Word Suffix Reference

While the previous page focused on general root word components, this page is focusing on word components that appear at the end of words.
To jump to a word's listing, please click on its first letter:

a-d    e-h    i-m    n-r    s-z

	Suffix	Meanings	Sample Words and Definitions
	-able	able to be	excitable, portable, preventable
	-ac	pertaining to	cardiac, hemophiliac, maniac
	-acity (-ocity)	quality of	perspicacity, sagacity, velocity
	-ade	act, action or process, product	blockade, cavalcade, promenade,
	-age	action or process	passage, pilgrimage, voyage
	-aholic (-oholic)	one with an obsession for	workaholic, shopaholic, alcoholic
	-al	relating to	bacterial, theatrical, natural
	-algia	pain	neuralgia, nostalgia,
	-an (-ian)	relating to, belonging to	Italian, urban, African
	-ance	state or quality of	brilliance, defiance, annoyance
	-ant	a person who	applicant, immigrant, servant
	-ant	inclined to, tending to	brilliant, defiant, vigilant
	-ar	of or relating to, being	lunar, molecular, solar
	-ar	a person who	beggar, burglar, liar
	-ard	a person who does an action	coward, sluggard, wizard
	-arian	a person who	disciplinarian, vegetarian, librarian
	-arium (orium)	a place for	terrarium, aquarium, solarium
	-ary	of or relating to	literary, military, budgetary
	-ate	state or quality of (adj.)	affectionate, desolate, obstinate
	-ate	makes the word a verb	activate, evaporate, medicate
	-ation	action or process	creation, narration, emancipation
	-ative	tending to (adj.)	creative, preservative, talkative
	-cide	act of killing	homicide, suicide, genocide
	-cracy	rule, government, power	bureaucracy, aristocracy, theocracy
	-crat	someone who has power	aristocrat, bureaucrat, technocrat
	-cule	diminutive (making something small)	molecule, ridicule,
	-cy	state, condition or quality	efficiency, privacy, belligerency
	-cycle	circle, wheel	bicycle, recycle, tricycle
	-dom	condition of, state, realm	boredom, freedom, wisdom
	-dox	belief, praise	orthodox, paradox
	-ectomy	surgical removal of	appendectomy, hysterectomy
	-ed	past tense	called, hammered, laughed
	-ee	receiver, performer	nominee, employee, devotee
	-eer	associated with/engaged in	engineer, volunteer
	-emia	blood condition	anemia, hypoglycemia, leukemia
	-en	makes the word a verb	awaken, fasten, strengthen
	-ence	state or condition, action	absence, dependence, negligence
	-ency	condition or quality	clemency, dependency, efficiency
	-ent	inclined to performing/causing, or one who performs/causes	competent, correspondent, absorbent
	-er	more	bigger, faster, happier
	-er	action or process	flutter, ponder, stutter
	-er	a person who does an action	announcer, barber, teacher
	-ern	state or quality of	eastern, northern, western
	-escence	state or process	adolescence, convalescence
	-ese	relating to a place	Chinese, Congolese, Vietnamese
	-esque	in the style of	Kafkaesque, grotesque, burlesque
	-ess	female	actress, heiress, lioness
	-est	most	funniest, hottest, silliest
	-etic	relating to (makes the word an adj.)	athletic, energetic, poetic
	-ette	diminutive (makes something smaller)	cigarette, diskette, kitchenette
	-ful	full of	helpful, thankful, cheerful
	-fy	make, cause (makes the word a verb)	amplify, falsify, terrify
	-gam/gamy	marriage, union	monogam, polygamy
	-gon/gonic	angle	hexagon, polygonic, pentagon
	-hood	state, condition, or quality	childhood, neighborhood, motherhood
	-ial	relating to	celestial, editorial, martial
	-ian	relating to	Martian, utopian, pediatrician
	-iasis	diseased condition	elephantiasis, psoriasis
	-iatric	healing practice	pediatric, psychiatric,
	-ible	able to be	audible, plausible, legible
	-ic/ical	relating to, characterized by	analytic/al, comic/al, organic
	-ile	relating to, capable of	agile, docile, volatile
	-ily	in what manner	sloppily, steadily, zanily
