List of English back-formations explained

September 2011. Back-formation is either the process of creating a new lexeme (less precisely, a new "word") by removing actual or supposed affixes, or a neologism formed by such a process. Back-formations are shortened words created from longer words, thus back-formations may be viewed as a sub-type of clipping.

Each back-formation in this list is followed by the original word from which it was back-formed.

A

abduct probably from abduction
abscess (v.) from abscessed
aborigine from aborigines, mistaken for a plural noun
accord (n.) from Old French acorde, acort, a back-formation from acorder
accrete from accretion (root: accrescere)^[1]
acculturate from acculturation^[1]
addict from addicted (root: addicere)
admix from admixt
Adirondack Mountains from Adirondacks, mistaken for a plural noun
adsorb from adsorption
adolesce from adolescence
adulate from adulation^[2]
advect from advection^[2]
advisor perhaps from advisory
aerate (meaning "expose to air") probably from aeration
aesthete from aesthetic^[1]
aggress from aggression^[3]
air-condition from air conditioning^[1]
alley
alliterate from alliteration
allotrope from allotropy
amaze from Middle English amased
ambivalent from ambivalence
ameliorate perhaps from amelioration in some cases
annunciate perhaps from annunciation in some cases
anticline from anticlinal^[4]
antipode from antipodes (non-standard)
appeal (n.) from Old French apel, back-formation from apeler
apperceive (in modern psychological use) from apperception
aristocrat from French aristocrate, a back-formation from aristocratie
assent (n.) from Old French assent, a back-formation from assentir
attrit from attrition^[4]
auto-destruct from auto-destruction (cf. auto-destroy)
automate from automation^[1]
aviate from aviation^[1]
avid partly from avidity
awe-strike perhaps from awestruck

B

babysit from babysitter^[1]
back-form from back-formation
bartend from bartender^[4]
beg from beggar
benefact from benefactor (and also the derived benefactee, cf. benefactor)
berserk from berserker
bibliograph from bibliography
bicep from biceps (non-standard)^[1]
biograph from biography
bird (verb) from bird watcher
blockbust from blockbuster^[4]
book-keep from book-keeping
brainwash from brainwashing^[4]
bulldoze from bulldozer^[4]
bum possibly from bummer^[4]
burgle from burglar
bus ("to clear dirty dishes from table") from busboy^[4]
bushwhack from bushwhacker^[4]
buttle from butler^[4]

C

cadge from cadger^[1]
caretake from caretaker
cavitate from cavitation
chain-smoke from chain-smoker
chalant from nonchalant
Chess (river) from Chesham
choate from inchoate
choreograph from choreography^[4]
chupacabra from Spanish chupacabras (both a plural and a singular in Spanish)
claustrophobe from claustrophobia
cohese from cohesion (disambiguation) (cf. cohere)
commentate from commentator^[4]
committal from non-committal
complicit from complicity^[2]
computerize from computerized
contracept from contraception (cf. rare contraceive)
contrapt from contraption
convect from convection^[1]
conversate from conversation or conversing^[5]
cose from cosy
couth from uncouth^[1]
co-vary from covariation
cross multiply from cross multiplication
cross-refer from cross-reference^[6]
curate (verb) from curator^[2]
custom-make from custom-made

D

dapple from dappled^[4]
darkle from darkling^[1]
decadent from decadence^[1]
deconstruct from deconstruction^[4]
dedifferentiate from dedifferentiation^[4]
demarcate from demarcation^[1]
demograph from demographics
destruct from destruction^[4]
diagnose from diagnosis^[1]
diffract from diffraction^[1]
dinge from dingy^[1]
diplomat from diplomatic^[4]
dishevel from disheveled^[1]
donate from donation^[1]
drear from dreary
drowse from drowsy (possibly a backformation)
dry-clean from dry cleaning^[4]

E

eave from eaves^[6]
eavesdrop from eavesdropper^[1]
edit from editor (from Latin stem edere, to bring forth)^[1]
electrocute from electrocution^[1]
elocute from elocution^[6]
emote from emotion^[4]
enthuse from enthusiasm^[4]
escalate from escalator^[4]
eutrophicate from eutrophication
evaluate from evaluation^[1]
extradite from extradition
extrapose from extraposition^[4]

F

fine-tune from fine tuning^[6]
flab from flabby^[1]
flappable from unflappable^[4]
flake ("eccentric person") from flaky
floss ("to show off") from flossy^[6]
fluoresce from fluorescence^[1]
fragmentate from fragmentation^[4]
free-associate from free association (backformed adjective-verb compound)
funk (quality of music) from funky^[2]

G

gamble from gambler^[1]
gestate from gestation^[1]
ghostwrite from ghostwriter^[1]
gid from giddy^[1]
gladiola from gladiolus^[1]
gnarl from gnarled^[4]
goaltend from goaltender
godsend from god-sent^[1]
greed from greedy (the noun was originally "greediness")^[4]
grid from gridiron^[1]
grovel from groveling^[1]
grunge from grungy^[1]
gruntle from disgruntle^[1]

