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A prefix is a letter or a group of letters attached to the beginning of

a word (or word root) that partly indicates its meaning. For example, the
word prefix itself begins with the prefix pre-, which generally means "before"
or "in front of."

Many of today's English words contain prefixes from Greek or Latin.


Understanding the meanings of the most common prefixes can help us
deduce the meanings of new words that we run across in our reading.

Still, we do need to be careful: the same prefix may be spelled in more than
one way (pre- and pro-, for instance), and some prefixes (such as in-) have
more than one meaning (in this case, "not" and "into"). Even so, being able
to recognize prefixes can help us build our vocabularies.

The following table defines and illustrates 35 common prefixes.

COMMON PREFIXES

Prefix Meaning Examples


a-, an- without, lack of, amoral, acellular, abyss, achromatic,
not anhydrous
ante- before, earlier, in antecedent, antedate, antemeridian, anterior
front of
anti- against, opposite anticlimax. antiaircraft, antiseptic, antibody
of
auto- self, same autopilot, autobiography, automobile,
autofocus
circum- around, about circumvent, circumnavigate, circumscribe
co- with, together copilot, coworker, coexist, coauthor
com-, con- together, with companion, commingle, contact, concentrate
contra-, against, opposite contradict, contrast, contrary, controversy
contro-
de- down, off, away devalue, deactivate, debug, degrade, deduce
from
dis- not, apart, away disappear, disagreeable, disbar, dissect
en- put into, cover enclose, entangle, enslave, encase
with
ex- out of, from, extract, exhale, excavate, ex-president
former
extra- beyond, outside, extracurricular, extramarital, extravagant
more than
hetero- different, other heterosexual, heterodox, heterogeneous
homo-, same, alike homonym, homophone, homeostasis,
homeo- homosexual
hyper- over, more, hyperactive, hypersensitive, hypercritical
beyond
il-, im-, in-, not, without illegal, immoral, inconsiderate, irresponsible
ir-
in- in, into insert, inspection, infiltrate
inter- between, among intersect, interstellar, intervene,
interpenetrate
intra-, within, inside intravenous, intragalactic, introvert
intro-
macro- large, prominent macroeconomics, macrostructure, macrocosm
micro- very small microscope, microcosm, microbe
mono- one, single, alone monocle, monologue, monogamy, monotony
non- not, without nonentity, nonaggressive,
nonessential, nonfiction
omni- all, every omniscient, omnivorous, omniscient,
omnidirectional
post- after, behind postmortem, posterior, postscript,
postoperative
pre-, pro- before, forward precede, predict, project, prologue
sub- under, lower submarine, subsidiary, substandard
sym-, syn- same time, symmetry, symposium, synchronize, synapse
together
trans- across, beyond, transmit, transaction, translation, transfer
through
tri- three, every third tricycle, trimester, triangle, triathlon
un- not, lacking, unfinished, unskilled, ungraceful, unfriendly
opposite of
uni- one, single unicorn, unicellular, unicycle, unilateral
Suffix

A suffix is a group of letters placed after the root of a word. For example, the word
flavorless consists of the root word "flavor" combined with the suffix "-less" [which means
"without"]; the word "flavorless" means "having no flavor."
A Short List of Suffixes:

SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLES


-able able to, having the quality of comfortable, portable
-al relating to annual, comical
-er comparative bigger, stronger
-est superlative strongest, tiniest
-ful full of beautiful, grateful
-ible forming an adjective reversible, terrible
-ily forming an adverb eerily, happily, lazily
-ing denoting an action, a material, or a gerund acting, showing
-less without, not affected by friendless, tireless
-ly forming an adjective clearly, hourly
-ness denoting a state or condition kindness, wilderness
-y full of, denoting a condition, or a diminutive glory, messy, victory,
Fill in the Prefixes and Suffixes #1

Bank of Prefixes Bank of Suffixes


dis- im- re- -able -ful -ly
il- pre- un- -al -ion -y

Use the bank of prefixes and suffixes to complete each word. There may be more than
one answer for some words.

Prefix - Root Word - Prefix - Root Word -


Suffix Suffix

____cover____ ____predict____
____like____ ____proper____
____agree____ ____success____
____logic____ ____comfort____
____order____ ____equal____
____expected____ ____construct____
____act____ ____reason____
____luck____ ____honor____
____trust____ ____usual____
____connect____ ____new____
Fill in the Prefixes #2
Bank of Prefixes:

de- ex- in- non- pro- un-


dis- im- mis- pre- re- uni-

Use the bank of prefixes to complete each word. There may be more than one answer for
some words.

