This list includes 21 Suffixes that start with T, from “-tarian” to “-ty”. They cover productive endings, historical borrowings, and less common forms useful for students, writers, and ESL learners.
Suffixes that start with T are bound morphemes you attach to base words to form nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Notably, ‘-ty’ comes from Latin via Old French, while ‘-tarian’ forms occupational or belief labels like “vegetarian”.
Below you’ll find the table with origin, meaning, and example words.
Origin: Language or period where the suffix comes from, so you can judge its history and usage patterns.
Meaning: Short gloss that explains what the suffix adds to a base word, helping you pick the right ending.
Example words: Two to four real words showing common uses so you see how the suffix works in context.
Suffixes that start with T
| Suffix | Origin | Meaning | Example words |
|---|---|---|---|
| –tion | Latin (tio) | action/result; noun-forming | action, nation, creation, relation |
| –tive | Latin (tivus) | adjective: having a tendency; relating to | active, creative, protective, selective |
| –ty | Old French/Latin (-té) | state or quality; forms abstract nouns | beauty, honesty, gravity, unity |
| –th | Old English (-þ) | result or quality (noun from adjective/verb) | warmth, length, strength, depth |
| –tude | Latin (-tudo) | state, condition, degree | solitude, magnitude, aptitude, gratitude |
| –trix | Latin (-trix) | female agent or doer | aviatrix, dominatrix, executrix, administratrix |
| –teen | Old English (tēne) | numeral suffix for 13–19 | thirteen, fourteen, seventeen, nineteen |
| –ton | Old English (tūn) | town, settlement (place-name suffix) | Washington, Brighton, Hampton, Taunton |
| –tory | Latin (torius) | relating to; place associated with | factory, directory, observatory, mandatory |
| –tarian | Latin (via -arius/-arian) | adherent, believer, system or practice | vegetarian, sectarian, totalitarian, humanitarian |
| –tress | Old French (-tresse) | feminine agent or role | actress, huntress, seamstress, hostess |
| –tastic | blend from fantastic | colloquial: excellent, spectacular | foodtastic, glamtastic, worktastic, sporttastic |
| –tial | Latin (tialis) | relating to; pertaining to | partial, initial, essential, spatial |
| –tonic | Greek (tonos) | relating to tension, tone (medical/chemical) | isotonic, hypotonic, hypertonic, catatonic |
| –torial | Latin (torialis) | relating to an agent or office | editorial, territorial, oratorical, gestatorial |
| –tize | Greek/Latin (tizein/tizare) | to make, cause to be (verb-forming) | baptize, digitize, hypnotize, democratize |
| –ture | Latin (tura) | act, result, place or state (noun-forming) | picture, departure, sculpture, fracture |
| –therapy | Greek (therapeia) | treatment; therapeutic practice or method | psychotherapy, chemotherapy, hydrotherapy, aromatherapy |
| –tome | Greek (tomē) | instrument of cutting or sectional object | microtome, tonsillotome, phyllotome, osteotome |
| –tomy | Greek (tomē) | surgical cutting, incision, removal | lobotomy, tracheotomy, craniotomy, phlebotomy |
| –tual | Latin (tualis) | pertaining to, relating to (adjective) | actual, contractual, contextual, habitual |
Descriptions
–tion
[Productive] Extremely common noun-former from Latin -tio; makes thousands of English nouns, pronounced /ʃən/ in most cases.
–tive
[Productive] Common adjective-former often paired historically with -tion (create → creative); widely used and productive.
–ty
[Productive] Abstract noun suffix from Old French/Latin; very common for naming qualities.
–th
[Inherited/Partly productive] Old English noun-making suffix still visible in many native words; new coinages rare.
–tude
[Productive] Formal abstract noun-former from Latin; common in learned vocabulary.
–trix
[Rare/Stylistic] Latin feminine agentive; now uncommon, used in legal/formal or stylistic contexts.
–teen
[Productive] Numeral-forming suffix meaning “ten plus…”; standard in counting vocabulary.
–ton
[Toponymic/Productive historically] Very common in English place names; productive historically in toponymy.
–tory
[Productive] Adjective/noun-former from Latin; common in technical and everyday words.
–tarian
[Productive] Forms nouns/adjectives denoting adherents or ideologies; common in socio-political vocabulary.
–tress
[Declining] Feminine agentive suffix once productive; now less used and sometimes seen as dated.
–tastic
[Colloquial/Productive] Slangy expressive suffix clipped from “fantastic”; widely used playfully in informal speech.
–tial
[Inherited/Not freely productive] Adjective-forming variant (often -ial/-tial); common in inherited words but not freely attachable.
–tonic
[Specialized] Combining form common in medical/scientific terms; productive in technical vocabulary.
–torial
[Derivational/Limited productivity] Often attaches to stems ending in -tor to make adjectives; common in derived forms.
–tize
[Productive] Verb-forming suffix (var. of -ize) with many English verbs; widely used, esp. in technical contexts.
–ture
[Productive] Noun-forming suffix from Latin; produces many nouns, sometimes pronounced /tʃər/ or /tʃʊr/.
–therapy
[Productive in compounds] Combining form for medical/therapeutic practices, very common in compound nouns.
–tome
[Specialized/Rare] Combining form used in technical/biological terms for cutting instruments or sections.
–tomy
[Specialized/Productive] Medical combining-suffix for surgical procedures; widely used in medical terminology.
–tual
[Inherited/Not productive] Adjectival suffix from Latin; common in inherited words but not a free productive element today.