-ory
Syllables: -o·ry/-(ə)ɹi/
-ory suffix: added to nouns and verbs (often Latinate) to form adjectives meaning “of”, “pertaining to”, or “serving for”.
Suffix (1)
-ory (adjective-forming suffix, not comparable)
- Added to nouns and verbs (often Latinate) to form adjectives meaning “of”, “pertaining to”, or “serving for”.
- excrete + -ory → excretory
- sense + -ory → sensory
Suffix (2)
-ory (noun-forming suffix, plural -ories)
- Added to nouns and verbs (often Latinate) to form nouns meaning “that which pertains to or serves for”.
- ambulate + -ory → ambulatory
- incense + -ory → incensory
Synonyms of -ory
Forms of -ory
| plural | -ories |
|---|
Origin of -ory
From Middle English -orie, from the Latin adjective suffix -tōrius. By surface analysis, -or + -y.
From the Latin noun suffix -tōrium. By surface analysis, -or + -y.
Questions about -ory
- What does -ory mean?
- -ory means added to nouns and verbs (often Latinate) to form adjectives meaning “of”, “pertaining to”, or “serving for”.
- What part of speech is -ory?
- -ory is a suffix.
- How do you pronounce -ory?
- -ory is pronounced /-(ə)ɹi/.
Words near -ory in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: -ory (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:
Cite this entry: “-ory.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/-ory. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.