hyphens: suffixes
Follow the guidelines below when deciding whether to use a hyphen before the suffixes like, wide, odd, strong, fold and score.
like
Write the compounds with like as one word, except where this would result in a double l or where the compound is a temporary one coined for a specific purpose or text:
- businesslike
- childlike
- ladylike
- lifelike
but
- petal-like
- nut-like
wide
Since usage depends on the degree of familiarity of the compound, no general rule can be stated. Note the following:
- worldwide
- storewide
but
- industry-wide
- province-wide
odd, strong
Hyphenate compounds made up of a numerical expression plus odd or strong:
- sixty-odd
- thirty-strong
fold, score
Write compounds with fold and score as one word, except when the numerical expression itself already has a hyphen:
- twofold
- sixtyfold
- threescore
- fourscore
but
- twenty-two-fold
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© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement
A tool created and made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada
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