	-ine	relating to	canine, feminine, masculine
	-ity	state, condition, or quality	abnormality, civility, necessity
	-ing	materials	bedding, frosting, roofing
	-ing	action or process	dancing, seeing,  writing
	-ive	inclined to	attractive, expensive, repulsive
	-ization	act or process of making	colonization, fertilization, modernization
	-ion	action or process	celebration, completion, navigation
	-ize	to cause to become	antagonize, authorize, popularize
	-ious	having the qualities of, full of	ambitious, cautious, gracious
	-ish	relating to, characteristic	apish, brutish, childish
	-like	resembling, characteristic	childlike, homelike, lifelike
	-ism	state or quality	altruism, despotism, heroism
	-ist	a person, one who does an action	artist, linguist, pianist
	-ite	resident of, follower, product of	suburbanite, luddite, dynamite
	-itis	inflammation, preoccupation	appendicitis, tonsillitis, frontrunneritis
	-ity	state, quality	adversity, prosperity, vitality
	-ive	quality of; that which	diminutive, operative, elusive
	-ize	cause, treat, become	visualize, materialize, standardize
	-less	without	fearless, helpless, homeless
	-let	version of	booklet, droplet, inlet
	-like	resembling	unlike, warlike, reedlike
	-ling	younger or inferior	duckling, underling
	-loger/logist	one who does	astrologer, cardiologist, chronologer
	-log	speech	dialog, monolog,
	-ly	in what manner	badly, courageously, happily
	-ment	action, result	movement, placement, shipment
	-ness	state or quality (makes a noun)	kindness, shyness, weakness
	-oid	resembling	humanoid, tabloid, hemorrhoid
	-ology	study of, science of	anthropology, archaeology, biology
	-oma	tumor, swelling	carcinoma, osteoma, hematoma
	-onym	name, word	synonym, antonym, homonym
	-opia	eye defect	myopia, nyctalopia, hyperopia
	-opsy	examination	biopsy, autopsy, necropsy
	-or	a person who	inventor, legislator, translator
	-ory	relating to	armory, dormitory, laboratory
	-osis	process, diseased condition	diagnosis, prognosis, neurosis, psychosis
	-ostomy/otomy	surgical	colostomy, lobotomy, craniotomy
	-ous	full of	hazardous, humorous, wondrous
	-path	one who engages in	homeopath, naturopath, psychopath
	-pathy	feeling, diseased	sympathy, apathy, neuropathy
	-phile	one who loves	bibliophile, audiophile, pyrophile
	-phobia	abnormal fear of	acrophobia, claustrophobia, xenophobia
	-phone	sound	homophone, telephone, microphone
	-phyte	plant, to grow	zoophyte, cryptophyte, epiphyte
	-plegia	paralysis	paraplegia, quadriplegia, hemiplegia
	-plegic	one who is paralyzed	paraplegic, technoplegic, quadriplegic
	-pnea	air, spirit	apnea, hyperpnea, orthopnea
	-scopy/scope	visual exam	arthroscopy, gastroscopy, microscope
	-scribe/script	to write	transcript, describe, manuscript
	-sect	to cut	dissect, insect, bisect
	-ship	state or condition of, skill of	authorship, citizenship, friendship
	-sion	state or quality	confusion, depression, tension
	-some	characterized by, group of	cumbersome, quarrelsome, foursome
	-sophy/sophic	wisdom, knowledge	philosophy, theosophy, anthroposophic
	-th	state or quality	depth, length, strength
	-tion	state or quality	attention, caution, fascination
	-tome/tomy	to cut	hysterectomy, epitome, tonsillotome
	-trophy	nourishment, growth	atrophy, hypertrophy, dystrophy
	-tude	state, condition or quality	fortitude, gratitude, magnitude
	-ty	state, condition or quality	ability, honesty, loyalty
	-ular	relating to or resembling	cellular, circular, muscular
	-uous	state or quality of	arduous, tumultuous, virtuous
	-ure	action, condition	closure, erasure, failure
	-ward	specifies direction	backward, eastward, homeward
	-ware	things of the same type or material	hardware, software, kitchenware
	-wise	in what manner of direction	clockwise, lengthwise, otherwise
	-y	made up of, characterized	brainy, fruity, gooey