The Suffix -ish: The Suffix -ish, Part 2

The lists in this collection are arranged from easiest to most challenging. Distinguish yourself by learning them all, and relish the accomplishment!

Here are links to our lists in the collection:: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. lavish
    bestow or expend profusely
    He smiles and basks in the cheers and attention lavished upon him. The Belles
    As an adjective, lavish means "luxurious." As a verb, if you lavish someone with praise, it means you shower them with compliments.
  2. relish
    derive or receive pleasure from
    And now, on this first morning of her new life, she lay in bed a few minutes to relish the quiet of the empty attic. Lyddie
    Relish is a pickle sauce that's good on hot dogs, but it's also a verb, meaning to enjoy something very much. It comes from the Middle French relais, meaning "taste."
  3. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
    He began to speak to us like a schoolmaster admonishing a naughty child. Long Walk to Freedom
    Monere means "to advise" or "to warn" in Latin.
  4. relinquish
    release, as from one's grip
    He relinquishes Anna from his grasp and takes a step towards me. The Girl on the Train
  5. vanquish
    defeat in a competition, race, or conflict
    “I just need to be able to vanquish my enemies. That’s all.” The Cruel Prince
    If you beat the final boss in your favorite video game, you have vanquished your foe.
  6. embellish
    make more attractive, as by adding ornament or color
    She embellishes her work with crystals, LEDs and 3-D elements such as antique jewelry and paper flowers. Washington Post (Jan 26, 2017)
    If you embellish your backpack, you're decorating it. If you embellish the truth, you're telling a story that's more impressive or interesting than what actually happened.
  7. varnish
    a coating that provides a hard, lustrous finish to a surface
    The more varnish on the surface, the longer the wood will stay protected. Washington Post (Sep 4, 2020)
    Varnish comes from the Greek verniki, meaning resin dissolved in liquid and used to coat a surface for beauty and protection.
  8. impoverish
    make poor
    In recent years, the country’s currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value, impoverishing Lebanese families. New York Times (Jan 24, 2022)
  9. ravish
    hold spellbound
    How this beauty wins us, charms us, ravishes our souls. Weaver, George Sumner
    Ravish originally meant "to kidnap or drag away," but today it refers to a work of art or a person of such beauty that one is transported or entranced.
  10. replenish
    fill something that had previously been emptied
    I stopped at the store to replenish my food supply. Z for Zachariah
    The plenish in replenish comes from the same root as plenty.
  11. refurbish
    improve the appearance or functionality of
    He is 36 years old and builds and refurbishes train stations, continuously observing how to improve them. New York Times (Aug 5, 2014)
    Furbish is an old verb meaning "to clean the rust off of," as in a sword. To refurbish something is to fix it up.
Created on Fri Oct 23 11:14:41 EDT 2020 (updated Thu Apr 21 09:57:46 EDT 2022)

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