for my $word ( qw[ absorb absorbo absorbs absorbed absorbarararara ]){ $word =~ /(absorb|absorbs|absorbed)/i and warn " $1 "; } __END__ absorb at - line 2. absorb at - line 2. absorb at - line 2. absorb at - line 2. absorb at - line 2. #### use Regex::PreSuf; my $re = presuf(qw(absorb absorbs absorbed absorbing )); die $re; __END__ absorb(?:ed|ing|s)? at - line 3.