itious

Iitious is a productive English suffix used to form adjectives, typically meaning "having the quality of" or "characterized by." It often appears in words borrowed from Latin, where a form such as -tiōsus or -itieux yielded adjectives in Romance languages before entering English. In English spelling, the ending is commonly rendered as -itious, contributing to a distinctive set of formal, often literary, adjectives.

Etymology and formation are partly predictable: many -itious adjectives derive from Latin roots through French or direct scholarly usage. The suffix tends to attach to bases that convey a concept or quality, producing a word that describes someone or something as possessing that quality.

Notable examples include:

- ambitious, meaning having a strong desire to achieve or succeed.

- fictitious, meaning not real; invented or fabricated.

- propitious, meaning favorable or advantageous.

The -itious ending is pronounced as a single syllable in most varieties of English, with the final -ous sounding like /-ɪʃəs/. The sense of the root word largely influences the overall meaning of the adjective, so -itious words span a range from aspirational (ambitious) to imaginative or fictional (fictitious) to favorable (propitious).

In usage, -itious adjectives are common in more formal or written contexts and can convey precise or elevated connotations. They are one of several overlapping adjective-forming suffixes in English, existing alongside -ous, -ious, and related endings.