, and they used to have TV ads featuring the same family. One seasonal ad played on the fact that people would have leftover turkey for some time after Christmas. The mother announced at supper time that they were having curry. The daughter speaks for them all when she says "It isn't turkey again, is it?" Mother says "Well, it's turk-ish".

    – Michael Harvey
    2 days ago







  • 1





    Some devout UK Jews describe themselves thus and denounce their less fervent brethren as being "Jew-ish".

    – Michael Harvey
    2 days ago












  • The reason "massive-ish" doesn't work very well is because "massive" means "very big" and "ish" means" not very", so "massive-ish" contradictory.

    – Acccumulation
    2 days ago











  • Isn't there an extra "that" in "They're so slow that sedentary that algae grows on their coats"? I see you are quoting the Indianapolis Star word by word, but I think it's a copy/paste error from the original National Geographic article

    – Fabio Turati
    yesterday















2














Another answer already explains the meaning of -ish, but I'd like to address this question you also asked:




can I add -ish to any adjective to convey a same-ish meaning?




My answer to that would be: perhaps – but don't overdo it.



The suffix works well for some adjectives, such as colors:




They're so slow that sedentary that algae grows on their coats, giving sloths a greenish tint that can be used as camouflage in the trees. (Indianapolis Star, 2018)




However, I would NOT recommend applying the suffix haphazardly to just about any adjective. There are many cases where an -ish suffix would sound, well, amateurish, where it would probably be better to avoid using it, especially in formal contexts.



For example, consider size adjectives. Adjectives that connote extremes (such as tiny, infinitesimal, massive, or vast) don't work very well with -ish, and the ngrams reflect that.



Also, if a friend asked if I was hungry, I suppose I could say, "I'm hungryish," but most natives would opt for a phrase like, "I'm kind of hungry," or "I'm a little hungry," instead, and the ngrams support that, too.



Other adjectives that sound odd with -ish would include: delicious, tired, or miserable, but faint and loud seem to work okay:




Two-thirds the way along the Arcturus-to-Vega line brings you to a pattern of four faintish stars resembling the shape of the stone block (The Telegraph, 2017)



On Monday night, a few dozen noodleists came out for cocktails, soup, loudish Ramones and the bar's retro, antique-radio vibe. (New York Times, 2014).




If your spellchecker puts a red squiggly line under a word with -ish, it might be better to use an adverb like rather instead. (For example: He was rather thirsty after the game might be a safer option than He was thirstyish after the game.)






share|improve this answer


















  • 2





    often when writing, people (at least in Britain), place a hyphen before the -ish suffix. There is a well known brand of ready made sauces in the UK, and they used to have TV ads featuring the same family. One seasonal ad played on the fact that people would have leftover turkey for some time after Christmas. The mother announced at supper time that they were having curry. The daughter speaks for them all when she says "It isn't turkey again, is it?" Mother says "Well, it's turk-ish".

    – Michael Harvey
    2 days ago







  • 1





    Some devout UK Jews describe themselves thus and denounce their less fervent brethren as being "Jew-ish".

    – Michael Harvey
    2 days ago












  • The reason "massive-ish" doesn't work very well is because "massive" means "very big" and "ish" means" not very", so "massive-ish" contradictory.

    – Acccumulation
    2 days ago











  • Isn't there an extra "that" in "They're so slow that sedentary that algae grows on their coats"? I see you are quoting the Indianapolis Star word by word, but I think it's a copy/paste error from the original National Geographic article

    – Fabio Turati
    yesterday













2












2








2







Another answer already explains the meaning of -ish, but I'd like to address this question you also asked:




can I add -ish to any adjective to convey a same-ish meaning?




My answer to that would be: perhaps – but don't overdo it.



The suffix works well for some adjectives, such as colors:




They're so slow that sedentary that algae grows on their coats, giving sloths a greenish tint that can be used as camouflage in the trees. (Indianapolis Star, 2018)




However, I would NOT recommend applying the suffix haphazardly to just about any adjective. There are many cases where an -ish suffix would sound, well, amateurish, where it would probably be better to avoid using it, especially in formal contexts.



For example, consider size adjectives. Adjectives that connote extremes (such as tiny, infinitesimal, massive, or vast) don't work very well with -ish, and the ngrams reflect that.



Also, if a friend asked if I was hungry, I suppose I could say, "I'm hungryish," but most natives would opt for a phrase like, "I'm kind of hungry," or "I'm a little hungry," instead, and the ngrams support that, too.



Other adjectives that sound odd with -ish would include: delicious, tired, or miserable, but faint and loud seem to work okay:




Two-thirds the way along the Arcturus-to-Vega line brings you to a pattern of four faintish stars resembling the shape of the stone block (The Telegraph, 2017)



On Monday night, a few dozen noodleists came out for cocktails, soup, loudish Ramones and the bar's retro, antique-radio vibe. (New York Times, 2014).




If your spellchecker puts a red squiggly line under a word with -ish, it might be better to use an adverb like rather instead. (For example: He was rather thirsty after the game might be a safer option than He was thirstyish after the game.)






share|improve this answer













Another answer already explains the meaning of -ish, but I'd like to address this question you also asked:




can I add -ish to any adjective to convey a same-ish meaning?




My answer to that would be: perhaps – but don't overdo it.



The suffix works well for some adjectives, such as colors:




They're so slow that sedentary that algae grows on their coats, giving sloths a greenish tint that can be used as camouflage in the trees. (Indianapolis Star, 2018)




However, I would NOT recommend applying the suffix haphazardly to just about any adjective. There are many cases where an -ish suffix would sound, well, amateurish, where it would probably be better to avoid using it, especially in formal contexts.



