-ation

1. a combination of -ate ¹ and -ion, used to form nouns from stems in -ate1 ( separation ); on this model, used independently to form nouns from stems of other origin:

   starvation.

-ation

suffix forming nouns

1. indicating an action, process, state, condition, or result Compare -ion -tion

   moderation

   hibernation

   cogitation

   arbitration

Word History and Origins

Origin of -ation¹

< Latin -ātiōn- (stem of -ātiō ), equivalent to -ā- stem vowel + -tiōn- -tion

Word History and Origins

Origin of -ation¹

from Latin -ātiōn-, suffix of abstract nouns, from -ātus -ate ¹+ -iōn -ion

Example Sentences

It doesn’t seem like one -ism or -ation is entirely to blame, like globalism or immigration, capitalism or inflation.

From Slate

“So I thought the only way to do it, really, was to break it into two halves. And I tried to keep Bricusse’s rhyming structure. Luckily, there are thousands of ‘-ation’ words in the dictionary.”

From Los Angeles Times

Some of the WildCare Park’s aquatic turtle popul ation tested positive for it last summer but didn’t show symptoms such as snotty noses, gooey eyes and ulcers in the mouth.

From Washington Times

And so it goes for another 102 iterations of -ation, according to Uglow.

From New York Times

On the flight back to Washington, John Vandel began planning his oper- ation against the Chinese intelligence service.

From MSNBC