Language & Styleguide: Hyphens and Compound Words
Hyphenated words:
| all-inclusive study (but: overall design) | 45-fold (but: tenfold) |
| two-and-a-half | full-length mirror (but: the mirror was full length) |
| middle-class voters (but: midlife crisis) | snail-like (but: catlike) |
| faculty-specific marketing initiatives | research-intensive university |
| age-friendly communities | resource-based economy |
| knowledge-based economy | high-tech facility |
| institutional awareness-building efforts | student-centred environment |
| first-place standing | value-added university |
| thought-provoking reply | self-reliant boy |
| six-year-old boy | state-of-the-art laboratories |
| two-thirds majority | up-to-date |
| black-and-white print | re-examine, pre-empt |
| co-op, Career and Co-operative Education Services | co-author, co-editor, co-pilot, co-chair, co-recipient, co-defendant, co-conspirator |
| pro-choice, pro-life | world-class centre of excellence |
| toxin-free materials | short-term |
| long-term | well-known author |
| ill-fitting garment | best-loved cousin |
| little-understood book | least-desirable accommodation |
Example: Lakehead offers on-campus and off-campus courses. or: Lakehead offers on- and off-campus courses.
Example: The curriculum focuses on treaty and non-treaty legal interpretations.
Example: The Finance Department is planning for the short- and long-term success of the institution.
Example: The labs are open to full- and part-time students.
Example: We are prepared to cooperate with you.
Example: I will coordinate this project.
Open Compounds (No Hyphens):
| under way | newly hired employee |
| decision making, decision maker | problem solving |
| video conference, video conferencing | home page |
An adverb (words ending in “ly”) followed by a participle or adjective is open and requires no hyphens
Examples: environmentally friendly, poorly attired man, highly developed, wholly involved, utterly dejected, ardently pursued
Closed Compounds:
| anteroom | macroeconomics |
| anticlerical | micromethod |
| binomial | midtown but: Mid-Atlantic and mid-nineteenth century) |
| bioecology, bioenergy, biorefining, biomaterials, biomolecular, bioeconomy | minibus |
| geoarchaeology | multidisciplinary, multipurpose |
| counterclockwise | overlong |
| database | overeager |
| coordinate | overarching |
| cooperate (but: Career and Co-operative Education Services) | postdoctoral, postgraduate |
| email (not e-mail) | postsecondary |
| extrafine | wellbeing |
| fundraising, fundraiser | workstation |
| infrastructure | website, webserver |
| interrelated, interdisciplinary |
Numbers that need hyphens:
Lakehead raised $13 million for scholarships and bursaries. (In this case, $13 million is a noun and does not need the hyphen.)
The University’s $13-million capital campaign ended in May. (Here, $13-million is an adjective that modifies capital campaign and needs a hyphen.)