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Prefixes and suffixes
1. Prefixes
A prefix is a group of letters at the beginning of a word which changes the word’s
meaning. Here is a list of the most common prefixes and examples of how those
prefixes are used.
Anglo- relating to the UK or England an Anglophile
(= someone who loves England)
ante- before or in front of antedate • antenatal •
anteroom
anti- 1 opposed to or against anti-racist laws
2 preventing or destroying an anti-aircraft missile
auto- 1 operating without being controlled by
humans autopilot (= a computer that directs an
aircraft) 2 self an autobiography (= a book that
someone writes about their own life)
bi- two bilingual (= speaking two languages) •
bimonthly (= happening twice in a month or once
every two months)
centi-, cent- hundred a centimetre • a century
co- with or together a co-author • to coexist
contra- against or opposite to contradict (= say the
opposite) • contraception (= something that is used to
prevent pregnancy)
counter- opposing or as a reaction to a counter-attack
(= an attack on someone who has attacked you)
cross- 1 across cross-border 2 including different
groups or subjects a cross-party committee (= one
formed from many political parties) • cross-cultural
cyber- involving, using or relating to computers,
especially the Internet cybercrime • cyberculture •
cyberspace
de- to take something away deforestation (= when the
trees in an area are cut down)
dis- not or the opposite of dishonest • disbelief • to
disagree
e- electronic, usually relating to the Internet email •
e-commerce. Note: ‘e-’ is usally joined onto a word
with a hyphen (as in e-commerce) but email is usually
written without a hypen
eco- relating to the environment eco-friendly tourism
(= tourism which does not damage the environment)
en- 1 used to form verbs which mean to put into or
onto something encase • encircle • endanger 2 used to
form verbs which mean to cause to be something
enable • endear • enrich
Euro- relating to Europe Europop (= modern, young
people’s music from Europe)
ex- from before an ex-boyfriend • an ex-boss
extra- outside of or in addition to extracurricular
activities (= activities that are in addition to the
usual school work)
geo- of or relating to the Earth geophysics • geology
hyper- having a lot of or too much of a quality
hyperactive • hypersensitive (= more than normally
sensitive)
ill- in a way which is bad or not suitable ill-prepared •
an ill-judged remark
in-, il-, im-, ir- not incorrect • illegal • impossible •
irregular
inter- between or among international • an
interdepartmental meeting
intra- within an intranet
kilo- a thousand a kilometre • a kilogram
mega- 1 informal extremely megarich (= extremely
rich) 2 one million 40 megabytes
micro- very small a microchip • microscopic
(= extremely small)
mid- in the middle of mid-July. • a man in his midforties
• mid-afternoon/-morning
milli- a thousandth a millisecond
mini- small a miniskirt (= very short skirt) • a
minibus
mis- not or badly mistrust • to misbehave
mono- one or single monolingual • a monologue
multi- many a multi-millionaire • a multi-storey car
park
neo- new neo-fascists
non- not or the opposite of non-alcoholic drinks • nonsmokers
omni- everywhere or everything omnipresent •
omniscient
out- more than or better than to outgrow• to
outnumber • to outdo someone (= to show that you are
better than someone)
over- too much to overeat • overpopulated
photo- connected with or produced by light
photosensitive • photosynthesis
poly- many polygamy (= having more than one
husband or wife at the same time) • a polygon
(= shape with many sides)
post- after or later than postwar • a postgraduate
pre- before or earlier than pre-tax profits •
pre-school
pro- supporting pro-democracy demonstrations
pseudo- false a pseudonym (= false name used
especially by a writer) • pseudo-academic
psycho- of the mind or mental processes psychology
quasi- partly quasi-religious ideas
re- again to remarry • a reusable container
retro- looking at or copying the past retrograde •
retrospective
self- of or by yourself or itself self-doubt • self-critical
semi- half or partly a semicircle • semi-frozen
socio- relating to society socio-economic
sub- 1 under or below subzero temperatures 2 less
important or a smaller part of a larger whole a
subsection
super- extremely or more than usual a supermodel •
super-rich
tele- over a long distance, done by telephone, or on or
for television He worked in the telecommunications
industry
thermo- relating to heat or temperature a
thermostat (= piece of equipment that controls
temperature) • a thermometer
trans- 1 across transatlantic flights 2 showing a
change to transform• to translate
tri- three a triangle • a tripod
ultra- extremely ultra-modern architecture • ultracareful
un- not or the opposite of unhappy • unfair • to
unfasten
under- 1 not enough undercooked potatoes •
underprivileged children 2 below underwear • an
underpass
-able/-ible changes a verb into an adjective
meaning ‘able to be’ avoid ➔ avoidable • admire ➔
admirable • like ➔ likeable
-age changes a verb into a noun meaning ‘the action
described by the verb or the result of that action’
marry ➔ marriage • break ➔ breakage • spill ➔
spillage
-aholic, -oholic makes a noun meaning ‘a person
