English Grammar
PREFIXES
The meaning of commonly-used prefixes in English.
A prefix is a group of letters added to the beginning of a word to form a new word
with a different meaning.
(By contrast, a group of letters attached to the end of a word is called a 'suffix'.)
It is important to know the meaning of each prefix in order to understand the meaning of the new word.
For example, the prefix 'semi' added to 'circle' forms a new word:
semicircle (= half a circle)
Note: There is no absolute rule concerning the use of hyphens.
Here are some examples of commonly-used prefixes, with their meaning.
PREFIXES IN ENGLISH |
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| ante- (before) | anti- (against) | auto- (self, same) | de- (down, reverse) |
| antecedent antechamber antenatal antepenultimate |
antibiotic anticoagulant anti-pollution antiseptic |
autobiography autofocus autograph autoimmune |
deactivate decompress degrade devalue |
| dis- (opposite of) | extra- (beyond) | hyper- (extreme) | il-, im-, in-, ir- (not) |
| disagree disappear dishonest dislike |
extracurricular extrajudicial extra-terrestriel extraordinary |
hyperactive hypermarket hypertension hyperventilate |
illegal immoral incomplete irrelevant |
| inter-(between, among) | intra-, intro-(within, inside) | macro- (large) | mega- (very big) |
| intercultural intermingle international interstate |
intracerebral intramuscular introspection introvert |
macrobiotic macrocosm macroeconomics macroorganism |
megabyte megaphone megapixel megawatt |
| micro- (very small) | mini- (small/short) | mis- (incorrect) | mono- (one, alone) |
| micro-biology microchip microscope microwave |
minibar minibus minischool miniskirt |
miscalculate misinterpret mispronounce misspell |
monochrome monogram monologue monotheist |
| multi- (many) | omni- (all, every) | over- (too much) | out- (go beyond) |
| multimillionaire multinational multistorey multitask |
omnibus omnipotent omnipresent omnivore |
overburden overcharge overcrowded overrated |
outdated outgrow outrun outweigh |
| poly- (many) | post- (after) | pre- (before) | pro- (in favour of) |
| polygamy polygon polyglot polyphonic |
postgraduate postmortem postnatal postscript |
preheat prepack prepay preview |
pro-communist pro-government pro-life pro-nuclear |
| semi- (half) | sub- (below) | super- (above) | trans- (across, through) |
| semi-annual semicircle semi-conscious semi-detached |
subcontract submarine subtitle substandard |
superintendent superstar supernatural superimpose |
transalpine transatlantic transgenetic transplanetary |
| un-(not, opposite of) | under- (less than) | uni- (one, single) | up (higher, better) |
| unable unhappy unimportant untidy |
underage underestimate underground understatement |
unicycle uniformity unilateral universal |
update upgrade uphill upmarket |