Morphemes in “hopelessness”
“hopelessness” has 3 morphemes: hope + -less + -ness.
hope
root
+
less
suffix
+
ness
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are hope + -less + -ness.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| hope | free root | free | a specific instance of feeling hopeful |
| -less | derivational suffix | bound | without, lacking |
| -ness | derivational suffix | bound | state or quality of being |
How the word is built
hope → hopeless → hopelessness
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “hope” 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 "hopelessness"?
"hopelessness" has three morphemes: hope + -less + -ness.
How do you break "hopelessness" into morphemes?
hope + -less + -ness. The root is "hope"; -less is a derivational suffix, -ness is a derivational suffix.
What is the root word of "hopelessness"?
The root of "hopelessness" is "hope", built up as hope → hopeless → hopelessness.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.