Word.ws English Dictionary

-ial

Syllables: -i·alUK/-iː.əl/US/-i.əl/

-ial is the alternative form of -al.

Meaning of -al

Suffix (1)

-al (adjective-forming suffix, comparative more -al, superlative most -al)

  1. Of or pertaining to. Adjectival suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to produce an adjective form. Often added to words of Latin origin, but used with other words also.
    • base + -al → basal
  2. Forming nouns, especially of verbal action.
    • propose + -al → proposal

Suffix (2)

-al

  1. Forms the names of aldehydes.

Suffix

-ial (noun-forming suffix, plural -ials)

  1. Forms a noun from a verb ending in -y.

Forms of -ial

plural-ials

Origin of -ial

Inherited from Middle English -ial, derived from Old French -ial, derived from Latin -ālis after radical in -ius, -ia, -ium. Equivalent to -i- + -al.

Questions about -ial

What does -ial mean?
-ial means forms a noun from a verb ending in -y.
What is -ial the alternative form of?
-ial is the alternative form of -al.
What part of speech is -ial?
-ial is a suffix.
How do you pronounce -ial?
-ial is pronounced /-iː.əl/ (UK).

Words near -ial in the dictionary

  1. -i adjective
  2. -i adjectives
  3. -i-
  4. -ia
  5. -iad
  6. -ial
  7. -ials
  8. -ian
  9. -iana
  10. -ians
  11. -iases

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: -ial (page history and authors); -al (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “-ial.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/-ial. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.