Suffixes

Suffix

General Meaning

Example

-agogy

leading

pedagogy , demagogy

-archy

rule, leadership

gynarchy , anarchy

-cele, -coele, -coel

body cavity

mucocoel or mucocoele

-cele

tumor, hernia

hydatidocele

-centesis

puncturing

amniocentesis , rachicentesis

-chondrion

small grainlike structure

mitochondrion

-cide

murder, killing agent

suicide , vespacide, regicide

-cracy

rule, government

kakistocracy , democracy , androcracy

-cycle

circle, cycle, unit of radio frequency

epicycle , hydrocycle

-ectasia, -ectasis

stretching out

brochiectasis , telangiectasia

-ectomy

surgical removal

laryngectomy , vasectomy

-emesis

vomiting

hematemesis , hyperemesis

-emia

blood condition

leukemia , anaemia

-enchyma

cellular tissue

mesenchyma , karyenchyma

-ess

female

actress , waitress , stewardess

-esthesis, -esthesia

sensation, feeling

synesthesia, kinesthesis

-fugal

fuge, driving or travelling away from, expelling

centrifugal

-ful

full of, having some or much

hopeful , useful

-hedron

geometric solid

icosahedron , tetrahedron

-holic

love , addiction

alcoholic

-ic

-id

skin rash

syphilid

-ism

doctrine, act, practice, condition

Protestantism , alcoholism , Buddhism , southernism

-ist

person

dentist

-itis

disease, inflammation

hepatitis , gingivitis

-itude

attitude , certitude

-ium

metallic element (exception: helium)

sodium , Calcium

-kinesis

movement (ability thereof)

telekinesis

-less

lack of

homeless , useless

-ly

-like, having the attributes of; In modern English, primarily changes adjectives to adverbs; also changes some nouns to adjectives and some (past-tense) verbs to adverbs

quick(adj) > quickly(adv), state(n) > stately(adj), abashed(v) > abashedly(adv)

-mania

an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action

kleptomania , megalomania , mythomania

-ography or -ogram

writing, description

stenography , geography , ideogram

-oid

resembling

solenoid , hominoid

-ology

study, science

planetology , thyroidology , phthisiology

-omics

area of biology

proteomics

-onomy

knowledge of

astronomy

-onym

name, word

antonym , consonym , heteronym

-osis

process, action

mitosis , osmosis

-osis

formation

ostosis

-osis

diseased condition

psychosis

-phagy, -phagia

eating

monophagy

-philia

attraction

hemophilia

-phobia

fear

acrophobia , mysophobia

-phone

sound, audio

telephone , homophone

-science

knowing

omniscience

-scope

from Greek skopos , view; instrument for viewing and observing spaces

microscope , telescope

-ship

circle, state of being

friendship , relationship

-stan

land, country

Afghanistan

-tropism

to turn

phototropism

-us

inflammation

ulcus (ulcer)

-ward

direction

southward

-wise

direction

clockwise

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