When you add ‘dis-‘, ‘un-‘, ‘in-‘, im-‘, ‘ir-‘ and ‘il’ prefixes with words, the words

become opposite
meaning. List of words are showing opposite meanings are called Antonyms.

Disadvantage Advantage
Discontinue Continue
Disorder Order
Disqualified Qualified
Dissatisfied Satisfied
Illegal Legal
Illegible Legible
Imbalance Balance
Immature Mature
Immeasurable Measurable
Immobile Mobile
Immoral Moral
Immovable Movable
Impatient Patient
Impolite Polite
Improbable Probable
Inaccurate Accurate
Incomplete Complete
Inconvenient Convenient
Incredible Credible
Ineffective Effective
Inefficient Efficient
Informal Formal
Invisible Visible
Irrational Rational
Irrecoverable Recoverable
Irregular Regular
Irrelevant Relevant
Irreparable Reparable
Irreplaceable Replaceable
Unattended Attended
Unauthorized Authorized
Unavailable Available
Unavoidable Avoidable
Unconscious Conscious
Unforeseen Foreseen
Unforgivable Forgivable
Unnecessary Necessary
A lot of prefixes change the meaning of the word to the opposite meaning.

happy – unhappy,
legal – illegal,
like – dislike ,
patient – impatient,
correct – incorrect.

Usually when you add a prefix you don’t change the root word.

multi + national = multinational

in + complete = incomplete

*notice the double letters in the following words. We just add the prefix to the root
word *
dis + satisfied = dissatisfied
mis + spell = misspell
un+ necessary = unnecessary
im + mature = immature
ir + responsible = irresponsible
There are hundreds of prefixes, some of the most popular are:

in-, ir-, il-, im-, un-, dis-, pre-, ex-, anti-, uni-, bi-

Recognising and understanding prefixes will help your spelling and reading.

There are some rules which help us to know which prefix to add to which word but
like all rules there are exceptions.

* use il- before words starting with l legible – illegible, illuminate, illegal, illegible
(But – unlawful, unlearn, unless…)

*use ir- before words starting with r relevant – irrelevant, irresistible,

irresponsible, irreconcilable, irregular, irradiate (But – unreal, unrated)

*use im- before words stating with m, p and b mature – immature, immigrant,
immortal, immoral, immaterial, immaculate, perfect – imperfect, impossible,
impair, improper, impartial balance – imbalance (But we have unpack, unpick,
unpaid… unmarked, unmarried, unmask)

Common prefixes with their meanings ( some mean different things with
different words).

The four most common prefixes are un-, re-, in-, dis–
These make up 58% of all prefixes in English.
un, in, il, im, ir, dis, non – these make nouns, verbs, adjectives negative, not,
opposite.
unfair, untidy, unable, uncover, unkind, unequal, uneven, unusual
incomplete, informal, incorrect, indecent, insecure, indirect, inaccurate, inefficient,
incompetent
illegal, illegitimate, illogical, illiterate, illegible, illustrious, illuminate
immature, impatient
irregular, irrelevant, irreplaceable, irresistible, irresponsible, irrational, irreconcilable,
irreparable
dishonest, dislike, disagree, disappear, disgrace, disloyal, disobey, distrust,
disadvantage, dissatisfied
non-smoker, non-toxic

de, dis, un, re these indicate reversal of verb’s actions – reverse, back, again
defrost, debug, decrease, deport, degrade, delete, detached
disconnect, disinterested, disarm, disable
unwrap, undo, untie, unplug, undress, unpack
return, retell, regain, repaint, retry, redo, replay, reuse, regain, reword, rebuild,
remodel…

over, under, sub, mis to indicate something is wrong or bad, under, lowly
oversleep, overpopulated ( = too much, excessive)
undervalued, undercooked (= not enough)
substandard, subspecies (= not enough, lowly)
misunderstand, miscalculate, misspell, mistreat, misuse, misbehave, mistake (= bad)

hyper, mega, super, ultra, micro, mini – to indicate size very big, very small,
too much
hypermarket, hyperactive
megastore, megabyte
supermarket, supermodel
ultrasound, ultra-modern
microwave, microchip
miniskirt, minibus

