Prefixes are the beginning letters of a word.  They generally come from Greek or Latin languages and help to change the meaning of the word.  Here are 10 very common prefixes:

Prefix                        Meaning                                               Example

A-, An-                      not, without                                        atypical, atheist, anarchy, anemia, anathema

Anti-                          against, counter,                                antisocial, anti-Semitic, antibody, antibiotic

Pre-                            before                                                   prejudice, preview, preliminary, preserve

Re-                              again                                                    review, rewind, remember, reinvent, react

De-                             opposite, away, against                    deter, deflate, defame, detain, detach

Dis-, Dif-                   not, opposite, undo, away               distract, dismiss, differ, disrespect

Mis-                            not, wrongly, bad                              mistake, misstep, misappropriate, misspell

Para-                           alongside, not intersecting             parallel, parachute, paraphrase, paraprofessional

Tele-                           far away, distant                                television, telegraph, telephone, telepathy

Un-                             not, opposite                                       unfair, unbelievable, unreal, unapologetic


Here are 240 more:

Act-,                            do, act                                                 active, activate, react, activity, action, actuate

Acu-                            sharp                                                   accurate, acupuncture, acute, acumen

Aero-                          air                                                        aerosol, aerial, aeroplane

Agri-                           soil, earth                                           agriculture, agribusiness, agroindustry

Alter-, Altr                other                                                    alter ego, altruistic, alteration, altercation

Am-                            love                                                      amiable, amorous, amicable

Ambi-                         both                                                    ambidextrous, ambivalent, ambitious

Arch-                          chief, rule, first                                 architect, monarchy, anarchy, patriarch

Auto-                          self                                                       automatic, automobile, autocorrect, autograph

Bene-                          good, well                                          benevolent, beneficial, benefactor, benefit

Bi-                               two                                                      biannual, biped, binoculars

Bio-                             life                                                       biology, biography, biodiesel, biotechnology

Cent-                          hundred                                             century, centigrade, centimeter, centipede

Co-                              together                                             cooperate, coordinate, commander, costar, cohabitate

Contr-                        against                                                contradict, contract, contrary

Corp-                          body                                                    corporation, corps, corporal punishment

Demo-                        people                                                 democracy, demographic, demagogue

Dia-                             through, across                                 diagonal, diachronic, diagnosis, dialect, diatribe, diaphragm

Dic-, Dict-                 say, speak                                            dictate, dictionary, diction, dictator, predict, contradict

Dys-                            bad, wrongly                                      dysfunctional, dystrophy, dyslexic

Equi-                           equal, same                                        equivalent, equitable, equator, equinox, equilateral

Exter-, Extra-            outside, beyond                                external, extraordinary, exterior, extrapolate, extravagant

Fac-, Fact-, Fea-        make, do                                            feature, feasible, fact, factory, manufacture

Fid-, Fed-                    true, trust, faith                               fidelity, federal, fiduciary, confident, confidante, confide

Fin-                              end                                                      final, finish, finale, refine, define, finite

Fix-                              repair, attach                                     fix, fixate, prefix, suffix, fixture,

Flu-                              flow                                                     influence, fluctuate, fluent, fluvial, flush

Fort-                            strength                                              fort, fortitude, fortify, effort

Form-                          shape                                                   form, conform, reform, formation, format, formula

Gen-                            birth, produce                                   Genesis, genetics, eugenics, generate, generic, generous

Geo-                            earth                                                    geology, geography, geopolitical

Graph-                        write                                                    graph, telegraph, graphic, geographical, autobiography

Hetero-                       other, different                                 heterogeneous, heterosexual, heterodox

Homo-                         same                                                    homogenous, homosexual, homonym, homeopathic

Hum-                           earth, ground                                    human, exhume, humane, humus

Hydr-                           water                                                   hydraulic, hydrant, dehydrate,

Hyper-                         over, above, beyond                          hyperactive, hyperbolic, hyperkinetic, hypersensitive

Hypn-                          sleep                                                      hypnotherapy, hypnotize, hypnotic,

Infra-                           under, below                                       infrastructure, infrared, infra

Inter-                           between, among                                 international, interstate, internet, intercede, interfere

Intra-                           within, inside                                      intramural, intrauterine, intranet

Intro-                          into, toward the inside                      introduction, introspection, introvert, intro

Leg-                             law                                                          legal, legislative, legality, legitimate

Liber-                          free                                                         liberty, liberal, liberalize, liberate, deliverance

Liter-                           letter                                                      literature, literary, alliterate, literal

Loc-                             place                                                       location, locomotion, locate, local, allocate

Loqu-, Locu-             speak                                                      colloquial, loquacious, circumlocution, eloquent

Lum-, Luc-, Lus-       light                                                       illustrious, luminous, illuminate, lucent

Magn-                          great                                                      magnitude, magnify, magnate, magnanimous

Main-                           strong                                                    maintain, mainstay, mainstream, remain, main

Mal-                              bad, wrong                                           malnutrition, malignant, malformation, malfunction

Man-                            hand                                                       manipulate, maneuver, manage, manual, manufacture

Mega-                           great, big, million                               megaton, megalopolis, megaphone, megalomania

Meta-                            beyond, upon                                      metaphor, metamorphosis, metastasize, metaphysical

Mono-                          one                                                         monopoly, monocle, mononucleosis, monotonous

Morph-                         form, shape                                          morphology, amorphous, morpheme

Multi-                           many                                                      multicultural, multiply, multitude, multilingual

Nasc-, Nat-                  birth                                                       nascent, natal, natural, native, innate, pregnant

Neo-                              new                                                         neonatal, Neolithic, neoconservative, neoclassical

Omni-                           all, every                                                omniscient, omnipotent, omnibus, omnivorous

Ortho-                          straight, correct                                   orthodox, orthodontic, orthopedic

Over-                            too much, excessive                            overcompensate, overwork, overload

Paleo-                            old                                                          paleolithic, paleographic

Pan-                               all                                                           panacea, pan-African, pandemonium

Patr-                              father                                                     paternity, patron, patriarch

Path-                             feeling, suffering                                 pathology, pathetic, sympathy, telepathy

Ped-, Pod-                    foot                                                        podiatry, podium, pedestrian, centipede, pedal

Pend-                            hang                                                       appendage, pendulum, pending, pendant

Peri-                              around                                                   perimeter, periphery, periodontal

Phil-                              love                                                         philharmonic, philosophy, philanthropic

Phobia                          fear                                                         phobia, arachnophobia, homophobia, xenophobia

Phon                             sound                                                     telephone, phonetic, phonic, phoneme, symphonic

Photo-                          light                                                        photograph, photon, photovoltaic, photosynthesis

Place-                           peace, pleasure                                     placenta, complacent, placid, placebo,

Plu-                              more, many                                           plus, plural

Poli-                             people                                                    politics, police, metropolis, polite

Poly-                            many                                                      polytechnic, polygraph, polyglot, polygamy

Pos-, Pon-                  put, place                                               position, opponent, expose, depose, posit

Pop-                            people                                                     popular, population

(10+80)Port-                          carry                                                      portable, transport, import, support

Potent-                       power                                                      potent, potential, impotent, potentate

 

No Responses

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: