-atory


  1. a combination of -ate1 and -ory1 or -ory2, used infrequently as an independent suffix with the same senses as -ory1 and -ory2: affirmatory; observatory.

Origin of -atory

1
<Latin -ātōrius,-a,-um, originally the termination of adjectives formed with -tōrius (see -tory1, -tory2) and verbs whose stems ended in -ā-; reanalyzed in English in the same way as -ator

Words Nearby -atory

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How to use -atory in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for -atory

-atory

suffix forming adjectives
  1. of, relating to, characterized by, or serving to: circulatory; exploratory; migratory; explanatory

Origin of -atory

1
from Latin -ātōrius; see -ate 1, -ory ²

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