ENGLISH
REFERENCE

ending

n. countable
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈɛndɪŋ// UK //ˈɛndɪŋ// end·ing General-service

n. the last part of a story, movie, or piece of music. It can also mean the final part of a word, like the letters you add to change its meaning.

n. the final part or conclusion of a narrative, performance, or event; in linguistics, a suffix or terminal morpheme added to a word root.


SIMPLE

The movie has a very sad ending.

CONTEXTUAL

I did not enjoy the book because the ending felt rushed and left many questions unanswered.

COMPLEX

While the protagonist's journey is technically successful, the ambiguous ending invites the audience to question whether the cost of victory was too high.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English endyng, endinge, endunge, from Old English endung, ġeendung (“ending”), equivalent to end + -ing. Cognate with Dutch ending (“ending”), German Endung (“ending”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English ending, endyng, endende, from Old English endiende, from Proto-Germanic andijōndz, present participle of Proto-Germanic andijōną (“to end”), equivalent to end + -ing.

Usage

Commonly used with adjectives like 'happy', 'sad', or 'unexpected'. In a grammatical context, it refers specifically to inflectional suffixes.

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