Dictionary of Combining Forms: Vocabulary Building

What are “Combining Forms”?

Combining form is a form of a word that can combine with free word, root word or another combining form to get a new word. ‘Combining form’ adds extra meaning to the new word. ‘Combining form’ is added to the beginning or end of free word, root word or another combining form.

(A). Examples of “Combining form + Free Word”:

Agro- + Industry = Agro-industry
Agro- denotes: connected with farming

(B). Example of “Combining form + Root Word”:

Aero- + Gramme = Aerogramm
Aero- denotes: connected with aircraft
Gramme denotes: writing

(C). Examples of “Combining form + Combining form”:

Hydro- + -Logy = Hydrology [the scientific study of the earth's water]
Hydro- denotes: relating to water
-Logy denotes: a subject of study

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. “Combining form” generally cannot stand alone as free words, but there are many exceptions to this rule.
EXAMPLES:
Combining Form: -like [free word]
lotus + -like = lotus-like
rope + -like = rope-like
-like- denotes: similar to the thing that is mentioned

2. Many Words ending in “-ed”, “-en”, etc. are used as COMBINING FORMS.
EXAMPLES:
Combining Form: -based (ending in ‘-ed’)
foreign + -based = foreign-based
demand + -based = demand-based
-based denotes: containing something as an important feature or part

3. Many words ending in “-ing” are used as COMBINING FORMS.
EXAMPLES:
Combining Form: -looking (ending in ‘-ing’)
fine + -looking = fine-looking
suspicious + -looking = suspicious-looking
-looking- denotes: to be appearing in a way that is mentioned

Alphabetical List of Combining Forms Along With Their Meanings And Examples

Combining Forms -- A

AERO-
Used to form: adjectives, adverbs and nouns
General meaning: connected with aircraft
Examples:
aerobatics / aerodrome / aerodynamics / aerofoil / aerogramme (also, aerogram) / aeronaut / aeronautics / aerospace / aerostat

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-AFFECTED
Used to form: adjectives
General meaning: suffering from the thing that is mentioned
Examples [along with their use in phrases]:
drug-affected ---- [drug-affected newborns]
famine-affected ---- [famine-affected village]
flu-affected ---- [flu-affected patients]
militancy-affected ---- [militancy-affected state]
quake-affected ---- [quake-affected hills]

Other Examples:
flood-affected / cyclone-affected / explosion-affected / drought-affected / rain-affected / violence-affected

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AFRO-
Used to form: adjectives and nouns
General meaning: African
Examples [along with their use in phrases]:
Afro-Brazilian ---- [Afro-Brazilian heritage]
Afro-British ---- [Afro-British people]
Afro-Caribbean ---- [Afro-Caribbean cooperation]
Afro-Colombian ---- [Afro-Colombian celebrities]
Afro-Cuban ---- [Afro-Cuban player]
Afro-descendant ---- [Afro-descendant communities]
Afro-Iranian ---- [Afro-Iranian minority]
Afro-Latina ---- [Afro-Latina engineers]
Afro-Mexican ---- [Afro-Mexican students]
Afro-Palestinian ---- [Afro-Palestinian group]
Afro-Turk ---- [Afro-Turk music star]

ALL-
Used to form: adjectives and adverbs
General meaning: each and every one | totally | in the highest degree
Examples:
all-American / all-around / all-British / all-Canadian / all-clear / all-consuming / all-embracing / all-encompassing / all-important / all-inclusive / all-night / all-nighter / all-out / all-over / all-party / all-pervading / all-powerful / all-purpose / all-round / all-rounder / all-star / all-ticket / all-time