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The combining form -kinesis is used like a suffix meaning “movement, activity.” It can have a variety of senses, including “reaction to a stimulus,” “movement without an apparent physical cause,” or “activity within a cell.” It is often used in scientific and technical terms, especially in biology.

The form -kinesis comes from Greek -��ī��ŧ������, meaning “motion,” from the verb ��ī�Ա�î��, “to move.” The Latin cognate of ��ī�Ա�î�� is ����ŧ���� (stem cit-), meaning “to move, set in motion,” which is the source of words such as cite and resuscitate. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.

What are variants of -kinesis?

While not a variant of -kinesis, the form -kinesia, meaning “movement, muscular activity,” as in hyperkinesia comes from the same Greek root. The adjectival form of -kinesis is -kinetic, as in bradykinetic. Want to know more? Read our 51�Թ�s That Use articles on -kinesia and -kinetic.

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -kinesis ������telekinesis, or psychokinesis, “the purported ability to move or deform inanimate objects, as metal spoons, through mental processes.”

The tele- part of the word means “distant,” from Greek ��ê����. As we already know, -kinesis means “movement.” Telekinesis literally translates to “movement [at a] distance.”

What are some words that use the combining form -kinesis?

• cytokinesis
• enterokinesis
• heterokinesis
• hypokinesis
• ookinesis
• photokinesis

What are some other forms that -kinesis may be commonly confused with?

• -esis
• -genesis

The combining form photo- means “light.” With this in mind, what does photokinesis mean?