Prefixes

 
A prefix is a letter or a group of letters (word part) attached to the beginning of a word that partly
indicates its meaning. For example, the word prefix itself begins with a prefix--pre-, which
generally means "before."

Understanding the meanings of the common prefixes can help us deduce the meanings of new
words that we encounter. But be careful: some prefixes (such as in-) have more than one
meaning (in this example, "not" and "into").

Prefixes are generally set solid with the rest of the word. Hyphens appear only when the word
attached begins with (1) a capital letter, as with anti-Stalin, or (2) the same vowel as the prefix
ends in, as with: anti-inflationary, de-escalate, micro-organism. Yet in well-established cases of
this type, the hyphen becomes optional, as with cooperate."
There are a few rules:
• We use il instead of in with words that begin with l:
il + legal = illegal
• We use im instead of in with words that begin with m or p:
 im + polite – impolite
o Impossible

o Implausible

o Imperfect

But there are certain p words whose opposite is prefixed with un, such as:
o Unpolluted
o Unpolished
o Unplugged

• We often use ir instead of in with words that begin with r:

 ir + responsible = irresponsible.

• Note that many words with a prefix have a base part that never exists on its own. Here
are examples: immediate, incontrovertible, uncalled-for
Prefix Meaning Example

a-, an- without Amoral, atonic,

ante- before Antecedent,

anti- Against, opposite Antibody, anti theft device, anticlockwise

auto- self Autopilot, automobile

circum- around Circumvent, circumference

cent hundredth Centimeter,

co- Together, with Copilot, cooperate, cohabitat

com-, con- With, togeather companion, contact, conference

contra-, contro against Contradiction, controversy

de- off, take something away Devalue, dehydrate

from

dis- Not, reverse , opposite Disappear, dissatishfied, disconnect, dislike

en- put into Enclose,

Ex (exo or ecto), out of, outside, former extract, exoskeleton, ectoskeleton, ex-
e- president, exwife, extra -thin

extra- beyond, more than Extracurricular, extraordinary

fore Before, in advance Foretell, forefinger

hetero- different heterosexual

homo- same Homonym, homophone

hyper- over, more, excessive Hyperactive, hypertension

hypo Sub, below Hypodermic,hypoallergic

il-, im-, in-, ir- not, without illegal, immoral, inconsiderate, irresponsible

in- extremely Invaluable, inflammatory

inter- Between,from one to Intersect, international, interstate

another

intra- Within, interior intravenous

kilo thousand Kilogram, kilometer

macro- large macroeconomics

mal Bad, badly Malpractice, maltreatment

mega Million, very large Megasale, megabyte

micro-, mini small Microscope, miniskirt

mid In the middle of Midnight, midterm

milli thousandth Milligram, millimeter

mis Bad, wrong Misconduct, misbehave, mishandle

mono- One, single Monolith, monotonous,

multi many Multicolour,

non- not, without Nonoily, nonsense

omni- all, every omniscient

out More or to a greater Outrun, outnumber

 degree

over More than normal or too Over populous, overflow, overwork

much

post- after Postmortem, post-test, postgraduate

pre- before, forward, precede, preview, prearrangement

pro for or in favour of promotion,

Quadr / quart Four Quadrangle, quartile

sub- Under, inferior Submarine, subset, subway, substandard

super Greatest in order Superman, superhero

syn- Along with, together or at Synchronize, synergy

the same time

trans- Across, beyond Transmit, transport,

tri- three Tricycle, triangle, tricolour

un- Not, opposite or take Unfinished, undo, unfold, unlock, unhappy

something away

uni- one unicorn

under Not enough, too little Undercook, under estimate

zoo
Zoology, zoomorphic
related to animals

Negative Prefix List:

(with Explanations & Examples) 
Negative Prefix List: Usages

1. De-
 De- is almost always used before a verb, or a word formed from that verb, and means to reverse
the verb’s action, as in dehydrate, deregulate, or detoxify. (It has other meanings in addition to
making a verb negative. For example, it means 'down' in decline, decrease, and depression.)

Examples: deactivate, decode, decomission, decompose, deconstruct, decontaminate, decrease, deflate,

deform, demythologize, derail, Debug, defrost, devalue.)

2. Dis- can be used with verbs, nouns, adjectives or adverbs. It also has other meanings besides making
words negative.

Examples: disaffected, disability, disagree, disagreement, disagreeable, disbelief, disfigure, dishonorable,

disinfect, disinherit, disintegrate, disloyal, displeased, disproportionate, distasteful, distrust.

(Tasteful refers to something that shows good taste or judgment. Things which are pleasant to the taste
buds are ‘tasty.’ Distasteful refers to tasks that are unpleasant. Foods that lack flavor are tasteless. A
lack of good taste in aesthetics can also be called tasteless.)

