-ize
/-aɪz/
"ize" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“-ize” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a suffix. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used to form verbs from nouns or adjectives, especially similative verbs
Corpus desk
Index EN-ize · -ize · English
-ize · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "-" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | -ize |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Suffix |
| IPA | /-aɪz/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “-ize” in English
Rare enough to double-check
-ize is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as asuffix, transcribed /-aɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for -ize, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English -isen, from Middle French -iser, from Late Latin -izāre, from Ancient Greek -ίζω (-ízō), from Proto-Indo-European *-idyé- (verbal suffix). Cognate with Old English -ettan (verbal suffix). The correct English form is -ize, spelled --I-Z-E.
Definition
- 1Used to form verbs from nouns or adjectives, especially similative verbs
- 2Used to form verbs from nouns or adjectives, especially similative verbs
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how -ize appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
pixel + -ize → pixelize
cannibal + -ize → cannibalize
Etymology
From Middle English -isen, from Middle French -iser, from Late Latin -izāre, from Ancient Greek -ίζω (-ízō), from Proto-Indo-European *-idyé- (verbal suffix). Cognate with Old English -ettan (verbal suffix).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.