A suffix is a group of letters that is added to the end of a root word to create a new word. Unless like prefixes, suffixes often change the word's grammatical function.

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For example, "kind," "gentle," and "clever" are all adjectives that can be transformed into nouns with the suffix "-ness," which turns adjectives into abstract states. "Darkness" is the state of being dark. 

More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.

Caption 23, Charlie Chaplin: Final Speech from The Great Dictator

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Should you need a light in darkness to help you find your way.

Caption 43, Air New Zealand: An Unexpected Briefing

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Other suffixes that are used to create nouns are "-ist," "-tion," "-ion," "-ance," "-ence," "-ation," "-ment," "-ity," "-dom," and "-ship." 

And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.

Captions 58-60, Steve Jobs: Stanford Commencement Address

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Suffixes that are used to create verbs include "-fy," "-ate," "-en," and "-ize." For example, the verb "clarify" means "to make clear." 

We need to be clearer about this and clarify the decision-making process for everybody.

Caption 31, Business English: Decision Making in International Companies

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I like using acidic ingredients to brighten up heavy, rich, creamy dishes.

Caption 42, Rainbow Plant Life; 10 Tiny Changes to Improve Your Cooking

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Pizza is a popular item and numerous restaurant chains specialize in pizza.

Captions 18-19, Slow News with Sigrid Pizza: the dollar slice

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There are many suffixes that are found at the end of adjectives, such as "-ful" (which implies "full of") and "-less" ("without").

But, there are numerous more hopeful answers.

Caption 16, TED-Ed Questions: No One Knows the Answers to

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You've probably had those moments of despair, where you think it's just hopeless.

Captions 34-35, Living the Change: Official Documentary Trailer

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Other adjective-forming suffixes you will commonly see include "-able" / "-ible," "-al" / "-ial," "-ious" / "-ous," "-ive," "-en," "-ic," "-ical", and "-ish." Here, you can see adjectives meaning the following: like a poem, consisting of facts, made of wood, and possible to do. 

Doesn't sound quite as poetic, does it?

Caption 7, TED-Ed: The Science of Attraction

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They need to make sure the information is true, factual.

Caption 24, Spotlight: Information

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Gee, do they still make wooden Christmas trees?

Caption 6, A Charlie Brown Christmas Christmas Tree

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The verb is "to do." The adjective is "doable."

Caption 36, The Alphabet The Letter L - Part 1

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Further Learning
To review the adverb-forming suffix "-ly", you can read this lesson. Otherwise, you'll find many suffixes to study on Yabla English.