3. In- (or, for better sound, il-, im-, or ir-)

In non, un are usually used for nouns, adjectives, or the adverbs formed from them (though un- is also
used for verbs.) They all mean not __

In- often changes to  'il-' before l; 'im-' before b, m, or p; and 'ir-' before r. These changes make it easier
to pronounce.

Non-  usually means not, but also may mean lack of something. 

Un- is the most common negative prefix in English. If in doubt, it's the best one to try.

Examples: illegal, illegible, illiterate, illogical, imbalance, immature, immaturity, impatient, imperfect,

impossible, imprecise, inability, inaccessible, inaccurate, inadequate, inappropriate, incapable,
incoherent, incompatible, incomplete, inconceivable, inconsistent, incredible, indefinite, indiscretion,
inevitable, infinite, inflexible, insecure, insignificant, instability, insubordination, insufficient, invalid,
invariably, invisible, involuntary, irrational, irregular, irrelevant, irreparable, irresistible, irresponsible,
irreversible, etc.

Exceptions in which ‘in-‘ does not negate, but intensifies: Inflammable has the same meaning as
flammable-- something that burns easily. Their opposite is nonflammable. The same is true for habitable
and inhabitable (the negative is uninhabitable). Valuable and invaluable also are synonyms— except that
invaluable is even stronger. It means something is priceless: so valuable that a person would not want to
give it up for any amount of money.

4. Mis-

Mis- (often from Old English, or in some words from French) is used with verbs (and adjectives and
adverbs made from them), as well as nouns. It means bad, wrong, or wrongly.

Examples: misconduct, misdemeanor, misdiagnose (to diagnose wrongly,, misinform, misinterpret,

mislead, misleading, misplace, misspell, mistake, mistaken, mistrust, misunderstand.

Note that a misdiagnosed disease is diagnosed incorrectly, as compared to an undiagnosed disease,

which has not been diagnosed at all. Similarly, a misinformed person has been given wrong information,
while an uninformed person simply does not know much about a subject.

5. Non-

Examples: nonconformist, nonentity, nonexistent, nonintervention, nonmetallic, nonpartisan,

nonresident, nonrestrictive, nonsense, nonstop, etc.

Some words can be negated either with non- or with another negative. In those cases non- has a more
neutral connotation. For example, nonstandard means not according to the usual standard, but
substandard is below the standard: not good. Nonreligious means not religious, but irreligious means
more actively opposed to religion.

6. Un-

Examples: unable, unacknowledged, unaffected (not affected at all; disaffected means affected

badly), unafraid, unaided, unaltered, unambiguous, unanticipated, unapproachable, unassigned,
unattainable, unavailable, unaware, unceasing, uncertain, unclear, unconventional, uncooperative,
uncoordinated, unenforced, unexposed, unfocused, unfriendly (in this case -ly isn’t for an adverb;
friendly & unfriendly are adjectives), unhelpful, uninformed, unknown, unmodified, unnatural,
unpleasant, unpredictable, unprofessional, unrealistic, unrefined, unresolved, unrestricted,
unscheduled,  unstable, untouched, unwilling, unwise, etc.

7.Note that sometimes one prefix is used for an adjective, and different ones are used for related nouns
or verbs.

Examples:

unable, inability, (to) disable;

unbalanced, imbalance, (to) unbalance;

unstable, instability, (to) destabilize.

SUFFIX
A suffix is a letter or a group of letters attached to the end of a word to form a new word
or to alter the grammatical function of the original word. For example, the verb read can
be made into the noun reader by adding the suffix -er; read can be made into the
adjective readable by adding the suffix -able.

Understanding the meanings of the common suffixes can help us deduce the meanings
of new words that we encounter.

Noun Suffixes

Suffix Meaning Example

-acy state or quality Privacy, delicacy, adequacy

-al act or process of Refusal, renewal

-ance, -ence state or quality of maintenance, patience

-dom place or state of being freedom, kingdom, stardom

-er, -or one who trainer, protector

-ism doctrine, belief Hinduism,

-ist one who Chemist, dentist

-ity, -ty quality of Ability, poverty

-ment condition of Argument, basement

-ness state of being Heaviness, readiness

-ship position held Friendship, fellowship

-sion, -tion state of being permission, transition

Verb Suffixes
-ate become eradicate

-en become Enlighten, golden(noun)

-ify, -fy make or become terrify

-ize, -ise become Civilize, minimize,

Adjective Suffixes

-able, -ible capable of being edible, presentable

-al pertaining to regional

-esque reminiscent of picturesque

-ful notable for Handful, beautiful

-ic, -ical pertaining to musical, mythic

-ious, -ous characterized by nutritious, protenious

-ish having the quality of Greenish,

-ive having the nature of Creative, defective

-less without Endless, harmless

-y characterized by Crazy, salty