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Question

Difficulty: MediumNoun and Adjective Suffixes

The safety inspector warned that the exposed electrical wiring was hazardous to the maintenance crew. What does the suffix -ous signify in the word hazardous?

  1. A
    The state or condition of creating a danger
  2. B
    A person or device designated to monitor dangers
  3. Full of, possessing, or characterized by dangerAnswer
  4. D
    Completely protected from or lacking any danger

Answer

The suffix -ous transforms a base noun into an adjective meaning 'full of,' 'possessing,' or 'characterized by.'
The suffix -ous is a common Latin-derived adjective suffix attached to nouns (such as 'hazard', 'joy', or 'peril') to create adjectives meaning 'full of,' 'having,' or 'characterized by' the quality of the root word.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the base word and the attached suffix in the target word
The base word is the noun 'hazard' (risk or danger) and the attached morpheme is the suffix '-ous'.
Deconstructing the word into its morphological components reveals how its part of speech and meaning are formed.
2
Determine the grammatical category and semantic function of the suffix -ous
The suffix '-ous' is an adjective-forming suffix that means 'possessing,' 'full of,' or 'characterized by.'
Knowing standard derivational suffixes allows precise identification of how meaning is altered.
3
Combine the root meaning with the suffix definition to evaluate the choices
Combining 'hazard' + '-ous' yields 'full of or characterized by danger/hazard.'
Synthesizing the root and suffix confirms the definition and eliminates part-of-speech mismatches and antonyms.

Key Concept

Adjective Suffix -ous
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Noun and Adjective Suffixes

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