Let us explore on this topic:
Prefixes and Suffixes
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, in
a particular state
|
a-hunting, aglow
|
||
|
a-
|
of
|
anew
|
|
|
completely
|
abashed
|
||
|
ab-
|
also abs-
|
away, from
|
abdicate, abstract
|
|
ad-
|
also a-, ac-, af-, ag- al-, an-, ap-, at- as-, at-
|
movement to, change
into, addition or increase
|
advance, adulterate,
adjunct, ascend, affiliate, affirm, aggravate, alleviate, annotate,
apprehend, arrive, assemble, attend
|
|
ante-
|
before, preceding
|
antecedent, ante-room
|
|
|
anti-
|
also ant-
|
opposing, against, the
opposite
|
anti-aircraft,
antibiotic, anticlimax, Antarctic
|
|
be-
|
all over, all around
|
bespatter, beset
|
|
|
completely
|
bewitch, bemuse
|
||
|
having, covered with
|
bejewelled
|
||
|
affect with (added to
nouns)
|
befog
|
||
|
cause to be (added to
adjectives)
|
becalm
|
||
|
com-
|
also co-, col-, con-, cor-
|
with, jointly,
completely
|
combat, codriver,
collude, confide, corrode
|
|
contra-
|
against, opposite
|
contraceptive
|
|
|
counter-
|
opposition, opposite
direction
|
counter-attack,
counteract
|
|
|
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, removal,
expulsion
|
disadvantage,
dismount, disbud, disbar
|
|
en-
|
also em-
|
put into or on
|
engulf, enmesh
|
|
bring into the
condition of
|
enlighten, embitter
|
||
|
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 than,
more than normal
|
hypersonic,
hyperactive
|
|
|
hypo-
|
under
|
hypodermic,
hypothermia
|
|
|
in-
|
also il-, im-
|
not, without
|
infertile,
inappropriate, impossible
|
|
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
|
|
|
ob-
|
also oc-, of-, op-
|
blocking, against,
concealing
|
obstruct, occult,
offend, oppose
|
|
out-
|
surpassing, exceeding
|
outperform
|
|
|
external, away from
|
outbuilding, outboard
|
||
|
over-
|
excessively,
completely
|
overconfident,
overburdened, overjoyed
|
|
|
upper, outer, over,
above
|
overcoat, overcast
|
||
|
peri-
|
round, about
|
perimeter
|
|
|
post-
|
after in time or order
|
postpone
|
|
|
pre-
|
before in time, place,
order or importance
|
pre-adolescent,
prelude, precondition
|
|
|
pro-
|
favouring, in support
of
|
pro-African
|
|
|
acting for
|
proconsul
|
||
|
motion forwards or
away
|
propulsion
|
||
|
before in time, place
or order
|
prologue
|
||
|
re-
|
again
|
repaint, reappraise,
reawake
|
|
|
semi-
|
half, partly
|
semicircle,
semi-conscious
|
|
|
sub-
|
also suc-, suf-, sug-, sup-, sur-, sus-
|
at a lower position
|
submarine, subsoil
|
|
lower in rank
|
sub-lieutenant
|
||
|
nearly, approximately
|
sub-tropical
|
||
|
syn-
|
also sym-
|
in union, acting
together
|
synchronize, symmetry
|
|
trans-
|
across, beyond
|
transnational,
transatlantic
|
|
|
into a different state
|
translate
|
||
|
ultra-
|
beyond
|
ultraviolet,
ultrasonic
|
|
|
extreme
|
ultramicroscopic
|
||
|
un-
|
not
|
unacceptable, unreal,
unhappy, unmanned
|
|
|
reversal or
cancellation of action or state
|
unplug, unmask
|
||
|
under-
|
beneath, below
|
underarm,
undercarriage
|
|
|
lower in rank
|
undersecretary
|
||
|
not enough
|
underdeveloped
|
||
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
original word |
example
suffixed word |
|
-s
|
plural
|
dog
|
dogs
|
|
-en
|
plural (irregular)
|
ox
|
oxen
|
|
-s
|
3rd person singular
present
|
like
|
he likes
|
|
-ed
|
past tense
past participle |
work
|
he worked
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: There
are several hundred derivational suffixes. Here are some of the more common
ones:
|
suffix
|
making
|
example
original word |
example
suffixed word |
|
-ation
|
nouns
|
explore
hesitate |
exploration
hesitation |
|
-sion
|
persuade
divide |
persuasion
division |
|
|
-er
|
teach
|
teacher
|
|
|
-cian
|
music
|
musician
|
|
|
-ess
|
god
|
goddess
|
|
|
-ness
|
sad
|
sadness
|
|
|
-al
|
arrive
|
arrival
|
|
|
-ary
|
diction
|
dictionary
|
|
|
-ment
|
treat
|
treatment
|
|
|
-y
|
jealous
victor |
jealousy
victory |
|
|
-al
|
adjectives
|
accident
|
accidental
|
|
-ary
|
imagine
|
imaginary
|
|
|
-able
|
tax
|
taxable
|
|
|
-ly
|
brother
|
brotherly
|
|
|
-y
|
ease
|
easy
|
|
|
-ful
|
sorrow
forget |
sorrowful
forgetful |
|
|
-ly
|
adverbs
|
helpful
|
helpfully
|
|
-ize
|
verbs
|
terror
private |
terrorize
privatize |
|
-ate
|
hyphen
|
hyphenate
|
