-ation

-a·tion
Canada, US, UK/ˈeɪ̯.ʃən/British, Southern, Standard/ˈɛjʃən/Australia, New Zealand/ˈæɪ̯.ʃən/Scotland/ˈe.ʃən/

suffix

An action or process.

“found + -ation → foundation”

OriginMiddle English -acioun →
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Meanings

suffix-ation (noun-forming suffix, countable and uncountable, plural -ations)

plural -ations · alternative ⠠⠝

  1. countableuncountableAn action or process.

    sediment + -ation → sedimentation

  2. countableuncountableThe result of an action or process.

    found + -ation → foundation

  3. countableuncountableA state or quality.

    color + -ation → coloration

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
-th

Origin

  1. Middle English-acioun
  2. Middle English-acioun
  3. English-ation

Inherited from Middle English -acioun, borrowed from Old French -ation, a learned borrowing from Latin -ātiō, from -tiō, from Proto-Italic *-tiō, from Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō, from *-tis + *-Hō. By surface analysis, -ate + -ion.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans -asie, -sie
  • -asie-ation (suffix)
  • -sie-ation (suffix)
  • -ering-ation (suffix)
Arabic ـِيَّة
  • ـِيَّة (-iyya)-ation (suffix)
Bulgarian -а́ция, -не
  • -а́ция (-ácija)-ation (suffix)
  • -не (-ne)-ation (suffix)
  • -ние (-nie)-ation (suffix)
Catalan -ació, -ció
  • -ació-ation (suffix)
  • -ció-ation (suffix)
Chinese Cantonese -化
  • -化 (faa³)-ation (suffix)
Chinese Mandarin -化
  • -化 (-huà)-ation (suffix)
Czech -ace
  • -ace-ation (suffix)
Danish -ation, -tion
  • -ation-ation (suffix)
  • -tion-ation (suffix)
  • -ering-ation (suffix)
Dutch -atie, -tie
  • -atie-ation (suffix)
  • -tie-ation (suffix)
  • -ering-ation (suffix)
Estonian -atsioon
  • -atsioon-ation (suffix)
Finnish -aatio
  • -aatio-ation (suffix)
French -ation
  • -ation-ation (suffix)
German -ation, -tion
  • -ation-ation (suffix)
  • -tion-ation (suffix)
  • -ierung-ation (suffix)
Hungarian -áció
  • -áció-ation (suffix)
Indonesian -sasi, -asi
  • -sasi-ation (suffix)
  • -asi-ation (suffix)
  • -si-ation (suffix)
Italian -zione
  • -zione-ation (suffix)
Japanese -化
  • -化-ation (suffix)
Korean -화
  • -화 (-hwa)-ation (suffix)
Latvian -ācija, -cija
  • -ācija-ation (suffix)
  • -cija-ation (suffix)
Lithuanian -acija, -cija
  • -acija-ation (suffix)
  • -cija-ation (suffix)
Malay -asi
  • -asi-ation (suffix)
Norwegian Bokmål -asjon, -sjon
  • -asjon-ation (suffix)
  • -sjon-ation (suffix)
  • -ering-ation (suffix)
Persian ی
  • ی-ation (suffix)
Polish -acja
  • -acja-ation (suffix)
Portuguese -ção
  • -ção-ation (suffix)
Romanian -are, -ire
  • -are-ation (suffix)
  • -ire-ation (suffix)
Russian -ение, -а́ция
  • -ение (-enije)-ation (suffix)
  • -а́ция (-ácija)-ation (suffix)
Slovak -ácia
  • -ácia-ation (suffix)
Spanish -ación, -ción
  • -ación-ation (suffix)
  • -ción-ation (suffix)
Swedish -ation, -tion
  • -ation-ation (suffix)
  • -tion-ation (suffix)
  • -ring-ation (suffix)
Turkish -asyon, -syon
  • -asyon-ation (suffix)
  • -syon-ation (suffix)
Ukrainian -а́ція
  • -а́ція (-ácija)-ation (suffix)
Vietnamese ... hoá
  • ... hoá-ation (suffix)

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with -ation

informationeducationlocationapplicationassociationadministrationorganizationcorporationregistrationAsianfoundationcommunicationpopulationnavigationstationaccommodationoperationpublicationvacationtransportationevaluationimplementationinstallationnation
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

-ation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ation

MLA

“-ation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ation. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-ation,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ation.

Source: -ation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.