H

handwrite from handwriting^[1]
hard-boil from hard-boiled^[1]
hawk (meaning "to sell") from hawker^[4]
haze from hazy^[1]
headhunt from headhunter
headquarter from headquarters^[4]
helicopt from helicopter
herptile (a reptile or amphibian) from herpetology
herpe (a single herpes sore) from herpes
housebreak from housebroken^[1]
houseclean from housecleaning^[1]
housekeep from housekeeper^[1]
hustle from hustler^[1]

I

inadvertent from inadvertence^[1]
ideologue from ideology^[1]
incent from incentive^[2]
indice from indices (cf. index)
injure from injury^[4]
intercept from interception (possibly a backformation)
interfluve from interfluvial^[4]
interlineate from interlinear
intuit from intuition^[4]
isolate from isolated^[1]

J

jell from jelly^[1]
jerry-build from jerry-built^[1]

K

kidnap from kidnapper^[1]
kudo from kudos (some commentators regard it non-standard)^[1]

L

lase from laser^[1]
laze from lazy^[1]
legislate from legislator^[1]
letch from lecher^[4]
liaise from liaison^[1]
loaf (meaning "to be idle") from loafer^[4]
logroll from logrolling^[4]
luminesce from luminescent^[4]

M

manipulate from manipulation^[1]
mase from maser
mentee from mentor
mix from mixt (adj. from Old French, misconstrued as past participle of verb)^[1]
mottle from motley^[1]
moonlight (the verb, work on second job) from moonlighter^[1]
multimillion from multimillionaire

N

nake from naked^[1]
nitpick from nit-picking^[1]
notate from notation^[1]

O

obsess (meaning "to behave obsessively") from obsessive

obligate (as a verb meaning "oblige") from obligation
one-up or one-upman from one-upmanship^[1]
orate from oration^[1]
orientate from orientation

P

panhandle (meaning "to accost") from panhandler^[4]
paramedic from paramedical
partake from partaker^[1]
patriation from repatriation
pea from Middle English pease^[7]
peddle from peddler^[1]
peeve from peevish^[1]
pettifog from pettifogger^[4]
phosphoresce from phosphorescent^[1]
pleb from plebs
ply from reply
preempt from preemption^[1]
process from procession^[7]
prodigal from prodigality^[4]
proliferate from proliferation^[1]
proofread from proofreader^[4]
pugn from impugn

Q

quadrumvir from quadrumvirate^[1]
quantitate from quantitative

R

raunch from raunchy^[1]
recurse from recursion
reminisce from reminiscence^[1]
resurrect from resurrection^[1]
ruly from unruly
rotovate from rotovator

S

sass (impudence) from sassy^[4]
scavenge from scavenger
sculpt from sculptor^[4]
secrete (meaning "to produce and emit") from secretion^[1]
secretive from secretiveness^[1]
sedate (the verb) from sedative^[2]
self-destruct from self-destruction (cf. self-destroy)^[2]
semantic (adjective) from semantics
sharecrop from sharecropper^[1]
shoplift from shoplifter^[1]
sightsing from sightsinging
sightsee from sightseeing^[4]
sipid from insipid^[4]
sleaze from sleazy^[1]
sleepwalk from sleepwalking^[4]
smarm from smarmy^[1]
sorb from sorption (also a back-formation)
soft-land from soft landing (backformed adjective-noun compound)
sorption from adsorption and absorption^[1]
spectate from spectator^[4]
stargaze from stargazer^[1]
statistic from statistics
stave (the noun) from staves (the original singular is staff)^[1]
steamroll from steamroller^[4]
stridulate from stridulation^[1]
suburb from suburban ^[1]
suckle from suckling^[1]
sulk from sulky^[1]
summate from summation^[1]
sunburn (the verb) from sunburned^[1]
superannuate from superannuated^[1]
surreal from surrealism^[4]
surveil from surveillance^[4]
swashbuckle from swashbuckler^[1]
swindle from swindler^[4]
syncline from synclinal^[4]

T

tamale, as a singular of tamales (plural form of tamal)^[4]
tase from Taser
taxon from taxonomy
televise from television^[4]
tongue-lash from tongue-lashing^[1]
transcript (verb) from transcription (cf. verb transcribe)
tricep from triceps (non-standard)
trickle-irrigate from trickle-irrigation (possibly backformed from verb-noun compound but may also be verb-verb compound)
tweeze from tweezers^[4]
typewrite from typewriter^[1]

U

underwhelming as a supposed antonym of overwhelming
unit from unity^[1]
upholster from upholstery^[1]
ush from usher

V

vaccinate from vaccination^[4]
vend as in vend out (meaning to contract out to a vendor), derived from vendor
verse from versus^[8]
vinify from vinification^[1]
vint (meaning to make wine) from vintage and vintner^[6]
vivisect from vivisection^[1]

W

wiretap from wiretapper^[4]

Notes and References

Web site: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009. 9 November 2009.
Web site: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4. 2009. Houghton Mifflin Company. 9 November 2009.
Book: Abootty , O.. December 15, 2004. Funny Side of English. Pustak Mahal. 29. 978-8122307993. 31 July 2015.
Web site: Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged. 2009. 4. Random House, Inc.. 9 November 2009.
Web site: Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon. Dictionary.com, LLC. 2003–2009. 9 November 2009.
Web site: Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2009.
Web site: Webster's New World College Dictionary. YourDictionary.com. 9 November 2009.
Web site: Why Do Kids Say "Versing"?. 2024-02-20.