who is unable to stop doing or taking something’ a
workaholic • an alcoholic
-al 1 changes a noun into an adjective meaning
‘relating to’ culture ➔ cultural • nation ➔ national •
nature ➔ natural 2 changes a verb into a noun
meaning ‘the action described by the verb’ approve
➔ approval • remove ➔ removal
-an, -ian 1 makes a noun meaning ‘a person who
does something’ historian • politician 2 makes an
adjective meaning ‘belonging somewhere’
American
-ance, -ence, -ancy, -ency makes a noun meaning
‘an action, state, or quality’ performance •
independence • preference
-ation, -ion changes a verb into a noun meaning
‘the process of the action described by the verb, or
the result of that action’ educate ➔ education •
explain ➔ explanation • connect ➔ connection
-centric makes an adjective meaning ‘having the
stated thing as your main interest’ Eurocentric
-ed makes an adjective meaning, ‘having this thing
or quality’ bearded • coloured • surprised
-ee changes a verb into a noun meaning ‘someone
that something is done to’ employ ➔ employee •
interview➔ interviewee • train ➔ trainee
-en changes an adjective into a verb meaning ‘to
become or make something become’ thick ➔ thicken
• fat ➔ fatten • soft ➔ soften
-ence, -ency See -ance
-er, -or changes a verb into a noun meaning ‘the
person or thing that does the activity’ dance ➔
dancer • employ ➔ employer • act ➔ actor • cook ➔
cooker (= a machine for cooking) • time ➔ timer
-esque makes an adjective meaning ‘like or in the
style of someone or their work’ a Dali-esque
painting • a Kafka-esque nightmare
-ful changes a noun into an adjective meaning,
‘having a particular quality’ beauty ➔ beautiful •
power ➔ powerful • use ➔ useful
-hood makes a noun meaning ‘the state of being
something and the time when someone is
something’ childhood • motherhood
-ian See -an
-ible See -able
-ical changes a noun ending in -y or -ics into an
adjective meaning ‘relating to’ history ➔ historical •
politics ➔ political
-ing makes an adjective meaning ‘making someone
feel something’ interest ➔ interesting • surprise ➔
surprising • shock ➔ shocking
-ion See -ation
-ise See -ize
-ish makes an adjective meaning 1 slightly a greyish
colour • a smallish (= quite small) house
2 typical of or similar to a childish remark
3 approximately fiftyish (= about fifty)
-ist 1 makes a noun meaning ‘a person who does a
particular activity’ artist • novelist • scientist
2 makes a noun and an adjective meaning ‘someone
with a particular set of beliefs’ communist • feminist
-ive changes a verb into an adjective meaning
‘having a particular quality or effect’ attract ➔
attractive • create ➔ creative • explode ➔ explosive
-ize, -ise changes an adjective into a verb meaning
‘to make something become’ modern ➔ modernize •
commercial ➔ commercialize
-less changes a noun into an adjective meaning
‘without’ homeless people • a meaningless statement
• a hopeless situation
-like changes a noun into an adjective meaning
‘typical of or similar to’ childlike trust • a cabbagelike
vegetable
-ly 1 changes an adjective into an adverb describing
the way that something is done She spoke slowly •
Drive safely. 2 makes an adjective and an adverb
meaning ‘happening every day, night,week, etc’
a daily newspaper • We hold the meeting weekly.
3 changes a noun into an adjective meaning ‘like
that person or thing’ mother ➔ motherly • coward ➔
cowardly
-ment changes a verb into a noun meaning ‘ the
action or process described by a verb, or its result’
develop ➔ development • disappoint ➔
disappointment
-monger makes a noun meaning ‘a person who
encourages a particular activity, especially one
which causes trouble’ a war-monger
-ness changes an adjective into a noun meaning the
quality or condition described by the adjective
sweet ➔ sweetness • happy ➔ happiness • dark ➔
darkness • ill ➔ illness
-ology makes a noun meaning ‘the study of
something’ psychology (= the study of the mind) •
sociology (= the study of society)
-or See -er
-ous changes a noun into an adjective meaning
‘having that quality’ danger ➔ dangerous • ambition
➔ ambitious
-phile makes a noun meaning ‘enjoying or liking
something’ a Francophile (= someone who loves
France) • a bibliophile (= someone who loves books)
-proof makes an adjective meaning ‘protecting
against, or not damaged by, a particular thing’ a
bullet-proof vest • a waterproof jacket
-ridden makes an adjective meaning ‘full of
something unpleasant or bad’ a guilt-ridden mother
-ship makes a noun showing involvement between
people • friendship • a relationship • partnership
-speak used to form nouns to mean the special
language used in a particular subject area or
business computerspeak • marketingspeak
-ward, -wards makes an adverb meaning ‘towards
a direction or place’ inward • forward • homeward
-wise changes a noun into an adverb meaning
‘relating to this subject’Weather-wise, the holiday
was great. • How are we doing time-wise?
-y changes a noun into an adjective meaning
‘having a lot of something (often something bad)’
noise ➔ noisy • dirt ➔ dirty • smell ➔ smelly
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2. Suffixes
A suffix is a group of letters at the end of a word which changes the word’s meaning
and often its part of speech. Here is a list of the most common suffixes and examples
of how those suffixes are used.
