-ity
UK/əti//əti/
-ity suffix: used to form an uncountable noun from an adjective; especially, to form the noun referring to the state, property, or quality of conforming to the adjective's description. Also the alternative form of -ety.
Suffix
-ity (noun-forming suffix, countable and uncountable, plural -ities)
- Used to form an uncountable noun from an adjective; especially, to form the noun referring to the state, property, or quality of conforming to the adjective's description.
- absurd + -ity → absurdity (“the quality of being absurd or inconsistent with obvious truth, reason, or sound judgment”)
- anonym(ous) + -ity → anonymity (“the quality or state of being anonymous”)
- Used to form a countable noun from an adjective, referring to someone or something that conforms to the adjective's description.
- absurd + -ity → [an] absurdity (“that which is absurd; an absurd action; a logical contradiction”)
- anonym(ous) + -ity → [an] anonymity (“that which is anonymous”)
- Used to form other nouns, especially abstract nouns.
Also used as
-ity is also the alternative form of -ety.
-ity meaning in Malay
-ity in Malay
- Used to form nouns from adjectives.
- ke--an
Forms of -ity
| plural | -ities |
|---|---|
| alternative form | -ty |
| alternative form | ⠰⠽ |
Origin of -ity
From Middle English -ite, -itee, from Old French -ite, -ete, -eteit (“-ity”), from Latin -itātem, from -itās, from Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts (suffix). Cognate with Gothic -𐌹𐌸𐌰 (-iþa, “-th”), Old High German -ida (“-th”), Old English -þo, -þu, -þ (“-th”). More at -th. By surface analysis, -i- (“connecting vowel”) + -ty.
Variant of -ety, likely an alteration of -edy, equivalent to -ed + -y.
Questions about -ity
- What does -ity mean?
- -ity means used to form an uncountable noun from an adjective; especially, to form the noun referring to the state, property, or quality of conforming to the adjective's description.
- What is -ity in Malay?
- -ity in Malay is ke--an. See -ity meaning in Malay.
- What part of speech is -ity?
- -ity is a suffix.
- How do you pronounce -ity?
- -ity is pronounced /əti/ (UK).
Words near -ity in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: -ity (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Persent101--ity.wav.
Cite this entry: “-ity.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/-ity. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.