mono, uni, bi, tri, multi, semi – to indicate number, frequency, shape
monorail, monologue, monologue, monopoly = (one)
universal, unisex, unicycle, unison, unique, universe = (one, same)
bilingual, bicycle, bifocals, biweekly, biannual = (two)
triangle, tripod, tricycle, trilogy, triple, trio, triplets = (three)
multinational, multicoloured/multicolored (AmE), multicultural, multivitamin,
multiplex, multimedia, multipurpose, multi-storey/multistorey (see hyphens (-)
below) = (many)
semicircle, semicolon, semiconscious, semifinal (or semi-final)= (half)

hyphens (-)
e-book or ebook, e-mail or email, multi-storey or multistorey, anticlockwise
or anti-clockwise?
Negative prefixes list
IL- is always followed by a word starting with L, but it doesn’t mean every word starting with L will use the
prefix IL-. (example: loyal – disloyal).

IM- is always followed by a word starting with M or P, but it doesn’t mean every word starting with M or P
will use the prefix IM-. (predictable – unpredictable)

IR- is always followed by a word starting with R, but it doesn’t mean every word starting with R will use the
prefix IR-. (Read – misread)
Words With 'Dis' And 'Mis' Prefixes: Matching
Use the following words:

_____ disconnect 1) to fail to understand correctly

_____ misjudge 2) to pass out of sight

_____ disappear 3) to print incorrectly

_____ mislaid 4) to judge wrongly or unfairly

_____ disagree 5) to lead in the wrong direction

_____ mislead 6) to fail to agree

_____ discover 7) to place or put down incorrectly

_____ misprint 8) to fail to satisfy the hopes or expectations of

_____ disloyal 9) to break or undo the connection of

_____ mismatch 10) not loyal or faithful

_____ displace 11) bad luck

_____ misspell 12) to move from its usual or proper place

_____ disgrace 13) to pronounce badly or incorrectly

_____ mistreat 14) to treat wrongly or badly

_____ distrust 15) to match badly or unsuitably

_____ misfortune 16) a lack of trust or confidence

_____ disappoint 17) loss of honor respect or reputation shame

_____ mispronounce 18) to be the first to find learn of or observe

_____ dishonest 19) not honest

_____ misunderstand 20) to spell incorrectly

(answer is following)
Answer Key:

9 - disconnect
4 - misjudge
2 - disappear
7 - mislaid
6 - disagree
5 - mislead
18 - discover
3 - misprint
10 - disloyal
15 - mismatch
12 - displace
20 - misspell
17 - disgrace
14 - mistreat
16 - distrust
11 - misfortune
8 - disappoint
13 - mispronounce
19 - dishonest
1 - misunderstand

List of mis- words

These are by no means comprehensive lists. Popular mis-/dis-words.

misaddress mislearn

misadvise mislocate

misalign mismanage

misapply mismanagement

misassemble mismark

misattribute mismatch

misbehave mismate

miscalculate misorder

miscatalog mispackage

mischaracterize misperceive
misconceive misperception

misconnect misprint

misconstrue misquote

misdate misrecord

misdial misremember

misevaluate misreport

misfile misshapen

misfire missort

misgovern mistime

misgrade mistitle

misidentify mistranslate

misinform mistune

misinformation mistype

mislabel misuse

List of dis- words

disability disimprisonment dissect

disadvantage disimprove disserve

disaffected disinclined disservice

disagreeable disinfect dissimilar

disallow disingenuous dissimilate

disappoint disinterest dissociation

disapprove disjoint dissuade

disband dislike distasteful

disbelieve dislocate disunify

discloak dislodge disuse

disclose disloyal

discolor dismantle
discomfort dismay

disconnect dismember

discontinue dismiss

discourage dismount

discourteous disobey

discourtesy disorder

discredit disown

disembark dispassion

disembowel dispirit

disenchanted displacement

disenfranchise displease

disenjoyment disprivileged

disfavor disproportion

disfigure disquiet

disgrace disregard

disharmonious disrobe

dishonor disrupt

disillusion dissatisfy