Formação de palavras em inglês: 48 padrões explicados
Entender como as palavras inglesas são construídas é um superpoder: a capacidade de adivinhar o significado de milhares de palavras que você nunca viu antes. Este guia cobre os seis processos-chave de formação de palavras — prefixos, sufixos nominais, adjetivais, verbais, compostos e conversão — com exemplos reais para cada padrão. Pesquise abaixo ou filtre por categoria.
48 items · 6 topics
"un-"
not; reverse the action (unhappy, undo, unclear)
"She felt unhappy after hearing the unexpected news."
"dis-"
not; opposite of (disagree, disappear, dishonest)
"I completely disagree with the decision they made."
"re-"
again; back (rebuild, return, reconsider)
"We need to reconsider our strategy after these results."
"pre-"
before (prepare, predict, preview)
"Please preview the document before sending it."
"over-"
too much; above (overwork, overcome, overestimate)
"She tends to overestimate how long tasks will take."
"mis-"
wrongly; incorrectly (misunderstand, mislead, misuse)
"He misunderstood the instructions and went the wrong way."
"inter-"
between; among (international, interact, interconnect)
"The two teams interact closely on every project."
"sub-"
under; below (subway, subtitle, submarine)
"Add subtitles so viewers can follow along easily."
"-tion / -sion"
forms nouns from verbs (education, permission, decision)
"Her decision to study abroad changed everything."
"-ment"
forms nouns showing a state or result (development, movement)
"The development of the project took two full years."
"-ness"
forms nouns from adjectives (happiness, darkness, kindness)
"The kindness of strangers surprised her deeply."
"-er / -or"
forms agent nouns — person doing sth (teacher, actor)
"The actor delivered a truly unforgettable performance."
"-ity"
forms abstract nouns from adjectives (creativity, ability)
"Her creativity made the campaign stand out completely."
"-ism"
forms nouns for doctrines or practices (journalism, realism)
"He studied journalism at the city university."
"-ist"
forms nouns for a person following a belief (artist, pianist)
"The pianist performed three Chopin nocturnes flawlessly."
"-ance / -ence"
forms nouns of state or quality (performance, confidence)
"Confidence is the key to a great job interview."
"-able / -ible"
capable of; worthy of (readable, flexible, reliable)
"This contract is not readable without legal training."
"-ful"
full of; having (helpful, powerful, colourful)
"Her helpful feedback improved the final draft significantly."
"-less"
without; lacking (careless, hopeless, wireless)
"He was careless with the details and the client noticed."
"-ous / -ious"
having the quality of (famous, mysterious, generous)
"The generous donation covered all the event costs."
"-al / -ical"
relating to (musical, logical, cultural, practical)
"Her practical approach saved the team a lot of time."
"-ive"
tending to; having a nature of (creative, active, sensitive)
"The creative director redesigned the whole brand identity."
"-ish"
somewhat; like (childish, greenish, selfish, stylish)
"She gave a stylish presentation that impressed everyone."
"-y"
having the quality of (cloudy, windy, tricky, noisy)
"The noisy café made it hard to concentrate on work."
"-ise / -ize"
to make; to cause to become (organise, modernise)
"We need to modernise the system before the launch."
"-en"
to make more; to become (strengthen, brighten, widen)
"Regular practice will strengthen your speaking skills."
"-ify / -fy"
to make; to cause to be (simplify, clarify, classify)
"Could you clarify what you meant in the second paragraph?"
"-ate"
to act or cause (communicate, generate, motivate)
"Great leaders know how to motivate their entire team."
"-en (causative)"
to make something happen (darken, weaken, loosen)
"The bad news seemed to darken the mood in the room."
"-ify (intensify)"
to make more intense (intensify, diversify, amplify)
"Adding music helped amplify the emotional impact."
"-ise (socialise)"
to engage in an activity (socialise, advertise, supervise)
"She loves to socialise after work with her colleagues."
"-ate (originate)"
to produce or begin (originate, innovate, evaluate)
"The idea originated from a simple customer complaint."
"sunflower"
closed compound noun: sun + flower
"The sunflower turned its head slowly toward the afternoon light."
"well-known"
hyphenated compound adjective: well + known
"She is a well-known author in the field of linguistics."
"swimming pool"
open compound noun: two separate words
"The hotel swimming pool was open until midnight."
"break-through"
hyphenated compound: a major discovery or achievement
"The research team announced a breakthrough in battery technology."
"heartbeat"
closed compound: the rhythm of the heart
"His heartbeat quickened as he opened the envelope."
"high-tech"
hyphenated compound adjective: advanced technology
"The factory uses high-tech robotics on the assembly line."
"workforce"
closed compound: the total body of workers
"The company is planning to expand its workforce this year."
"self-esteem"
hyphenated compound: confidence in oneself
"Praise from a mentor can greatly boost a student's self-esteem."
"to google (verb)"
conversion: noun Google → verb meaning to search online
"Just google it — you'll find the answer in seconds."
"a must (noun)"
conversion: modal must → noun meaning something essential
"A good dictionary is a must for any serious language learner."
"blended: brunch"
blend of breakfast + lunch
"We went for a long, lazy brunch on Sunday morning."
"blended: smog"
blend of smoke + fog
"The city was covered in a thick smog all week."
"clipping: exam"
clipped from examination
"The exam results will be published on Friday morning."
"clipping: ad"
clipped from advertisement
"The ad campaign went viral within the first 24 hours."
"acronym: NASA"
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
"NASA announced a new mission to the outer planets."
"acronym: laser"
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
"The surgeon used a laser to correct her vision precisely."
Perguntas frequentes
O que é formação de palavras em inglês?
A formação de palavras refere-se aos processos pelos quais novas palavras são criadas em inglês. Os principais são a afixação (adicionar prefixos e sufixos), a composição (unir duas palavras), a conversão (mudar a classe gramatical sem adicionar afixo) e processos especiais como mistura, truncamento e acrônimos.
Por que aprender formação de palavras é importante?
Conhecer as regras de formação de palavras permite decifrar vocabulário desconhecido, expandir seu vocabulário ativo muito mais rapidamente e soar mais natural. Por exemplo, sabendo que -tion cria substantivos, você pode reconhecer que "organisation", "communication" e "motivation" são todos substantivos derivados de verbos.
Qual é a diferença entre prefixo e sufixo?
Um prefixo é adicionado ao início de uma palavra (un- em "unhappy"), enquanto um sufixo é adicionado ao final (-ness em "happiness"). Prefixos geralmente mudam o significado de uma palavra sem mudar sua classe gramatical, enquanto sufixos frequentemente mudam a classe — por exemplo, transformando um verbo em substantivo.
Quais são os prefixos mais úteis para aprender primeiro?
Comece pelos mais comuns: un-, re-, dis- e pre-. Juntos aparecem em milhares de palavras inglesas cotidianas. Depois de reconhecê-los, passe para over-, mis-, inter- e sub-, que são muito frequentes no inglês acadêmico e profissional.
A formação de palavras é avaliada em exames como IELTS ou Cambridge?
Sim — a formação de palavras é um tipo de tarefa dedicado nos exames Cambridge (B2 First, C1 Advanced) onde você deve preencher um espaço usando a forma correta de uma palavra dada. Também aparece indiretamente nas tarefas de leitura e escrita do IELTS. Entender famílias de palavras e afixos comuns melhorará significativamente sua pontuação.
Ouvir padrões de formação de palavras na fala real é a forma mais rápida de fixá-los.
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