Chariot Learning
  • About
    • FAQ
    • Our Curriculum
    • Areas Chariot Learning Serves
  • Services
    • SAT & ACT Prep
    • College Essay Coaching
    • Subject Tutoring
    • Proctored Practice Tests
    • GRE Prep
  • Academic Coaching
  • Calendar
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Contact
September 19, 2014 by Mike Bergin

Roots2Words Affix of the Week: -FY

Looking to add a lot more words your personal lexicon or just want to better understand the English language? If you learn the common roots, prefixes, and suffixes that so many of our words are based on, you’ll have the tools to recognize familiar words or decode unfamiliar words. That’s the Roots2Words way!
 

Your Roots2Words Affix of the Week is -FY:

roots2wordssquare200-FY is a suffix meaning to make.
(Suffixes appear at the end of words.)
 
**EXAMPLES**

codify (verb) – to collect and arrange in a systematic form or code
BREAKDOWN: COD- (code of laws) + -FY (to make)

mollify (verb) – to comfort, appease, or soften
BREAKDOWN: MOLL- (soft) + -FY (to make)

mortify (verb) – to make someone feel so ashamed or humiliated that they want to die; to subdue or deaden one’s body with self-denial
BREAKDOWN: MORT- (dead) + -FY (to make)

ossify (verb) – to grow rigid or inflexible
BREAKDOWN: OSS- (bone) + -FY (to make)

pacify (verb) – to bring peace; to calm or appease
BREAKDOWN: PAC- (peace) + -FY (to make)

sanctify (verb) – to consecrate or make holy; to purify
BREAKDOWN: SANCT- (holy) + -FY (to make)

 
**INTERESTING VARIATIONS**

The suffix -FY creates verbs that can be turned into nouns with the suffixes -FICATION or -FACTION, e.g. edify becomes edification or putrefy becomes putrefaction.

The suffix -FY is connected to many other roots and suffixes based on the root FAC-, meaning to make or do.

*****

If you love learning new words every week, imagine how much fun you’ll find learning new roots and words every day for FREE. Subscribe to the Roots2Words Essentials program!

roots2words

Previous articleWhich Colleges Want Really High Test Scores?Next article Work Hard in Silence, Let Success Be Your Noise
Mike Bergin
Tens of thousands of students a year prep for the SAT & ACT through programs Mike Bergin created or organized. After more than 30 years of intensive experience in the education industry, he's done it all as a teacher, tutor, director, curriculum developer, blogger, podcaster, and best-selling author. Mike founded Chariot Learning in 2009 to deliver on the promise of what truly transformative individualized education can and should be.

Helping high schoolers with tests, school, and life is what Chariot Learning is all about. Let us know how we can help you!

Latest Posts

  • What About the SAT or ACT Waitlist?
  • Why Smart Students Score Higher
  • ACT Acquired By ETS: Is This Good?
  • How To Build Effective Study Routines That Actually Stick In High School
  • Testing & Scholarship Timelines Webinar

RSS feed: Roots2Words Roots2Words

  • Word of the Day: RETICENT
    Shy or silent
Be careful what you work for--you might just get i Be careful what you work for--you might just get it.
Follow on Instagram

RSS feed: Tests and the Rest Tests and the Rest

  • 750. TEST PREP PROFILE: Eric Rath August 21, 2026

NEWSLETTER

Don't you wish someone would tell you what you need to know about college admissions and testing early enough in the process to make a difference? Subscribe to our free College Eagle newsletter now!

Testimonials

We highly recommend... We considered classroom instruction given by national programs, but having one-on-one instruction, on our schedule, in our home, with the focus on areas and skills critical to our daughter’s success was important to us. Teaming up with Chariot Learning was definitely the right decision for our daughter and my family.

Eileen, Rochester mom

Read more testimonials...

PODCAST

Tests and the Rest is the ultimate college admissions podcast. Never miss an episode as Mike Bergin and Amy Seeley discuss the latest issues in testing, admissions, learning, and education with leading experts.

© 2025 Chariot Learning, LLC. All rights reserved.