List of English Suffixes

A suffix is an affix that is added to the end of a word that conditions its usage or meaning. The opposite of suffix is prefix.

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 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