Word Family
Explore the whole family of related words built from a common root.
Results
The 7ESL Word Family tool shows the whole group of related words built from a single root. Enter a word such as happy and the tool gathers its relatives -- forms like happily, happiness, and unhappy -- so you can see at a glance how one idea spreads across different parts of speech. It is a powerful way to multiply your vocabulary, because learning a family of connected words is far more efficient than learning each one in isolation.
How to use the Word Family tool
Type any member of the family into the box and press Show family. You do not need to know the root: the tool identifies the headword for you and then returns the related words it has on record. Results refresh as you type, so you can hop from one root to another and quickly map out the families behind the words you are studying. If a word has no recorded relatives, the tool tells you clearly.
Reading the results
The headword is shown at the top, and the related words appear below as a grid of tiles. Each tile is information-rich rather than a bare word: it carries a colour-coded CEFR level badge (A1 to C2) so you can see how advanced each relative is, a part of speech badge so you know whether it is a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb, and where available its pronunciation and frequency. A small CEFR colour key sits above the grid so the difficulty colours are easy to read. You can click through any tile to its definition and explore further.
Why word families help learners
English builds new words from old ones using prefixes and suffixes, so a single root often gives you a noun, a verb, an adjective, and an adverb. When you learn these together you understand the shared meaning and you can recognise unfamiliar relatives in reading because you spot the root inside them. The part-of-speech badges are especially useful here: they show you which form to use as the subject of a sentence, which as the action, and which to describe. From the word family you can branch into word forms for grammatical inflections and into synonyms to widen your choices further.
Explore synonyms articles
- Free Printable Synonyms Worksheets for Kids (PDF Download)
- 150+ Synonyms for “Creative” with Examples | Another Word for “Creative”
- 55+ “Such As” Synonyms with Examples | Another Word for “Such As”
- 100+ Synonyms for “Explore” with Examples | Another Word for “Explore”
- 90+ Synonyms for “Make” with Examples | Another Word for “Make”
- 120+ Synonyms for “Interested” with Examples | Another Word for “Interested”
- 95+ Synonyms for “Give” with Examples | Another Word for “Give”
- 150+ Synonyms for “Care” with Examples | Another Word for “Care”
- 100+ Synonyms for “Grow” with Examples | Another Word for “Grow”
- 100+ Synonyms for “Common” with Examples | Another Word for “Common”
- 70+ Synonyms for “Maintain” with Examples | Another Word for “Maintain”
- 85 Synonyms for “Implement” with Examples | Another Word for “Implement”
Frequently asked questions
What is a word family?
A word family is a group of words built from the same root, usually across different parts of speech. For example, "happy", "happily", "happiness", and "unhappy" all belong to one family.
How is a word family different from word forms?
Word forms are the grammatical inflections of one word, such as plurals or tenses. A word family is wider: it includes derived words in other parts of speech, like the noun, adjective, and adverb built from a shared root.
What do the badges on each word mean?
Each related word shows a colour-coded CEFR level (A1 to C2) for difficulty and a part-of-speech badge so you can tell nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs apart at a glance.
Why should I learn words in families?
Learning a family together is efficient because the words share a meaning, and it helps you recognise unfamiliar relatives in reading by spotting the common root inside them.
Is the Word Family tool free?
Yes, it is free to use in any modern web browser, with no sign-up required.
Includes data from the Open English WordNet and WordNet 3.1, used under their respective open licences.