Prefixes
A prefix is placed at the beginning of a word to modify or change its meaning. This is a list of the most
common prefixes in English, together with their basic meaning and some examples. You can find more
detail or precision for each prefix in any good dictionary. The origins of words are extremely
complicated. You should use this list as a guide only, to help you understand possible meanings. But be
very careful, because often what appears to be a prefix is not a prefix at all. Note also that this list does
not include elements like "auto-" or " bio-", because these are "combining forms", not prefixes.
Prefix Meaning Examples
a- also an- not, without atheist, anaemic
to, towards aside, aback
a-
in the process of, in a
a-hunting, aglow
particular state
of anew
a-
completely abashed
ab- also abs- away, from abdicate, abstract
also a-, ac-, af-, advance, adulterate, adjunct, ascend, affiliate,
movement to, change
ad- ag- al-, an-, ap-, affirm, aggravate, alleviate, annotate, apprehend,
into, addition or increase
at- as-, at- arrive, assemble, attend
ante- before, preceding antecedent, ante-room
opposing, against, the
anti- also ant- anti-aircraft, antibiotic, anticlimax, Antarctic
opposite
all over, all around bespatter, beset
completely bewitch, bemuse
having, covered with bejewelled
be-
affect with (added to
befog
nouns)
cause to be (added to
becalm
adjectives)
also co-, col-,
com- with, jointly, completely combat, codriver, collude, confide, corrode
con-, cor-
contra- against, opposite contraceptive
counter- opposition, opposite counter-attack, counteract
direction
down, away descend, despair, depend, deduct
de- completely denude, denigrate
removal, reversal de-ice, decamp
dia- also di- through, across diagonal
negation, removal,
dis- also di- disadvantage, dismount, disbud, disbar
expulsion
put into or on engulf, enmesh
bring into the condition
en- also em- enlighten, embitter
of
intensification entangle, enrage
out exit, exclude, expand
upward exalt, extol
ex- also e-, ef-
completely excruciate, exasperate
previous ex-wife
extra- outside, beyond extracurricular
hemi- half hemisphere
beyond, more than, more
hyper- hypersonic, hyperactive
than normal
hypo- under hypodermic, hypothermia
also il-, im- not, without infertile, inappropriate, impossible
in-
also il-, im-, ir- in, into, towards, inside influence, influx, imbibe
infra- below infrared, infrastructure
inter- between, among interact, interchange
intra- inside, within intramural, intravenous
non- absence, negation non-smoker, non-alcoholic
blocking, against,
ob- also oc-, of-, op- obstruct, occult, offend, oppose
concealing
surpassing, exceeding outperform
out-
external, away from outbuilding, outboard
excessively, completely overconfident, overburdened, overjoyed
over-
upper, outer, over, above overcoat, overcast
peri- round, about perimeter
post- after in time or order postpone
before in time, place,
pre- pre-adolescent, prelude, precondition
order or importance
favouring, in support of pro-African
acting for proconsul
pro-
motion forwards or away propulsion
before in time, place or
prologue
order
re- again repaint, reappraise, reawake
semi- half, partly semicircle, semi-conscious
at a lower position submarine, subsoil
also suc-, suf-,
sub- sug-, sup-, sur-, lower in rank sub-lieutenant
sus-
nearly, approximately sub-tropical
syn- also sym- in union, acting together synchronize, symmetry
across, beyond transnational, transatlantic
trans-
into a different state translate
beyond ultraviolet, ultrasonic
ultra-
extreme ultramicroscopic
not unacceptable, unreal, unhappy, unmanned
un-
reversal or cancellation
unplug, unmask
of action or state
under- beneath, below underarm, undercarriage
lower in rank undersecretary
not enough underdeveloped
Suffixes
A suffix is a group of letters placed at the end of a word to make a new word. A suffix can make a new
word in one of two ways:
inflectional (grammatical): for example, changing singular to plural (dog > dogs), or changing present
tense to past tense (walk > walked). In this case, the basic meaning of the word does not change.
derivational (the new word has a new meaning, "derived" from the original word): for example, teach >
teacher or care > careful
Inflectional suffixes
Inflectional suffixes do not change the meaning of the original word. So in "Every day I walk to school"
and "Yesterday I walked to school", the words walk and walked have the same basic meaning. In "I have
one car" and "I have two cars", the basic meaning of the words car and cars is exactly the same. In these
cases, the suffix is added simply for grammatical "correctness". Look at these examples:
example example
suffix grammatical change
original word suffixed word
-s plural dog dogs
-en plural (irregular) ox oxen
-s 3rd person singular present like he likes
past tense he worked
-ed work
past participle he has worked
-en past participle (irregular) eat he has eaten
-ing continuous/progressive sleep he is sleeping
-er comparative big bigger
-est superlative big the biggest
Derivational suffixes
With derivational suffixes, the new word has a new meaning, and is usually a different part of speech.
But the new meaning is related to the old meaning - it is "derived" from the old meaning.
We can add more than one suffix, as in this example:
derive (verb) + tion = derivation (noun) + al = derivational (adjective)
There are several hundred derivational suffixes. Here are some of the more common ones:
example example
suffix making
original word suffixed word
explore exploration
-ation
hesitate hesitation
persuade Persuasion
-sion
divide division
-er teach Teacher
-cian music Musician
-ess god Goddess
nouns
-ness sad Sadness
-al arrive Arrival
-ary diction Dictionary
-ment treat Treatment
jealous jealousy
-y
victor victory
-al adjectives accident Accidental
-ary imagine imaginary
-able tax taxable
-ly brother brotherly
-y ease easy
sorrow sorrowful
-ful
forget forgetful
-ly adverbs helpful helpfully
terror terrorize
-ize
private privatize
verbs
-ate hyphen hyphenate
