English is messy. It’s a linguistic junk drawer. We’ve spent centuries stealing prefixes and suffixes from Latin, Greek, and Old French, and the suffix "-al" is arguably our favorite piece of stolen property. It’s everywhere. It’s unavoidable. You use it to describe something functional, original, or even banal.
But here’s the thing. Most people use these words as a crutch.
When you add "-al" to a noun, you create an adjective. That’s the basic rule of thumb. "Nation" becomes "national." "Form" becomes "formal." It’s a simple trick that helps us categorize the world, but it also creates a kind of rhythmic monotony that makes modern writing feel like a corporate HR manual. Honestly, if you want to sound like a real person again, you have to understand how these words actually function and when to kill them off.
The Latin Ghost in Your Sentences
The suffix "-al" primarily comes from the Latin -alis, meaning "of or pertaining to." It’s a structural workhorse. When you call something musical, you’re saying it pertains to music. Simple.
However, the history is deeper than a simple dictionary definition. In the Middle Ages, as legal and clerical systems grew, the need for precise, descriptive language exploded. This is where we get terms like judicial, regal, and ecclesiastical. These weren't just descriptors; they were markers of authority. Even today, words ending in -al carry a weight of "seriousness."
Think about it.
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There is a massive psychological difference between saying someone is "like a king" and saying they are regal. One is a comparison; the other is an inherent quality. This nuance is why writers often default to these suffixes—they want to sound authoritative. But when every third word is operational, structural, or environmental, the reader's brain starts to glaze over. It’s too much "pertaining to" and not enough "doing."
Why Your Brain Loves (and Hates) Functional Language
The human brain loves patterns. We like that "-al" tells us exactly what a word is doing. If you see digital, you know you're dealing with digits or fingers (originally). If you see portal, you know you're dealing with a gate.
But there’s a trap here called "nominalization." This is a fancy way of saying we turn actions into things. Instead of saying "We need to distribute the food," a bureaucratic writer might say "The distributional aspects of the food program are paramount."
See what happened there? The action died.
The sentence became heavy. It became clerical. Writers like George Orwell hated this. In his essay Politics and the English Language, he railed against the use of "pretentious diction." He argued that using long, Latin-rooted words makes a writer seem smarter while actually saying less. He wasn't wrong. If you’re writing a proposal, you don't need to fill it with conditional or optional clauses just to take up space.
The Mathematical Exception
Not all -al words are created equal, though. In fields like mathematics or physics, they are indispensable. Take fractal. Introduced by Benoit Mandelbrot in 1975, the term describes a complex geometric shape that looks the same at every level of magnification. You can't just replace "fractal" with a shorter word. It is a specific, technical necessity.
The same goes for exponential. In common parlance, people use it to mean "really fast." That’s wrong. In actual mathematics, it refers to a specific rate of change where the growth rate is proportional to the value itself. If you’re talking about computational power, you need the -al. It’s precise.
Spotting the Invisible Adjectives
We’ve reached a point where some of these words have transitioned from adjectives to nouns entirely. This is called "substantivization."
- Criminal: Originally meaning "pertaining to crime," now it just means the person who did it.
- Journal: Once a daily record (from the French journal), now a specific type of publication.
- Signal: It’s no longer just "pertaining to a sign"; it is the sign.
This transition is fascinating because it shows how language evolves to be more efficient. We drop the extra noun. We don't say "the criminal person"; we just say "the criminal."
But this efficiency has a downside. It leads to professional jargon. Every industry has its own list of -al words that act as gatekeepers. In medicine, you have epidural. In music, you have interval. In law, you have recital. If you don't know the specific -al word, you're an outsider. It’s a linguistic "keep out" sign.
The Accidental Comedy of Overuse
Have you ever read a corporate "mission statement"? It’s a graveyard of -al words.
"Our organizational goals focus on multicultural outreach and operational excellence through incremental growth."
It means absolutely nothing. It’s filler. It’s the linguistic equivalent of beige paint.
The problem is that these words are "low-imagery." When I say "dog," you see a dog. When I say "apple," you see an apple. But when I say conceptual, what do you see? You see nothing. You see a gray fog. If your writing is full of gray fog, people will stop reading. They’ll click away. They’ll go find a TikTok of a cat.
To fix this, you have to be intentional. (There’s that suffix again).
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Real-World Examples of the "-al" Shift
Let's look at how these words change the "vibe" of a sentence.
Version A: The boy gave a vocal performance that was phenomenal.
Version B: The kid sang his heart out.
Version A sounds like a judge on a televised talent show. It’s detached. It’s analytical. Version B is human. It has energy.
Now, look at the word natural. It’s one of the most abused words in the English language. Marketers love it. They put "All Natural" on everything from potato chips to floor cleaner. But what does it actually mean? Arsenic is natural. Hurricanes are natural. By using the -al suffix, they create a vague sense of "goodness" without having to provide any factual evidence. It’s a psychological trick.
How to Audit Your Own Vocabulary
If you’re worried your writing is getting too clerical or formal, you can perform a quick audit.
- Search for "-al": Open your document and hit Ctrl+F. Look for that suffix.
- The "So What?" Test: Look at a word like additional. Can you just say "more"? If you can, do it.
- Check for Passive Voice: Often, -al words hide the person doing the action. "Instructional materials were provided" is weaker than "I gave them the manual."
- Vary the Ending: Not every descriptor needs to end the same way. Mix it up with -ive, -ic, or -ous.
Writing isn't about following a set of mechanical rules. It’s about rhythm. If you have three words in a row that end in -al, your sentence will sound like a drum machine. "General internal denial" is a mouthful. It’s clunky.
The Paradox of Choice
We have so many of these words because English is a "mongrel" language. We have the Germanic roots (which are short and punchy) and the Latin/French roots (which are long and flowery).
You have a choice.
You can say mortal (Latin-based) or you can say "deadly" (Germanic-based). You can say annual or you can say "yearly."
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Usually, the shorter, "earthier" word is better for storytelling. The -al word is better for reports. If you're writing for a blog, a newsletter, or a friend, lean toward the "yearly." If you're writing a legal brief, stick with annual.
Context is everything.
Actionable Steps for Better Clarity
Don't just delete every word ending in -al. That would be irrational. Instead, use them as markers for where you might need to simplify.
First, look for redundant pairings. "The final conclusion" is a classic example. A conclusion is, by definition, final. You don't need both. "Total aggregate" is another one. It’s repetitive. It’s annoying.
Next, watch out for "zombie nouns"—words that have been turned into adjectives and then back into nouns. Functionality is a big one. People say "I love the functionality of this app." Just say "This app works well." It’s cleaner. It’s faster.
Finally, pay attention to how you feel when you read. If a paragraph feels "heavy," check for those Latin suffixes. Swap individual for "person." Swap fundamental for "basic."
By stripping away the unnecessary "pertaining to," you get closer to the heart of what you’re trying to say. You make your writing more personal. You make it more real.
Stop relying on the suffix crutch and start using verbs that actually move. Your readers will thank you for it. They might not know why your writing feels better, but they’ll feel the difference. It’s the difference between a formal greeting and a warm "hello."
Choose the "hello" every single time.