-ville

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

-ville, suffix. 

1. -ville is used in place names, where it means "city, town'':
   Charlottesville.
2. -ville is also attached to roots or words to form informal words, not all of them long-lasting, that characterize a condition, place, person, group, or situation:
   dulls + -ville (= a dull, boring situation);
   gloomsville
   .

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

-ville, 

1. a combining form extracted from place names ending in -ville, used in the coinage of informal nonce words, usu. pejorative, that characterize a place, person, group, or situation (
   dullsville;
   disasterville;
   Mediaville
   ) or that name a condition (
   embarrassmentville; gloomsville
   ).

• French ville city; see bidonville
• ultimately

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

-ville combining_form:in_noun_and_adjective

1. (denoting) a place, condition, or quality with a character as specified: dragsville, squaresville