The Suffix -or: The Suffix -or, Part 3

Most of these words describe a particular mood or feeling. If you’re clamoring for more vocabulary, savor the succor of this list and learn it with fervor!

Here are links to our lists for this collection: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. candor
    the quality of being honest and straightforward
    Her candor is respectful of the office and helps maintain a high level of public trust. Seattle Times (Oct 16, 2020)
    A candid photo is one that has not been posed or staged in any way: it reflects reality.
  2. succor
    assistance in time of difficulty
    The patients usually wanted succor, a soothing voice. Washington Post (Jul 11, 2020)
    Succursus means "aid or assistance" in Latin, and its descendants are used to refer to first aid in a number of Romance languages.
  3. savor
    a particular taste or smell, especially an appealing one
    To step into a local market was to miss the savor of the peaches, figs, and winter chestnuts of Bursa. Middlesex: A Novel
    Sapor means "taste or flavor" in Latin. Besides savor, you'll see savory a lot as well, which refers to something delicious and specifically something that's salty rather than a sweet dessert.
  4. torpor
    a state of motor and mental inactivity
    Hummingbirds in the Peruvian Andes enter a state of torpor at night to conserve energy, dipping their body temperatures to as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientific American (Sep 15, 2020)
    Torpor means "numbness" in Latin.
  5. rancor
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
    In the meantime, though, we might see greater division, rancor and chaos — none of which we need. Washington Post (Sep 3, 2021)
    In Latin, rancor means something rotten or rancid — which it shares a root with — and also has the figurative sense of a nasty grudge or resentment against someone.
  6. squalor
    sordid dirtiness
    First, Tenebrion’s a nasty place, of course, and the goblins live in utter squalor, filth, and poverty. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge
    Squalor hasn't changed its original meaning at all: filthy, disgusting conditions in which only prisoners or the most destitute people would live.
  7. furor
    an interest followed with exaggerated zeal
    For a brief time the press made much of Brian and he was interviewed for several networks but the furor died within a few months. Hatchet
    Furor comes from the same root as fury.
  8. hector
    talk to or treat someone in a bossy or bullying way
    It is incumbent on sellers to please buyers, not threaten or hector them. Washington Post (Oct 8, 2020)
    Hector is a character in the Odyssey, and his name came to describe a bully or braggart. As a verb, to hector someone is to lecture them or boss them around.
  9. clangor
    a loud resonant repeating noise
    The clangor of machinery and hammer greeted Nya each time she returned from the pond—unfamiliar noises that mingled with the voices of men shouting and women singing. A Long Walk to Water
    This one's easy, because the word clang is right there, and clangere means exactly that in Latin. Onomatopoeia may be a Greek word, but pretty much every language has words that sound like what they mean.
  10. vector
    any agent that carries and transmits a disease
    Of course, establishing the Aedes aegypti mosquito as the disease carrier, or vector, did not answer all the questions about yellow fever. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793
    Vector comes from the verb vehere, meaning "to carry." It's the same root that vehicle comes from.
Created on Mon Oct 19 17:13:30 EDT 2020 (updated Thu Apr 21 09:50:40 EDT 2022)

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