Key Adjective Modifiers

Adjective Modifiers

• Adjectives modify nouns, denoting quality, extent, or distinction.
• Adding suffixes to adjective modifiers can create nouns.
• Common suffixes indicating "pertaining to/referring to": -ac, -al, -ary, -ic, -ual, -us, -tic (e.g., cardi/ac - heart/pertaining to).

Common Stems and Combining Forms

• auto-: self (e.g., auto/lysis - self/decline or dissolve)
• brachy-: short (e.g., brachy/dactylia - short/finger)
• brady-: slow (e.g., brady/pnea - slow/breath)
• brevi-: short (e.g., brev/ity - short/state of)
• cav-: hollow (e.g., cav/ity - hollow/state of)
• cryo-: cold (e.g., cryo/therapy - cold/treatment)
• crypto-: hidden; concealed (e.g., crypt/orchidism - hidden/testis)
• dextro-: right (e.g., ambi/dextrous - using both/hands)
• diplo-: double; twice (e.g., dipl/opia - double/sighted)
• dys-: difficult; bad; faulty; disordered; painful (e.g., dys/tocia - different/birth); (e.g., dys/cyesis - faulty/pregnancy)
• eu-: normal; good; well (e.g., eu/tocia - normal/birth)
• glyco-: sugar; sweet (e.g., glyco/penia - blood glucose level/low)
• gravid: heavy; pregnant (e.g., gravida - pregnant)
• haplo-: single; simple (e.g., haploid - having a single set of chromosomes)
• hetero-, heter-: other; a relationship to others (e.g., hetero/sexual - other/sex)
• homo-, homeo-: same (e.g., homeo/path - same substances/causing like disease)
• hydro-: wet; water (e.g., hydro/cephal/us - water/head); (e.g., de/hydra/tion - lack/water/condition); (e.g., hydro/pneumo/thorax - fluid/in lung/chest)
• iso-: equal (e.g., iso/cellular - similar cells); (e.g., iso/lateral - equal/sides)
• latus-, lat-: broad; side (e.g., lat/issimus dorsi - muscles adducting humerus)
• longus-: long (e.g., long/itude)
• macro-: large; abnormal size (e.g., macro/chiria - hands)
• magni-: large; great (e.g., magni/tude)
• malaco-: soft (e.g., osteo/malacia - bones)
• mal-: bad (e.g., mal/ignant - bad/growth)
• medi-: middle (e.g., medi/an; medi/um - toward the median plane)
• mega-: great (e.g., mega/colon - great size of/large intestine)
• megalo-: huge (e.g., hepato/megal/y - liver/enlarged/process of)
• meso-: middle; mid (e.g., meso/derm - skin/layer)
• micro-: small (e.g., micro/glossia - small/tongue); (e.g., micro/scope - small/instrument)
• minimus-: smallest (e.g., gluteus minimus - butt/smallest [hip muscle])
• multi-; -poly: many; much (e.g., multi/lobular - many/lobes); (e.g., poly/cyth/emia vera - many/cells/blood true)
• necro-: dead (e.g., necr/o/sis - dead tissue/condition)
• neo-: new (e.g., neo/plasm - new/formation)
• oligo-: few; scanty; little (e.g., olig/ur/ia - little or slight/urine); (e.g., oligo/meno/rrhea - scanty/menstrual/flow)
• ortho-: straight; normal; correct (e.g., ortho/dont/ics - straight/teeth)
• oxy-: sharp; quick; acute (e.g., oxy/esthes/ia - sharp/feeling)
• poly-: many; much (e.g., poly/dips/ia - many/thirst)
• pronus-; prono-: face down (e.g., prone or pron/ation - turn down/process of)
• pseudo-: false (e.g., pseud/o/ps/y - false/sight or hallucination/process of)
• sclero-: hard (e.g., arteri/o/scler/o/sis - artery/hard/condition)
• scolio-: twisted; crooked (e.g., scoli/o/sis - spine-lateral curve/condition)
• sinistro-: left (e.g., sinistro/manual - left/handed)
• stasis-: stop (e.g., hemo/stasis - blood/stoppage)
• steno-: narrow (e.g., mitral sten/o/sis - mitral valve/narrows/condition)
• stalsis: contract (e.g., peri/stalsis - around/contract)
• tachy-: fast; swift (e.g., tachy/cardia - fast/heart)
• tele-; tel-; telo-: end; far away (e.g., tele/cardio/gram - end/heart/reading)
• thermo-: heat (e.g., thermo/meter - heat or temperature/measure)
• trachy-: rough (e.g., trachy/phon/ia - rough/voice)
• xero-: dry (e.g., xero/derma - dry/skin)