Affixation in English Language, Prefixes and Suffixes

Prefixes and Suffixes of English Language

Counting prefixes: quantify the root

Involvement Prefixes

Judgement Prefixes

Locative Prefixes

Measurement Prefixes

Negative Prefixes

Temporal prefixes

English Suffixes

Deriving adjectives from nouns and verbs

Prefixes and Suffixes of English Language

Counting prefixes: quantify the root

a-an: “lacking” assymetry, amoral

ambi: “both, around”: ambians, ambiguous, amphitheatre

arch: “chief, principal, high” archbishop, archduke

bi: “twice, double” bilingual, bycicle, bipolar, biennial,

di: “two” dichloride, dioxide

mono: “one” monograph, monosyllabic

multi: “many” multilingual, multifaceted

oligo: “few” oligarchy, oligotrophic

omni: “all” omnipotent, omniscient

pan: “ all, comprising or affecting all” panorama, pandemic

poly: “many” polygamy, polyangular

tri: “three” triangle, tridimensional

uni: “one” unisex, univocal

Involvement Prefixes: say somehing about the kind of involvement of the participants in the action

Anti- “opposed, instead,against” antidote, antacid

Auto- “self” automation, autobiography

Co-con- “together, jointly” cooperate, coexistance

Contra- “against, opposite” contradiction, contrary

Vice- “in place of, instead” vice-president, vice-consl

Judgement Prefixes: judgement about the root

Dis- disturb, disgruntle

Dys- “bad, badly” dyslogistic

Eu- “good, well” euphoria, evangelical

Extra- “outside the scope of” extraordinary, extraterrestrial

Mal- “ill, evil, wrong” malnutrition

Meta- “changed, transcending” metaphysics, metalanguage

Mis- “badly, wrongly” misuse, miscalculate

Pro- “on behalf of” pro-education

Proto- “first, chief” protolanguage

Pseudo- “false, deceptive, resemblance” pseudonym

Locative Prefixes: place or direction

Ab-, a-, abs- “ from, away” abnormal

Ad- “toward” admit, advance

Ana- “back” anatomy, analogy

Apo- “away, from” apology

Cata- “down, away, back, opposite” catastrophe

Circum- “around” circumcise

Counter- “against, opposite” counterfeit, counterargument

De- “away from, down” deny, depend

Dia- “across, through” diachronic

Ecto-, exo-: “external” ectoderm, exocentric

En- “in, into” enclose

Endo- “internal” endoscopy

Epi- “on, over” epiderm

Ex-, ec-: “out from, away” eccentric

In- “in, into, within” intransitive

Infra- “below, beneath, within” infrastructure

Inter- “between, among” internet

Intra-, intro- “inside” introduction

Ob- “toward, against” obfuscate

Para- “beside, along with” paramedic

Per- “through, thoroughly” performance

Peri- “around, nearby” perimeter

Pro- “in front of” proverb

Pros- “cencerning, toward” prosody

Retro- “backwards, back” retrospective

Sub- “under, below” subway

Super- “over, above” superlative

Sur- “over, beyond, above” surrealist

Syn- “with, together” syntax

Trans-, tres-, tra- “across, surpassing” transgression

Measurement Prefixes

Crypto- “secret, hidden” cryptography

Hyper- “over, to exess” hypermedia

Hypo- “under, slightly” hypoglossal

Is-, iso- “equal” isotope

Macro- “large, broad scale” macroeconomics

Micro- “tiny, small scale” microscope

Mid- “middle” midnight

Semi- “half, partly” semifinal

Ultra- “beyond, extreme” ultraviolet

Negative Prefixes

Dis- “apart, reversal, lacking” displace

In- “negative” incredible, illegible

Non- “not” nonsense

Ob- “ inverse, in the opposite directions” object

Se-, sed- “apart” seduce, seperate

Un- “not, opposite” uneven

Temporal prefixes: time and duration

Ante- “preceding” ante-Norman

Fore- “before” foreword

Neo- “new, recent” neolithic

Post- “after, behind” postpone

Pre-, pro- “before, infront of” preface

Re-, red- “anew, again, back” rehearse, regenerate

Suffixes

Deriving adjectives from nouns and verbs

-able “fit for doing, fit for being done” comfortable

-al (-ial, -ical, -ual) “having the property of” facial

-an, -ian “belonging to, resembling” reptilian

-ary “having a tendency or purpose” secondary

-ate “full of” passionate

-ese “belonging to a place” portugese

-esque “having the style of X” picturesque

-esc “become” coalesce

-ful “full of X” skillful

-iac “pertaining to the property of” maniac

-ic “having the property of” medic

-ish “to become like X” girlish

-ive “characterized by” passive

-less “without, free from” fearless

-ly “appropriate to, befitting” timely

-oid “having the shape of, resembling” humanoid

-ory “connected with, serving for” obligatory

-ose “full of, abounding in” verbose

-ous “of the nature of X” religious

-some “like, characterized by, apt to” awesome

-y “full of, characterized by” mighty

Forming abstract nouns

-asy, -acy “state or quality” ecstasy

-age “condition, state, rank, office of” coinage, postage

-ance, -ence “state, act, fact of” emergence

-ade “general noun” salad, parade, lemonade

-al “act of” local

-ation “state of being X-ed” information

-ery, -ry “collectivity” slavery

-hood “state od, condition of” fatherhood

-ia “condition of” inertia

-icity “abstract noun from – ic” felicity

-ism “doctrical system of principles” constructivism

-ity “state, quality, condition of” unity

-ment “condition of being X” garment

-ness “state, quality, condition of” innateness

-ship “state, condition of” friendship

Forming agentive nouns

-ant, -ent “one who” agent

-arian “member of sect, holding to a doctirne” authoritarian

-ast “one assiciated with X” enthusiast

-er “agent” worker, baker, teacher

-ist “one connected with, often agent” artist

-ician “one skilled in some art or science” politician

Forming verbs from roots and stems

-ate “cause X to happen” terminate

-en “to become” liken, darken

-ify “to cause to (be) X” rectify

-ize “to cause to be X” realize

Miscellaneous suffixes

-arium “locative, a place for of connected with” aquarium

-ess “feminine of X” tigress

-let “diminutive” booklet

More English Language?

Home / ELT Materials / Coursebook Reports / Learn Turkish / Comics / ELT Conferences / Private Lessons / Online Translation / Links / Link Exchange