Unit 3 Suffixes

Suffixes introduced in previous units are colored gray.

Suffix Definition
–al pertaining to
–an chemical name ending
–ance to give
–ant state of being
–ar pertaining to
–ase chemical name ending for an enzyme
(a protein that promotes the breaking or building of chemical bonds)
–ate chemical name ending
–cule diminutive suffix
(describes a smaller version of the word in front of it)
–ein chemical name ending
–elle diminutive suffix
–emia present in blood, indicating disease
–er word ending that turns a verb into a noun
–gen arising from
–ic pertaining to
–ical pertaining to
–icle diminutive suffix
–icul diminutive suffix
–id chemical name ending
–ide chemical name ending
–ified word ending that turns a noun into an adjective
–il chemical name ending
–in chemical name ending for a protein
–ine chemical name ending
–ion word ending that turns a verb into a noun
–is process word ending
–ism belief; process word ending
–ity turns a noun into a state of being
–ium anatomical structure word ending
–ive to go
–logy study of
–lysis breakdown process
–oid resembling
–ol chemical name ending for an alcohol
–ole diminutive suffix
–olus diminutive suffix
–on unit of anatomical or functional structure
–one chemical name ending
–ose chemical name ending for a sugar
–osis process
–ote word ending indicating membership in a group
–ous word ending that turns a noun into an adjective
–penia low levels of; scarcity
–sion word ending that turns a verb into a noun
–sis process word ending
–some body; structure
–tic pertaining to; t added to make it sound better
–tion word ending that turns a verb into a noun
–type impression made by
–ula
–ule
diminutive suffix
–um anatomical structure word ending

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