The building blocks of English

Affixes

-ior

Also ‑or.

Forming adjectives of comparison.

From Latin comparatives.

Examples are anterior, exterior, inferior, junior, posterior, prior, and ulterior. Some do not have the intermediate i, such as major (Latin, comparative of magnus, great). Some can also be nouns indicating a person or thing having that quality. However, warrior derives instead from a variant of Old French guerreior, from guerre, war; others (behavior, savior) are US spellings of words in ‑our (see ‑or²).

Support this website

This dictionary contains more than 1,250 entries, illustrated by some 10,000 examples, all defined and explained for your information and emjoyment.

There are no advertisements to interrupt your reading pleasure. I rely on your generosity to cover running costs. Donations made via PayPal are secure.