-sion, -sions

(Latin: a suffix found at the end of some words that make certain verbs become nouns.)

If you need any information regarding the pronunciation system being used for the words in this unit, click on this Pronunciation Chart for a presentation of simplified American-English pronunciations.

retroversion (ret" roh VUHR zhuhn, ret" roh VUHR shuhn) (s) (noun), retroversions (pl)
1. The act of transcribing a text from its current version into the first language in which it was written: The teacher, Mr. Latinus, assigned his students the task of making retroversions of the paragraphs in the ancient history book into the original Latin text.
2. The reversal or tipping backwards of something; for example, an organ of the body: The trainer at the fitness studio suggested that Ann do some specific exercises in order to achieve a retroversion of the pain she was having in her back because she was working too much on her computer and not moving around enough.
reversion (ri VUHR zhuhn) (s) (noun), reversions (pl)
1. The return to a former situation, belief, or interest: The elderly couple prefer the reversion of walking after breakfast instead of after dinner, beause it turns dark so early in winter.
2. A going away or a turning in the opposite direction: Sally and her friends took the road through the forest and this reversion to the original route led them back to the city instead of towards their desired destination!
revision (ri VIZH uhn) (s) (noun), revisions (pl)
1. Something that has been written again after being changed, improved, or added to: A major revision of Sara's book will be published next year.
2. A improved and republished version of a text: Janet’s short story was issued two years ago and since then she has reviewed and changed some of the parts and this revision will be on sale at the book store next week!
3. Etymology: from French revisiter, from re-, "again" + visiter, "to visit"; from Latin visitare, "to go to see, to come to inspect".
revulsion (ri VUHL shuhn) (s) (noun), revulsions (pl)
1. A sudden violent feeling of disgust: Lynn felt complete revulsion when green beans were put on her plate because she absolutely hated them!
2. A strong pulling or drawing back; withdrawal: Tina reacted with revulsion when the war movie came on TV because she abhorred such films and so she went to a different channel for something more pleasant!
3. A sudden reaction; a complete change; which is applied to one's feelings: Mark felt a sensation of revulsion when he was called in to identify his brother who had just died in a car accident.
4. The act of turning or diverting any disease from one part of the body to another area: By applying heat or an ointment to her hands, which irritated her skin, a revulsion took place that counteracted the original discomfort or pain in her wrists.
secession (si SESH uhn) (s) (noun), secessions (pl)
1. A formal withdrawal from an organization, state, or alliance; especially, from a political or religious association: Janet had to write a formal statement to insure that her secession as a member of the political party was confirmed.
2. Etymology: from Latin secessionem, from the stem of secedere. "secede" which consists of se-, "apart" + cedere. "to go".
seclusion (si KLOO zhuhn) (s) (noun), seclusions (pl)
1. The state of being isolated or in a remote area or region: The couple loved their vacations on the island where they enjoyed complete seclusion, away from work and from strangers.
2. A place of concealment or a private location: Little Tommy had his own spot of seclusion, which was behind the door of the closet in his room!
session (SESH uhn) (s) (noun), sessions (pl)
1. A meeting or sitting of a legislative or judicial body dealing with  business transactions: The U.N. Special Session on Disarmament is scheduled to take place next month.

The new session of the state legislature will deal with government properties going to private ownership in order to reduce some of the government debt.

2. The part of a year or of a day during which a school, college, or university has classes: Carol's children will be going to special classes during the summer session and then the elementary school will be back in regular sessions at the beginning of September.
3. An assembly of people for a common purpose or because of a special interest: The citizens of the village got together in a session to talk about and to decide on what needed to be done regarding the road conditions in their area.
4. U.S. law pertaining to the court of criminal jurisdiction: There will be a another legal session for the trial of the accused bank robber next week.
5. A period of time used or devoted to a specific activity: The sessions of recording the music by the local band will take place in a studio.

