The suffix -ary indicates which meaning?

• A. Pain
• B. Without
• C. Pertaining to
• D. Disorder

Answer: (C)

The suffix -ary forms adjectives that describe a relationship to something, meaning “pertaining to” or “connected with.” When you attach -ary to a noun, you get a word that indicates that relation. For example, pulmonary means pertaining to the lungs, and salivary means pertaining to saliva. So a term ending in -ary is signaling that kind of relationship, which is why the meaning “pertaining to” fits best here. Other ideas like pain or without or disorder are typically expressed with different morphemes (for instance, -algia for pain, prefixes like a- or an-, or different suffixes for disorders), not with -ary.