For example, consider size adjectives. Adjectives that connote extremes (such as tiny, infinitesimal, massive, or vast) don't work very well with -ish, and the ngrams reflect that.



Also, if a friend asked if I was hungry, I suppose I could say, "I'm hungryish," but most natives would opt for a phrase like, "I'm kind of hungry," or "I'm a little hungry," instead, and the ngrams support that, too.



Other adjectives that sound odd with -ish would include: delicious, tired, or miserable, but faint and loud seem to work okay:




Two-thirds the way along the Arcturus-to-Vega line brings you to a pattern of four faintish stars resembling the shape of the stone block (The Telegraph, 2017)



On Monday night, a few dozen noodleists came out for cocktails, soup, loudish Ramones and the bar's retro, antique-radio vibe. (New York Times, 2014).




If your spellchecker puts a red squiggly line under a word with -ish, it might be better to use an adverb like rather instead. (For example: He was rather thirsty after the game might be a safer option than He was thirstyish after the game.)







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 2 days ago









J.R.J.R.

100k8129249




100k8129249







  • 2





    often when writing, people (at least in Britain), place a hyphen before the -ish suffix. There is a well known brand of ready made sauces in the UK, and they used to have TV ads featuring the same family. One seasonal ad played on the fact that people would have leftover turkey for some time after Christmas. The mother announced at supper time that they were having curry. The daughter speaks for them all when she says "It isn't turkey again, is it?" Mother says "Well, it's turk-ish".

    – Michael Harvey
    2 days ago







  • 1





    Some devout UK Jews describe themselves thus and denounce their less fervent brethren as being "Jew-ish".

    – Michael Harvey
    2 days ago












  • The reason "massive-ish" doesn't work very well is because "massive" means "very big" and "ish" means" not very", so "massive-ish" contradictory.

    – Acccumulation
    2 days ago











  • Isn't there an extra "that" in "They're so slow that sedentary that algae grows on their coats"? I see you are quoting the Indianapolis Star word by word, but I think it's a copy/paste error from the original National Geographic article

    – Fabio Turati
    yesterday












  • 2





    often when writing, people (at least in Britain), place a hyphen before the -ish suffix. There is a well known brand of ready made sauces in the UK, and they used to have TV ads featuring the same family. One seasonal ad played on the fact that people would have leftover turkey for some time after Christmas. The mother announced at supper time that they were having curry. The daughter speaks for them all when she says "It isn't turkey again, is it?" Mother says "Well, it's turk-ish".

    – Michael Harvey
    2 days ago







  • 1





    Some devout UK Jews describe themselves thus and denounce their less fervent brethren as being "Jew-ish".

    – Michael Harvey
    2 days ago












  • The reason "massive-ish" doesn't work very well is because "massive" means "very big" and "ish" means" not very", so "massive-ish" contradictory.

    – Acccumulation
    2 days ago











  • Isn't there an extra "that" in "They're so slow that sedentary that algae grows on their coats"? I see you are quoting the Indianapolis Star word by word, but I think it's a copy/paste error from the original National Geographic article

    – Fabio Turati
    yesterday







2




2





often when writing, people (at least in Britain), place a hyphen before the -ish suffix. There is a well known brand of ready made sauces in the UK, and they used to have TV ads featuring the same family. One seasonal ad played on the fact that people would have leftover turkey for some time after Christmas. The mother announced at supper time that they were having curry. The daughter speaks for them all when she says "It isn't turkey again, is it?" Mother says "Well, it's turk-ish".

– Michael Harvey
2 days ago






often when writing, people (at least in Britain), place a hyphen before the -ish suffix. There is a well known brand of ready made sauces in the UK, and they used to have TV ads featuring the same family. One seasonal ad played on the fact that people would have leftover turkey for some time after Christmas. The mother announced at supper time that they were having curry. The daughter speaks for them all when she says "It isn't turkey again, is it?" Mother says "Well, it's turk-ish".

– Michael Harvey
2 days ago





1




1





Some devout UK Jews describe themselves thus and denounce their less fervent brethren as being "Jew-ish".

– Michael Harvey
2 days ago






Some devout UK Jews describe themselves thus and denounce their less fervent brethren as being "Jew-ish".

– Michael Harvey
2 days ago














The reason "massive-ish" doesn't work very well is because "massive" means "very big" and "ish" means" not very", so "massive-ish" contradictory.

– Acccumulation
2 days ago





The reason "massive-ish" doesn't work very well is because "massive" means "very big" and "ish" means" not very", so "massive-ish" contradictory.

– Acccumulation
2 days ago













Isn't there an extra "that" in "They're so slow that sedentary that algae grows on their coats"? I see you are quoting the Indianapolis Star word by word, but I think it's a copy/paste error from the original National Geographic article

– Fabio Turati
yesterday





Isn't there an extra "that" in "They're so slow that sedentary that algae grows on their coats"? I see you are quoting the Indianapolis Star word by word, but I think it's a copy/paste error from the original National Geographic article

– Fabio Turati
yesterday

















draft saved

draft discarded
















































Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange!


  • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid


  • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

  • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f203478%2fwhat-does-the-same-ish-mean%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown





















































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown

































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown







Popular posts from this blog

Sum ergo cogito? 1 nng

419 nièngy_Soadمي 19bal1.5o_g

Queiggey Chernihivv 9NnOo i Zw X QqKk LpB