Prefixes
A prefix goes at the beginning of a word. A suffix goes at the end of a
word.
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
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, adjunct,
af-, ag- al-, change into, ascend, affiliate, affirm,
an-, ap-, at- addition or aggravate, alleviate,
as-, at- increase annotate, apprehend, arrive,
assemble, attend
ante- before, preceding antecedent, ante-room
anti- also ant- opposing, against, anti-aircraft, antibiotic,
the opposite anticlimax, Antarctic
be- all over, all bespatter, beset
around
completely bewitch, bemuse
having, covered bejewelled
with
affect with (added befog
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
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
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
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, negation non-smoker, non-alcoholic
ob- also oc-, of-, blocking, against, obstruct, occult, offend,
op- concealing oppose
out- surpassing, outperform
exceeding
external, away outbuilding, outboard
from
over- excessively, overconfident, overburdened,
completely overjoyed
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
re- again repaint, reappraise, reawake
semi- half, partly semicircle, semi-conscious
sub- also suc-, at a lower position submarine, subsoil
suf-, sug-,
sup-, sur-, lower in rank sub-lieutenant
sus-
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
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
Suffixes
A suffix goes at the end of a word. A prefix goes at the beginning.
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:
1. 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.
2. 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:
suffix grammatical change example example
original word suffixed word
-s plural dog dogs
-en plural (irregular) ox oxen
-s 3rd person singular present like he likes
-ed past tense work he worked
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:
suffix making example example
original word suffixed word
-ation nouns explore exploration
hesitate hesitation
-sion persuade persuasion
divide division
-er teach teacher
-cian music musician
-ess god goddess
-ness sad sadness
-al arrive arrival
-ary diction dictionary
-ment treat treatment
-y jealous jealousy
victor victory
-al adjectives accident accidental
-ary imagine imaginary
-able tax taxable
-ly brother brotherly
-y ease easy
-ful sorrow sorrowful
forget forgetful
-ly adverbs helpful helpfully
-ize verbs terror terrorize
private privatize
-ate hyphen hyphenate
