-ISH Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

-ish

a suffix used to form adjectives from nouns, with the sense of “belonging to” ( British; Danish; English; Spanish ); “after the manner of,” “having the characteristics of,” “like” ( babyish; girlish; mulish ); “addicted to,” “inclined or tending to” ( bookish; freakish ); “near or about” ( fiftyish; sevenish ).
a suffix used to form adjectives from other adjectives, with the sense of “somewhat,” “rather” ( oldish; reddish; sweetish ).

-ish

a suffix occurring in i -stem verbs borrowed from French:
ravish.

ish

[ ish ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adverb

Informal.

(used to modify or moderate something previously stated or as a vague reply to a question) somewhat; in a way; not exactly: “Are you tired?” “Yeah...ish.”
It's a decent (ish) place to work.
“Are you tired?” “Yeah...ish.”
I'd like to get married. Ish.
near or about; approximately: It'll be a $25ish taxi ride.
The lights went out at 11-ish.
It'll be a $25ish taxi ride.

ish

/ ɪʃ /

sentence substitute

slang.
used to express reservation or qualified assent
Things are looking up. Ish

-ish

suffix forming adjectives

of or belonging to a nationality or group
Scottish
derogatory.
having the manner or qualities of; resembling
prudish
boyish
slavish
somewhat; approximately
sevenish
yellowish
concerned or preoccupied with
bookish

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of -ish¹

Middle English; Old English -isc; cognate with German -isch, Old Norse -iskr, Gothic -isks, Greek diminutive noun suffix -isk(os); akin to -esque

Origin of -ish²

From French -iss-, extended stem of verbs with infinitives in -ir, ultimately from Latin -isc-, in verbs that express the beginning of an action or process

Origin of -ish³

First recorded in 1985–90; from -ish ¹( def ) (in the sense “somewhat”)

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of -ish¹

Old English -isc; related to German -isch, Greek -iskos

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

She was wearing an elaborate white gown with a long train and pointy shoulders, and her braided blond hair was tucked beneath a headband for a vaguely “Midsommar”-ish look.

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I’d rather lose on my own than have someone decide my fate for me, which sounds ‘Game of Thrones’-ish.

From

“These Walls” is a shimmering soft-rock jam with echoes of Fleetwood Mac, while “Anything for Love” starts out as a spare piano ballad before blossoming into chewy, “Off the Wall”-ish funk.

From

Quartz Hill 8, Chatsworth 3: Jeffrey Kavanagh went three for three and Ish Quintero struck out six in five innings for Quartz Hill.

From

Usher and Jermaine Dupri created a mix of songs in spatial audio with jams including DJs Tiësto, Gryffin and BLOND:ISH.

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