Prefix and Suffix
A prefix: is a letter or a group of letters that attaches to the beginning of a word and helps to indicate or
modify its meaning. An easy example would be the word ‘prefix’ itself! It begins with the prefix pre-, which
means ‘before’.
It is quite important to understand what different prefixes mean as they can help to understand the
meanings of any new vocabulary that you learn. However, you do need to be careful, as sometimes a
prefix can have more than one meaning!
Here is a list of the most common prefixes:
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLES
ante- before antenatal, anteroom, antedate
anti- against, opposing antibiotic, antidepressant, antidote
circum- around circumstance, circumvent, circumnavigate
co- with co-worker, co-pilot, co-operation
de- off, down, away from devalue, defrost, derail, demotivate
dis- opposite of, not disagree, disappear, disintegrate, disapprove
em-, en- cause to, put into embrace, encode, embed, enclose, engulf
epi- upon, close to, after epicenter, episcope, epidermis
ex- former, out of ex-president, ex-boyfriend, exterminate
extra- beyond, more than extracurricular, extraordinary, extra-terrestrial
fore- before forecast, forehead, foresee, foreword, foremost
homo- same homosexual, homonuclear, homoplastic
hyper- over, above hyperactive, hyperventilate
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLES
il-, im-, in-, ir- not impossible, illegal, irresponsible, indefinite
im-, in- into insert, import, inside
infra- beneath, below infrastructure, infrared, infrasonic, infraspecific
inter-, intra- between interact, intermediate, intergalactic, intranet
macro- large macroeconomics, macromolecule
micro- small microscope, microbiology, microfilm, microwave
mid- middle midfielder, midway, midsummer
mis- wrongly misinterpret, misfire, mistake, misunderstand
mono- one, singular monotone, monobrow, monolithic
non- not, without nonsense, nonentity, nondescript
omni- all, every omnibus, omnivore, omnipotent
para- beside parachute, paramedic, paradox
post- after post-mortem, postpone, post-natal
pre- before prefix, predetermine, pre-intermediate
re- again return, rediscover, reiterate, reunite
semi- half semicircle, semi-final, semiconscious
sub- under submerge, submarine, sub-category, subtitle
super- above, over superfood, superstar, supernatural, superimpose
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLES
therm- heat thermometer, thermostat, thermodynamic
trans- across, beyond transport, transnational, transatlantic
tri- three triangle, tripod, tricycle
un- not unfinished, unfriendly, undone, unknown
uni- one unicycle, universal, unilateral, unanimous
Suffixes
A suffix is a letter or a group of letters that is usually attached to the end of a word to form a new word, as
well as alter the way it functions grammatically.
Depending on whether it is a noun, verb, adjective or adverb, a different suffix would be required. For
example, the verb read can be altered to become the noun reader by adding the suffix -er. The same verb
can also be turned into the adjective readable by adding the suffix –able.
It is just as important to understand the definitions of suffixes as prefixes, because they too help us to
deduce the meanings of any new words that we learn. I have listed some of the most common suffixes
below:
SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE
NOUN
SUFFIXES
-acy state or quality democracy, accuracy, lunacy
-al the action or process of remedial, denial, trial, criminal
-ance, -ence state or quality of nuisance, ambience, tolerance
-dom place or state of being freedom, stardom, boredom
SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE
-er, -or person or object that does a reader, creator, interpreter, inventor,
specified action collaborator, teacher
-ism doctrine, belief Judaism, skepticism, escapism
-ist person or object that does a Geologist, protagonist, sexist,
specified action scientist, theorist, communist
-ity, -ty quality of extremity, validity, enormity
-ment condition enchantment, argument
-ness state of being heaviness, highness, sickness
-ship position held friendship, hardship, internship
-sion, -tion state of being position, promotion, cohesion
VERB SUFFIXES
-ate become mediate, collaborate, create
-en become sharpen, strengthen, loosen
-ify, -fy make or become justify, simplify, magnify, satisfy
-ise, -ize become publicize, synthesize, hypnotize
ADJECTIVE
SUFFIXES
-able, -ible capable of being edible, fallible, incredible, audible
-al having the form or character fiscal, thermal, herbal, colonial
of
SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE
-esque in a manner of or picturesque, burlesque, grotesque
resembling
-ful notable for handful, playful, hopeful, skilful
-ic, -ical having the form or character psychological, hypocritical,
of methodical, nonsensical, musical
-ious, -ous characterized by pious, jealous, religious, ridiculous
-ish having the quality of squeamish, sheepish, childish
-ive having the nature of inquisitive, informative, attentive
-less without meaningless, hopeless, homeless
-y characterized by dainty, beauty, airy, jealousy
ADVERB
SUFFIXES
-ly related to or quality softly, slowly, happily, crazily, madly
-ward, -wards direction towards, afterwards, backwards,
inward
-wise in relation to otherwise, likewise, clockwise
So as you can see, affixes can dramatically change the definitions of words. Knowing the various prefixes
and suffixes along with their meanings can really help you to understand how words are used, and also
how they should be spelt.
Although these groups of letters (affixes) are important and assist with forming words, they are not words
in their own right and cannot stand alone in a sentence.
If they are printed or written alone, then they should have a hyphen before or after them to demonstrate
that they are to be attached to other letters to form words (the way I have listed them in the above tables).
