Here you’ll find 24 Suffixes that start with C that begin with C, organized from “-centric” to “-cytic”. Many originate in Latin or Greek, and you see them in scientific, descriptive, medical, and everyday vocabulary.
Suffixes that start with C are bound endings added to stems to form adjectives, nouns, or verbs. A notable example is “-centric,” widely used in science and social commentary, as in “egocentric” and “ethnocentric.”
Below you’ll find the table with origin, meaning, and example words.
Origin: Shows the language or period the suffix comes from, helping you understand its historical roots and usage.
Meaning: Gives a short, clear definition so you can grasp how the suffix changes a word’s sense.
Example words: Lists two to four real words so you see the suffix in common contexts and register.
Suffixes that start with C
| Suffix | Origin | Meaning | Example words |
|---|---|---|---|
| –cy | Old French/Latin | state or quality | privacy, urgency, truancy |
| –cide | Latin | killer; act of killing | homicide, pesticide, genocide |
| –cidal | Latin | killing; destructive to | bactericidal, pesticidal, virucidal |
| –cracy | Greek | rule; form of government | democracy, bureaucracy, plutocracy |
| –crat | Greek | member of a ruling group; supporter | bureaucrat, technocrat, plutocrat |
| –cratic | Greek | relating to governance or power | bureaucratic, democratic, theocratic |
| –cian | Latin/Old French | specialist; practitioner | musician, electrician, physician |
| –cule | Latin | small; diminutive | molecule, minuscule, ridicule |
| –culus | Latin | small; diminutive (Latinized) | homunculus, funiculus |
| –cyte | Greek | cell (biological) | leukocyte, hepatocyte, osteocyte |
| –cytic | Greek | relating to cells | erythrocytic, leukocytic |
| –cycle | Greek | wheel; recurring series | bicycle, motorcycle, tricycle |
| –centric | Greek | centered on; focused | egocentric, geocentric, anthropocentric |
| –crine | Greek | secreting; secretion-related | endocrine, exocrine, autocrine |
| –cyst | Greek | sac or bladder; pouch | blastocyst, sarcocyst, oocyst |
| –clast | Greek | breaker; fragment or breaker | iconoclast, pyroclast |
| –clastic | Greek | relating to breaking or fragments | iconoclastic, pyroclastic, autoclastic |
| –clasm | Greek | act of breaking or destruction | iconoclasm, osteoclasm |
| –cular | Latin | pertaining to; adjectival | molecular, ocular, vascular |
| –cial | Latin | pertaining to; adjectival | social, official, crucial |
| –cious | Latin | full of; having the quality of | delicious, precious, spacious |
| –coel | Greek | hollow; cavity | acoel, coelomate, coelenterate |
| –cole | Latin | dweller; living in/on | arenicole, saxicole, terricole |
| –chromatic | Greek | relating to color | polychromatic, achromatic, trichromatic |
Descriptions
–cy
A very common noun-forming suffix (from Latin -cia) that creates abstract nouns like “policy” and “privacy.” Widely productive in modern English.
–cide
Productive combining form forming nouns for types of killing or killing agents; common in legal, medical and everyday vocabulary.
–cidal
Adjectival derivative of -cide used to describe agents or actions that kill or destroy organisms or things.
–cracy
Forms nouns denoting systems of rule or governance; frequently used in political and social terminology.
–crat
Agentive suffix naming people associated with a type of rule or ideology; common in political and organizational contexts.
–cratic
Adjectival form of -cracy, used to describe systems, attitudes, or structures of governance or rule.
–cian
Very common agentive/professional suffix indicating someone’s occupation or expertise.
–cule
Diminutive suffix from Latin; appears in scientific terms and everyday words to indicate smallness or a diminutive sense.
–culus
A Latin diminutive often retained in learned or anatomical terms; less productive but still attested in English.
–cyte
Highly productive scientific suffix naming cell types; ubiquitous in biology and medicine.
–cytic
Adjectival form of -cyte used in medical and biological descriptions referring to cells.
–cycle
Combining form meaning “wheel” or “series,” used in both everyday and technical compounds.
–centric
Adjectival combining form indicating focus or orientation toward a center or principle.
–crine
Medical/scientific combining form about glands, secretion, or signaling; common in physiology and endocrinology.
–cyst
Biological combining form for sac-like structures or cysts; widely used in pathology and developmental biology.
–clast
Suffix denoting a breaker or fragment; appears in scientific and cultural terms (e.g., iconoclast).
–clastic
Adjectival suffix meaning “breaking” or “broken into fragments,” common in geology and criticism jargon.
–clasm
Noun-forming suffix referring to the act or phenomenon of breaking or destroying; used in specialized and cultural contexts.
–cular
Adjectival suffix often forming descriptive words; variant of Latin adjectival endings, common in scientific and general English.
–cial
A common adjectival ending (from Latin -cialis) used to make adjectives from nouns or stems.
–cious
Productive adjectival suffix analogous to -tious/-acious; forms many common adjectives.
–coel
Combining form in biological terms for hollow or cavity-related structures; chiefly scientific and technical in use.
–cole
Technical biological/ ecological combining form meaning “inhabitant of” a substrate; mainly used in specialist literature.
–chromatic
Combining adjectival suffix about color or color properties; common in scientific and artistic vocabulary.