This list includes 34 Suffixes that start with A, from “-a” to “-atory”. These endings range from highly productive forms like “-able” to historical or specialized items. You can use them to form adjectives, nouns, verbs, and to analyze word meaning.
Suffixes that start with A are bound endings that alter a base word’s part of speech or nuance. Many come from Latin and Old English, and “-able” remains one of the most productive examples.
Below you’ll find the table with Origin, Meaning, and Example words.
Origin: You see where each suffix comes from, usually a language or historical period.
Meaning: You get a short phrase summarizing the suffix’s common sense or role in words.
Example words: You find two to four words showing typical uses and forms for quick comparison.
Suffixes that start with A
| Suffix | Origin | Meaning | Example words |
|---|---|---|---|
| –able | Latin | capable of; able to be X-ed | readable; breakable; enjoyable |
| –al | Latin | pertaining to; forms adjectives or nouns | natural; regional; arrival |
| –ation | Latin | action, process, result; forms nouns | celebration; rotation; migration |
| –ate | Latin | to make; having (verb- or adjective-forming) | activate; emanate; passionate |
| –ary | Latin | pertaining to; person/place associated with | library; budgetary; missionary |
| –ance | French/Latin | state, quality, action (abstract noun) | importance; resistance; reliance |
| –ancy | French/Latin | state or quality (often ongoing) | vacancy; buoyancy; hesitancy |
| –ant | Latin | agent, performing, or characterized by | assistant; resistant; celebrant |
| –an | Latin/Old English | belonging to, relating to, inhabitant of | American; urban; artisan |
| –age | French/Latin | action, collection, result; place or damage | baggage; village; suffrage |
| –ade | French | result of action; collective noun | blockade; lemonade; accolade |
| –acy | Latin | state, quality, office | privacy; accuracy; bureaucracy |
| –ac | Greek | pertaining to | cardiac; thoracic; zodiacal |
| –aceous | Latin | of the nature of; resembling | herbaceous; rosaceous |
| –acious | Latin | inclined to; characterized by | tenacious; voracious; fallacious |
| –acity | Latin | state or quality (abstract noun) | capacity; tenacity; sagacity |
| –ase | Modern/Greek (biochemistry) | enzyme name ending; catalyzing protein | lactase; polymerase; protease |
| –archy | Greek | rule, government, system | monarchy; patriarchy; anarchy |
| –arch | Greek | ruler, chief | monarch; matriarch; oligarch |
| –algia | Greek | pain, suffering | neuralgia; myalgia; fibromyalgia |
| –ana | Latin | collection of sayings/objects about a subject | Americana; Victoriana; Shakespeareana |
| –arian | Latin | person concerned with; relating to belief/practice | librarian; vegetarian; libertarian |
| –arium | Latin | place for, collection related to | aquarium; planetarium; terrarium |
| –aceae | Latin (botanical) | family-name ending for plant families | Rosaceae; Asteraceae; Fabaceae |
| –aemia | Greek/Latin (medical) | blood condition (British spelling) | anaemia; hypoxaemia |
| –asm | Greek | action, process, result (often abstract) | enthusiasm; chiasm; spas(m) forms |
| –a | Latin/Greek | noun-forming ending (feminine or abstract) | alumna; formula; persona |
| –atic | Greek/Latin | pertaining to; characterized by | dramatic; static; cinematic |
| –ative | Latin | tending to or relating to action; adjectival | talkative; comparative; argumentative |
| –atory | Latin | relating to, place for, tending to | laboratory; celebratory; conservatory |
| –aire | French | person associated with; relating to | millionaire; questionnaire; concessionaire |
| –algia | Greek | pain (alternate form listing) | neuralgia; myalgia; fibromyalgia |
| –ane | Greek/chemical | hydrocarbon suffix in chemistry names | methane; propane; butane |
| –acy (duplicate avoided) |
Descriptions
–able
Derivational adjective suffix; highly productive in modern English, forms adjectives from verbs/nouns; neutral register.
–al
Common adjective- and noun-forming suffix from Latin; widely productive and neutral in register.
–ation
Very productive noun-forming suffix creating abstract nouns from verbs; common in formal and everyday English.
–ate
Versatile suffix: verb-forming (-ate) and adjective-forming uses; common in learned vocabulary; pronunciation/meaning can vary.
–ary
Adjective- and noun-forming; common and productive, used in everyday and formal vocabulary.
–ance
Noun-forming suffix denoting state or process; moderately productive and common in formal registers.
–ancy
Variant of -ance used for nouns of state; moderately productive, sometimes with nuance of ongoing condition.
–ant
Forms adjectives and agent nouns; productive and common in both formal and neutral registers.
–an
Common adjectival and demonymic suffix; widely used and productive.
–age
Noun-forming suffix from French; common in loanwords, somewhat irregular in meaning and productivity.
–ade
Borrowed noun-forming suffix from French; often denotes result or product; common in loanwords and coinages.
–acy
Abstract-noun suffix; productive in forming nouns of state or condition; formal register common.
–ac
Adjective-forming suffix from Greek; common in medical/technical vocabulary and formal contexts.
–aceous
Adjective-forming, common in botanical and descriptive words; moderately productive, somewhat learned register.
–acious
Adjective-forming suffix expressing tendency or quality; common in learned and everyday vocabulary.
–acity
Abstract-noun suffix related to -acious adjectives; moderately productive and formal.
–ase
Specialized, highly productive in biochemical nomenclature; technical register.
–archy
Noun-forming suffix denoting systems of rule; common in political/social terminology.
–arch
Agent/role-forming suffix meaning ruler or leader; common in titles and historical terms.
–algia
Medical suffix forming nouns for kinds of pain; specialized but widely recognized in health contexts.
–ana
Noun-forming suffix denoting a collection related to a person/subject; literary and collecting register; moderately productive.
–arian
Agent/relational suffix forming nouns and adjectives; common and productive, often ideological or occupational.
–arium
Noun-forming suffix denoting places or collections; productive especially in naming institutions and displays.
–aceae
Specialized taxonomic suffix used in botanical Latin and English; technical, not productive outside taxonomy.
–aemia
Medical combining suffix (British spelling variant of -emia); specialized and common in clinical contexts.
–asm
Historical/learned noun-forming suffix seen in some medical and literary words; limited productivity and somewhat archaic feel.
–a
Bound ending in many borrowings from Latin/Greek; historically attested but limited productivity in native English formation.
–atic
Adjective-forming suffix common in learned and everyday vocabulary; productive and neutral-to-formal register.
–ative
Adjective-forming (and adjective-to-noun) suffix; productive and common in descriptive language.
–atory
Adjective- and noun-forming; productive, often formal or institutional in use.
–aire
Borrowed noun-forming suffix from French; common in nouns naming people or things associated with an activity.
–algia
Medical suffix for pain conditions; widely used and recognized in health/technical contexts.
–ane
Systematic chemical suffix denoting saturated hydrocarbons; highly productive within chemistry terminology.
–acy (duplicate avoided)