-ious

1. variant of -ous, added to stems of Latin origin, often with corresponding nouns ending in -ity: atrocious; hilarious.

-ious

suffix

1. characterized by or full of Compare -eous

   ambitious

   religious

   suspicious

Word History and Origins

Origin of -ious¹

Middle English ≪ Latin -iōsus ( -i-, -ose ¹ ) and Latin -ius (masculine singular adj. ending, as in varius )

Word History and Origins

Origin of -ious¹

from Latin -ius and -iōsus full of

Example Sentences

Should the newcomer win, he will first be offered the IOUs as payment—as the longtime members see this as a happy way to realize the worthless debt.

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The Bank of England buys bonds - essentially long term IOUs - from the UK government and corporations to increase bond prices and reduce longer term interest rates.

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Governments sell bonds - essentially IOUs - to borrow money from financial markets and in return they pay interest.

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A UC spokesman said “it could take several more months” for those IOUs to arrive.

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"Christmas time it was just getting beyond a joke. I was going back to the pharmacy, probably two or three times in a month, just to collect the little IOUs and it was getting to the point where that, in itself, was becoming a stress," she said.

Read more on BBC