Daily Archives: October 25, 2009
Prefix and suffix
Prefixes and suffixes are little groups of words that are added to a root word to give those words new meanings. A prefix is placed in front of a word, while a suffix is placed at the back.
The tables below show what prefixes mean and how they’re used in a word. Take note that there are many suffixes and prefixes, and the list that you see below provides just a few common ones:
Prefixes |
Meaning |
Examples |
anti- |
against |
anti-ageing, anti-social |
de- |
down, away |
degrade, derail |
dis- |
apart, not |
disconnect, dislike |
ex- |
former |
ex-teacher, ex-girlfriend |
pre- |
before |
pre-war, pre-order |
post- |
after |
post-war, post-dated |
re- |
again |
reclaim, remake |
un- |
not |
unnatural, unwanted |
semi- |
half |
semi-finals, semi-detached |
Suffixes |
Meaning |
Examples |
-able |
possible, capable |
separable, reliable |
-al |
related to |
political, economical |
-less |
without |
wireless, heartless |
-ful |
quality |
helpful, wonderful |
Take note:
Some words are tricky; they appear to have prefixes or suffixes, but they’re actually whole words!
Examples:
- return ( = give back)
- demise ( = die)
- hardly ( = very seldom)
- display ( = show)