-itis

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a suffix used in pathological terms that denote inflammation of an organ (bronchitis; gastritis; neuritis) and hence, in extended senses, nouns denoting abnormal states or conditions, excesses, tendencies, obsessions, etc. (telephonitis; baseballitis).

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Origin of -itis

<New Latin (or Latin ) -ītis<Greek

Words nearby -itis

itinerarium, itinerary, itinerate, -ition, -itious, -itis, It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done, -itive, it'll, ITN, it never rains but it pours

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use -itis in a sentence

Then he looked grave and mentioned a string of grievances that the flesh is heir to—mostly ending in "itis."
Sixes and Sevens|O. Henry
Think of the doctors' terminations, so many of them fatal, in itis, which they have invented in the last few years.
Papers and Proceedings of the Thirty-fourth Annual Meeting of the American Library Association Held at Ottawa, Canada June 26-July 2, 1912|Various
The names are all cognate with the word itis, an ancient term applied to the woman who exercised sacred functions.
Woman under Monasticism|Lina Eckenstein
Every other girl one met had an attack of khaki-itis, was spotted as the pard with badges and striped as the zebra.
The Sword of Deborah|F. Tennyson Jesse

It's beginning to look as if we had acquired a pretty bad case of malignant strangle-itis.
The Real Man|Francis Lynde

British Dictionary definitions for -itis

-itis

suffix forming nouns

indicating inflammation of a specified parttonsillitis

informal indicating a preoccupation with or imaginary condition of illness caused bycomputeritis; telephonitis

Word Origin for -itis

New Latin, from Greek, feminine of -itēs belonging to; see -ite 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for -itis

-itis

A suffix meaning inflammation, as in bronchitis, inflammation of the bronchial tubes.