-ish
ɪʃ
-ish smudges the edge with a fingertip
The picture A sharp ruled line is rubbed once with a fingertip, and its edge smears and goes soft. -ish smears toward the annoying side of a child; -like smears toward the clear, open side.
Where the picture shows up in -ish
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the line on the clock is smudged
Let's meet at sevenish.
lets miːt æt ˈsevənɪʃ
Let's meet around seven.
On the clock you agreed on, only the seven mark is rubbed into a soft blur.
seven + -ish.
-
the edge of a colour is smudged
The stain on the shirt looks reddish.
ðə steɪn ɑːn ðə ʃɜːrt lʊks ˈredɪʃ
The mark on the shirt has gone a bit red.
The stain spreads into a shade between red and brown that you can't name either way.
red + -ish.
-
the age line smears toward a child
Don't be childish about the schedule.
doʊnt biː ˈtʃaɪldɪʃ əˈbaʊt ðə ˈskedʒuːl
Don't act like a kid about the schedule.
A grown man sticks out his lip and kicks the floor, with a child's face showing through his.
child + -ish. It carries a note of disapproval.
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the number mark is smudged
The new driver is fortyish.
ðə nuː ˈdraɪvər ɪz ˈfɔːrtiɪʃ
The new driver is somewhere around forty.
On the age line of a form, a pencil draws a loose circle near forty instead of a figure.
forty + -ish.
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the size line is rubbed soft
The room was smallish but very clean.
ðə ruːm wəz ˈsmɔːlɪʃ bʌt ˈveri kliːn
The room was on the small side but spotless.
The sharp corner of the word small is rubbed until it rounds off.
small + -ish.
All of it in one picture
-ish is one fingertip that smudges an edge. Rub the line at seven o'clock and you get sevenish; rub the colour red and you get reddish. Rub the grown-up edge until a child shows through and you get childish, rub the mark at forty and you get fortyish, rub the word small until it softens and you get smallish. So when you see -ish, read it as: someone blurred this line on purpose.