-wise

/waɪz/

suffix

In the direction or orientation of.

“Contrariwise, it could be a good idea.”

OriginProto-Germanic *wīsaz ← Proto-Indo-European *weyd-s-ós →
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Meanings

suffix-wise (adjective-forming suffix, not comparable)
  1. not comparableIn the direction or orientation of.

    The gaoler slowly turned the key clockwise.

  2. not comparableIn the manner of.

    Contrariwise, it could be a good idea.

    1 more example

    You need to follow the instructions carefully; otherwise, the project may not turn out.

  3. not comparableIn the matter of; with regard to.

    This morning looks promising, weather-wise.

    5 more examples

    They had parents in India—that much Octavian had learned in the neighbourhood; the children, beyond grouping themselves garment-wise into sexes, a girl and two boys, carried their life-story no further on his behoof.

    1919, Saki, “The Penance”, in The Toys of Peace, page 423

    Weather-wise, it's such a lovely day

    1958, “Come Fly With Me”, performed by Frank Sinatra

    Vocab-wise, medalling and PB-ing are now totally part-and-parcelled, and most experts in South Korea believe podiumed, finalled and all-comered are not far off lexiconing.

    2011 September 1, Harry Pearson, “London 2012 can legacy by verbing the noun”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 22 Sep 2024

    [see title]

    2015 July 22, Brian Caulfield, “The reality is that there is no incentive tax-wise for Irish entrepreneurs”, in Irish Independent, archived from the original on 29 May 2023

    Finally, we presented the religion-wise and caste-wise description presented in Bollywood films to 150 school students. It was found that 94% felt that stereotypical representations were authentic.

    2015 August 10, Dheeraj Sharma, “Stereotypicality in Indian cinema is not a healthy trend”, in Hindustan Times, archived from the original on 08 Jul 2018
  4. not comparableOne at a time, or one thing at a time.

    Add the reagent dropwise to the solution.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
-way-ways

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*weyd-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wéydos
  3. Proto-Indo-European*weyd-s-ós
  4. Proto-Germanic*wīsaz
  5. English-wise

From Middle English -wis (“-wise”), from Old English -wīs (“-wise”), from Proto-West Germanic *-wīs (“-wise”), from Proto-Germanic *-wīsaz (“-wise”), from Proto-Germanic *wīsaz (“wise, skilled, knowledgeable”), related to Old English wīs, wīse (“manner, way, fashion”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian -wiese (“-wise”), Dutch -wijs (“-wise”), German -weise (“-wise”), Danish -vis (“-wise”), Norwegian -vis (“-wise”), Swedish -vis (“-wise”), Yiddish ־ווײַז (-vayz, “-wise”). More at wise (“way, manner”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بِاتِّجاه, مَع
  • بِاتِّجاهin the direction or orientation of
  • مَع (maʕ)in the direction or orientation of
  • مِن جِهة (min jiha)in the manner of
Danish -vis, -mæssig
  • -visin the manner of
  • -mæssigin the matter of
Finnish suhteen
  • suhteenin the matter of
German -mäßig, -weise
  • -mäßigin the matter of
  • -weiseone (thing) at a time
Hungarian szerint, irányában
  • szerintin the direction or orientation of
  • irányábanin the direction or orientation of
  • irányábain the direction or orientation of
  • járása szerintin the direction or orientation of
  • járásával egyezően/megegyezőenin the direction or orientation of
  • -szerűenin the manner of
  • -képpenin the manner of
  • módjárain the manner of
  • módonin the manner of
  • terénin the matter of
  • -lagin the matter of
  • -legin the matter of
Japanese ずつ
  • ずつ (zutsu)one (thing) at a time
Norwegian Bokmål -vis
  • -visin the manner of
Polish -ie, -o
  • -iein the direction or orientation of
  • -oin the direction or orientation of
  • -iein the manner of
  • -oin the manner of
  • -iein the matter of
  • -oin the matter of
  • -ieone (thing) at a time
  • -oone (thing) at a time
Spanish en cuanto a, en lo que refiere a
  • en cuanto ain the matter of
  • en lo que refiere ain the matter of
  • en términos dein the matter of
Swedish åt, -mässig
  • åtin the direction or orientation of
  • -mässigin the matter of
  • -visone (thing) at a time
Welsh o ran
  • o ranin the matter of
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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