____ honest ____ well ____ behave


____ agree ____ kind ____ trust
____ tidy ____ obey ____ please
___ possible ____ appear ____ connect
____ pair ____ allow ____ friendly
____ wind ____ serve ____ chief
____ duce ____ pert ____ corn
____ hale ____ proper ____ ject
____ certain ____ lead ____ pel
____ fect ____ vise ____ fess
PREFIX

prefix meaning examples

a- also an- not, without atheist, anaemic

a- to, towards aside, aback

in the process of, a-hunting, aglow


in a particular
state

a- of anew

completely abashed

ab- also abs- away, from abdicate, abstract

ad- also a-, ac-, movement to, advance, adulterate,


af-, ag- al-, change into, adjunct, ascend, affiliate,
an-, ap-, at- addition or affirm, aggravate,
as-, at- increase alleviate, annotate,
apprehend, arrive,
assemble, attend

ante- before, preceding antecedent, ante-room


prefix meaning examples

anti- also ant- opposing, anti-aircraft, antibiotic,


against, the anticlimax, Antarctic
opposite

be- all over, all bespatter, beset


around

completely bewitch, bemuse

having, covered bejewelled


with

affect with befog


(added to nouns)

cause to be becalm
(added to
adjectives)

com- also co-, col- with, jointly, combat, codriver, collude,


, con-, cor- completely confide, corrode

contra- against, opposite contraceptive


prefix meaning examples

counter- opposition, counter-attack, counteract


opposite
direction

de- down, away descend, despair, depend,


deduct

completely denude, denigrate

removal, reversal de-ice, decamp

dia- also di- through, across diagonal

dis- also di- negation, disadvantage, dismount,


removal, disbud, disbar
expulsion

en- also em- put into or on engulf, enmesh

bring into the enlighten, embitter


condition of

intensification entangle, enrage


prefix meaning examples

ex- also e-, ef- out exit, exclude, expand

upward exalt, extol

completely excruciate, exasperate

previous ex-wife

extra- outside, beyond extracurricular

hemi- half hemisphere

hyper- beyond, more hypersonic, hyperactive


than, more than
normal

hypo- under hypodermic, hypothermia

in- also il-, im- not, without infertile, inappropriate,


impossible
prefix meaning examples

also il-, im-, in, into, towards, influence, influx, imbibe


ir- inside

infra- below infrared, infrastructure

inter- between, among interact, interchange

intra- inside, within intramural, intravenous

non- absence, non-smoker, non-alcoholic


negation

ob- also oc-, of-, blocking, obstruct, occult, offend,


op- against, oppose
concealing

out- surpassing, outperform


exceeding

external, away outbuilding, outboard


from

over- excessively, overconfident,


completely overburdened, overjoyed
prefix meaning examples

upper, outer, overcoat, overcast


over, above

peri- round, about perimeter

post- after in time or postpone


order

pre- before in time, pre-adolescent, prelude,


place, order or precondition
importance

pro- favouring, in pro-African


support of

acting for proconsul

motion forwards propulsion


or away

before in time, prologue


place or order
prefix meaning examples

re- again repaint, reappraise,


reawake

semi- half, partly semicircle, semi-conscious

sub- also suc-, at a lower submarine, subsoil


suf-, sug-, position
sup-, sur-,
sus-

lower in rank sub-lieutenant

nearly, sub-tropical
approximately

syn- also sym- in union, acting synchronize, symmetry


together

trans- across, beyond transnational, transatlantic

into a different translate


state

ultra- beyond ultraviolet, ultrasonic


prefix meaning examples

extreme ultramicroscopic

un- not unacceptable, unreal,


unhappy, unmanned

reversal or unplug, unmask


cancellation of
action or state

under- beneath, below underarm, undercarriage

lower in rank undersecretary

not enough underdeveloped


COMMON SUFFIXES IN ENGLISH

Noun Suffixes
Suffix Meaning Example
-acy state or quality privacy, fallacy, delicacy
-al act or process of refusal, recital, rebuttal
-ance, - state or quality of maintenance, eminence, assurance
ence
-dom place or state of freedom, kingdom, boredom
being
-er, -or one who trainer, protector, narrator
-ism doctrine, belief communism, narcissism, scepticism
-ist one who chemist, narcissist, plagiarist
-ity, -ty quality of inactivity, veracity, parity, serenity
-ment condition of argument, endorsement, punishment
-ness state of being heaviness, sadness, rudeness, testiness
-ship position held fellowship, ownership, kinship,
internship
-sion, -tion state of being concession, transition, abbreviation

Verb Suffixes
-ate become regulate, eradicate, enunciate, repudiate
-en become enlighten, awaken, strengthen
-ify, -fy make or become terrify, satisfy, rectify, exemplify
-ize, -ise* become civilize, humanize, socialize, valorize

Adjective Suffixes
-able, -ible capable of being edible, presentable, abominable, credible
-al pertaining to regional, grammatical, emotional, coastal
-esque reminiscent of picturesque, statuesque, burlesque
-ful notable for fanciful, resentful, woeful, doubtful
-ic, -ical pertaining to musical, mythic, domestic, chiastic
-ious, -ous characterized by nutritious, portentous, studious
-ish having the quality of fiendish, childish, snobbish
-ive having the nature of creative, punitive, divisive, decisive
-less without endless, ageless, lawless, effortless
-y characterized by sleazy, hasty, greasy, nerdy, smelly

* "Many verbs that end in -ize can also end in -ise (such
as finalize/finalise or realize/realise); both endings are acceptable, although
-ise is more common in British English."

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