Prefixes and Suffixes, page 69

Lesson 11 PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

Lesson 11.1 PREFIXES

Prefix
Meaning
Examples
aA also
prefix
anis placed at
not,
thewithout
beginning of aatheist,
word toanaemic
modify or change its
ato, towards meaning.aside, aback
in the process of,
a-hunting, aglow
in a particular
state

aabad-

also absalso a-, ac-,

af-, ag- al-,
an-, ap-, atas-, at-

anteanti- also antbe-

com also co-, col-,

con-, corcontracounterde-

of
completely
away, from
movement to,
change into,
addition or
increase
before, preceding
opposing, against,
the opposite
all over, all around
completely
having, covered
with
affect with (added
to nouns)
cause to be (added
to adjectives)
with, jointly,
completely
against, opposite
opposition,
opposite direction
down, away
completely

diadis-

also dialso di-

en-

also em-

ex-

also e-, ef-

extrahemihyper-

removal, reversal
through, across
negation, removal,
expulsion
put into or on
bring into the
condition of
intensification
out
upward
completely
previous
outside, beyond
half
beyond, more

Anew
Abashed
abdicate, abstract
advance, adulterate, adjunct,
ascend, affiliate, affirm,
aggravate, alleviate, annotate,
apprehend, arrive, assemble,
attend
antecedent, ante-room
anti-aircraft, antibiotic,
anticlimax, Antarctic
bespatter, beset
bewitch, bemuse
bejewelled
Befog
Becalm
combat, codriver, collude,
confide, corrode
contraceptive
counter-attack, counteract
descend, despair, depend,
deduct
Denud
e, denigrate
de-ice, decamp
Diagonal
disadvantage, dismount, disbud,
disbar
engulf, enmesh
enlighten, embitter
entangle, enrage
exit, exclude, expand
exalt, extol
excruciate, exasperate
ex-wife
extracurricular
hemisphere
hypersonic, hyperactive

hypoinalso il-, imalso il-, im-, irinfrainterintranonobalso oc-, of-,

opout-

over-

peripostpre-

pro-

resemisub- also suc-, suf-,

sug-, sup-,
sur-, sussyntrans-

also sym-

than, more than

normal
under
not, without
in, into, towards,
inside
below
between, among
inside, within
absence, negation
blocking, against,
concealing
surpassing,
exceeding
external, away
from
excessively,
completely
upper, outer, over,
above
round, about
after in time or
order
before in time,
place, order or
importance
favouring, in
support of
acting for
motion forwards or
away
before in time,
place or order
again
half, partly
at a lower position
lower in rank
nearly,
approximately
in union, acting
together
across, beyond

hypodermic, hypothermia
infertile, inappropriate,
impossible
influence, influx, imbibe
infrared, infrastructure
interact, interchange
intramural, intravenous
non-smoker, non-alcoholic
obstruct, occult, offend, oppose
outperform
outbuilding, outboard
overconfident, overburdened,
overjoyed
overcoat, overcast
perimeter
postpone
pre-adolescent, prelude,
precondition
pro-African
proconsul
propulsion
Prologue
repaint, reappraise, reawake
semicircle, semi-conscious
submarine, subsoil
sub-lieutenant
sub-tropical
synchronize, symmetry
transnational, transatlantic

into a different
state
beyond
extreme
not

ultraun-

reversal or
cancellation of
action or state
beneath, below
lower in rank
not enough

under-

Translate
ultraviolet, ultrasonic
ultramicroscopic
unacceptable, unreal, unhappy,
unmanned
unplug, unmask

underarm, undercarriage
undersecretary
underdeveloped

Lesson 11. 2 SUFFIXES

A suffix is a group of letters placed at the end of a word to make a new

word.
A suffix can make a new word in one of two ways:
1.

inflectional (grammatical): for example, changing singular to

plural (dog > dogs), or changing present tense to past tense
(walk > walked). In this case, the basic meaning of the word does
not change.

2.

derivational (the new word has a new meaning, "derived" from

the original word): for example, teach > teacher or care > careful

Prefixes and Suffixes, page 72

INFLECTIONAL

suffix

grammatical change

-s
-en
-s
-ed

plural
plural (irregular)
3rd person singular present
past tense
past participle

example
original word
dog
ox
like
work

example
suffixed word
dogs
oxen
he likes
he worked
he has worked

-en
-ing
-er
-est

past participle (irregular)

continuous/progressive
comparative
superlative

eat
sleep
big
big

he has eaten
he is sleeping
bigger
the biggest

DERIVATIONAL

suffix

making

-ation

nouns

example
original word
explore
hesitate
persuade
divide
teach
music
god
sad
arrive
diction
treat
jealous
victor
accident
imagine
tax
brother
ease
sorrow
forget
helpful
terror
private
hyphen

-sion
-er
-cian
-ess
-ness
-al
-ary
-ment
-y
-al
-ary
-able
-ly
-y
-ful

adjectives

-ly
-ize

adverbs
verbs

-ate

example
suffixed word
exploration
hesitation
persuasion
division
teacher
musician
goddess
sadness
arrival
dictionary
treatment
jealousy
victory
accidental
imaginary
taxable
brotherly
easy
sorrowful
forgetful
helpfully
terrorize
privatize
hyphenate
Prefixes and Suffixes, page 73

COMPREHENSION CHECK
I.

PREFIX. For each of the following words , select the definition that most
closely matches the meaning of the word.

1. supervise

(a) overcome
(b) overhaul

(c) oversee
(d) succeed

2. hypercritical

(a)imaginary illness
(b)harmful

(c) extremely active

(d)excessive publicity

3. malice

(a)active ill will

(b)harmful

(c)hateful
(d)long-headed hammer

4. extraneous

(a)extraordinary
(b)an outgoing person

(c)not essential
(d)costing or spending too much

5. defraud

(a)distort
(b)put of

(c)cheat
(d)disagree

II.

SUFFIX. Add a suffix to each of the following roots to form a word that fits
the definition given at the right.

1. graph-

relating to handwriting

2. amic-

tending to be friendly

3. mot-

a reason for tending to

4. sci-

the act of knowing

5. cap-

the act of seizing