Morphemes in “foolish”
“foolish” has 2 morphemes: fool + -ish.
fool
root
+
ish
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are fool + -ish.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| fool | free root | free | a person who lacks good judgment |
| -ish | derivational suffix | bound | somewhat; like; of a nation or language |
How the word is built
fool → foolish
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “fool” is where the chain starts.
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Segmentation derived from MorphyNet (Batsuren, Bella & Giunchiglia, 2021; CC BY-SA 3.0, built from Wiktionary), with hand-written affix glosses and root meanings from WordNet. Reviewed for classroom use; tell us if you spot an error.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many morphemes are in "foolish"?
"foolish" has two morphemes: fool + -ish.
How do you break "foolish" into morphemes?
fool + -ish. The root is "fool"; -ish is a derivational suffix.
What is the root word of "foolish"?
The root of "foolish" is "fool", built up as fool → foolish.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.