Bob's health insurance will cover just twelve one-hour sessions of therapy this year.

subdivision (suhb" di VIZH uhn, SUHB di vizh" uhn) (s) (noun), subdivisions (pl)
1. A section of an area or a part of something that is already broken up: The contractor's plan calls for the subdivision of the property into several building lots.
2. A section of something which is itself complete but is part of a larger composition: The sports section of Karl's newspaper has a large subdivision in it on the weekends for its numerous athletic fans.
3. The process, instance, or state of being detached into parts again following earlier separations: The subdivisions of the menu listings indicated that certain foods were prepared with nuts which was important for customers who might have allergies.
submersion (suhb MUHR zhuhn, suhb MUHR shuhn) (s) (noun), submersions (pl)
1. The condition of something being completely covered with a liquid: For cleaning purposes, a submersion, or lowering one part of the machine into a special solution, was necessary.
2. The state of being overwhelmed with activities, work, difficulties, etc.: Sam was confronted with a monstrous job of taking care of the finances of the company because the treasurer suddenly got sick and this submersion of responsibilities caused him to have many sleepless nights.
submission (suhb MISH uhn) (s) (noun), submissions (pl)
1. An act or instance of giving in: A prisoner’s submission is insisted upon when he is put into jail and he must follow all the rules and regulations of the imprisonment.
2. The condition of having complied to something or someone: Tim’s submission or agreement of going with his parents on the trip to the coast, instead of watching TV, proved to be much more exciting after all!
3. Acquiescent and respectful conduct or attitude: Mrs. Jones asked for Tom’s submission and obedience in class towards her and his classmates so the lesson could proceed again without interruption.
4. Something that is turned in or given to somebody: Jane wanted the submission of her article to the editor of the magazine to be published in the next issue.
5. In law, an agreement between parties involved in a dispute, to abide by the decision of an arbitrator or arbitrators: The neighbors were engaged in a quarrel about the fence between their houses and approved in a written submission to accept the settlement of their argument when it was reached.
subversion (suhb VUHR zhuhn, suhb VUHR shuhn) (s) (noun), subversions (pl)
An action of trying to destroy a government or an established belief; especially, by attacking it indirectly in written material or other verbal expressions: The authorities claimed that the riots in the city were incited by the subversions of those who were accusing the mayor of planning to raise local taxes again.
succession (suhk SESH uhn) (s) (noun), successions (pl)
1. A sequence of people or things coming one after the other in time: The school children entered the school building in succession, one little group following the next one that just got off the school bus.
2. The following of one thing after another: Yesterday, the school's baseball team had five wins in succession.
3. The right to take up a position or title: In many countries there is a long history of successions to the throne to be king or queen, depending on the relationship of the members in the royal family.
4. The series of changes that create a full-fledged plant and animal community; for example, from the colonization of bare ground to the establishment of a forest: The biological succession in nature can be seen when a forest fire destroys the trees and vegetation in an area, which is then followed by new plants securing their former living conditions, followed again by more plants and animals, until life continues as it was before the fire.
5. Etymology: from Old French succession, from Latin successionem, successio, "a following after, a coming into another's place, a result"; from successus, past participle of succedere, "to come after, to go near to", from sub, "next to, after" + cedere, "to go, to move".
succision (suhk SISH uhn) (s) (noun), succisions (pl)
1. The procedure of cutting down; such as, with a machete or an ax: The succision of the large and very old tree next to where Morris lived was necessary because of the possibility of it falling onto his house if there were another severe storm.
2. A process of cutting something off: Jack decided to mow his lawn because it needed a succision to make the tall grass shorter!
suffusion (suh FYOOZ uhn) (s) (noun), suffusions (pl)
1. The act of pouring a fluid over something: The suffusion of water to saturate the plant helped it to regenerate itself after being dry for a long time.
2. The condition of being wet with a liquid: Jack spilled the milk and its suffusion spread over the surface of the table and dripped onto the floor.
3. A spreading out of a body fluid from a vessel into the surrounding tissues: Susan could see the suffusion of blood on her skin after falling down the steps and hurting her arm badly.
supervision (soo" puhr VIZH uhn) (s) (noun), supervisions (pl)
The act, process, or function of overseeing: Supervision by Mr. Johnson was absolutely necessary while the students were in one room taking their tests because he had to make sure that they didn’t copy from each other!