The document discusses prefixes and provides examples of common prefixes used in the English language. It defines a prefix as letters added to the beginning of a word that provide clues to the word's meaning. Some examples of common prefixes and their meanings are given, such as "pre-" meaning before, "anti-" meaning against, and "un-" meaning not. The document suggests that understanding prefixes can help readers deduce the meanings of unfamiliar words.
The document discusses prefixes and provides examples of common prefixes used in the English language. It defines a prefix as letters added to the beginning of a word that provide clues to the word's meaning. Some examples of common prefixes and their meanings are given, such as "pre-" meaning before, "anti-" meaning against, and "un-" meaning not. The document suggests that understanding prefixes can help readers deduce the meanings of unfamiliar words.
The document discusses prefixes and provides examples of common prefixes used in the English language. It defines a prefix as letters added to the beginning of a word that provide clues to the word's meaning. Some examples of common prefixes and their meanings are given, such as "pre-" meaning before, "anti-" meaning against, and "un-" meaning not. The document suggests that understanding prefixes can help readers deduce the meanings of unfamiliar words.
The document discusses prefixes and provides examples of common prefixes used in the English language. It defines a prefix as letters added to the beginning of a word that provide clues to the word's meaning. Some examples of common prefixes and their meanings are given, such as "pre-" meaning before, "anti-" meaning against, and "un-" meaning not. The document suggests that understanding prefixes can help readers deduce the meanings of unfamiliar words.
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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
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."
