Prefix is a letter or a group of letters that appears at the beginning of a word and changes the word’s original meaning. A suffix is a letter or a group of letters that is usually added onto the

Suffix is a letter or a group of letters that is usually added onto the end of words, to change the way a word fits into a sentence grammatically.

Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs all tend to use different suffixes, so this makes it a little easier to remember! Collectively, prefixes and suffixes are known as ‘affixes’.

👉 Prefixes

Prefix Definitions

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!

An example would be im-, this can mean ‘not’ or ‘into’.

PREFIXMEANINGEXAMPLESante- | 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 | epicentre, 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
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
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

nano- | 0. 000 000 001
milli- | 0. 001
centi- | 0. 01
kilo- | 1000
mega- | 1000 000
giga- | 1000 000 000
tera- | 1000 000 000 000

The prefix nano- is used in the metric system. The prefix denotes a factor of one billionth.

Example:

The prefix milli- is used in the metric system. It has only one use and it is to denote a factor of one thousandth.

Example:

Centi- is a unit prefix in the metric system. It denotes a factor of one hundredth.

Examples:

The prefix kilo- is a decimal unit prefix in the metric system. It denotes a multiplication of one thousand.

Examples:

The prefix mega- can be used in two ways. The first is as a unit prefix in the metric system, and it describes one million units. The second is as an add-on for words to make them present something large.

Examples for add-on:

The prefix giga- is used in the metric system to denote a factor of a billion. It is also commonly hyphenated in colloquial speech to describe something of great size.

Examples:

Examples:

epi- | Biology and medicine – meaning: up, upon, over, etc.
para- | Science and medicine – meaning: on the side of, beside, etc.
endo- | Biology and Medicine – meaning: within
eu- | Biology and chemistry – meaning: good, well
intra- | Medicine and biology – meaning: within
hemi- | Medicine and biology – meaning: half
hetero- | Biology and social science – meaning: different, other
trans- | Chemistry and astronomy – meaning: across, over, beyond, etc.
sub- | Chemistry and science – meaning: under, below, beneath, etc.
poly- | Chemistry, biology, and music theory – meaning: many, much, etc.
tetra- | Chemistry, math, and geometry – meaning: four
iso- | Chemistry – meaning: equal
di- | Chemistry – meaning: two, twice, double
mono- | Chemistry and biology – meaning: singular, alone, one
hyper- | Science and astrology – meaning: abundant, exaggerated, etc.
hypo- | Medicine and biology – meaning: under
peri- | Biology and geography – meaning: around, about, etc.

The prefix epi- is of Greek origin. It describes something that is on, upon, over, near, at before, or after something else. It is used across many sciences and disciplines, and is most common in biology and medicine,

Examples:

The prefix para- is most commonly attached to verbs, and verb phrases. It means at one side of, or on the side of, as well as meaning beside, side by side, beyond, past, or describes something defective or inactive. It is used commonly in sciences and medicine.

Examples:

Endo- is a very simple prefix, and it means within. It is commonly used in biology, medicine, and other sciences.

Examples:

The prefix eu- stems from Greek. It means something good, or well. It is commonly used in biology, medicine, and chemistry.

Examples:

The prefix intra- simply means within, and it is often associated with the prefix inter-. It is used to form compound words. The prefix intra- is also commonly used in biology and medicine.

Examples:

The prefix hemi- is a simple one, and it means half. It is most commonly used in medicine and biology.

Examples:

The prefix hetero- simply means different, or other. It’s most commonly encountered in medicine and biology, as well as sometimes in social sciences.

Examples:

The prefix trans- is originally from Latin, and it’s very versatile in its use. It means something across, over, beyond, through, or changing. It is also used in chemistry, and astronomy, to denote distance. It also refers to something on the other side of something, and is used to describe one’s gender if it doesn’t align with the biologically assigned sex.

Examples:

The prefix sub- comes from Latin and it is very simple, but versatile. It means under, below, beneath, slightly, nearly, imperfect, secondary, or subordinate. It is also commonly used in chemistry and other sciences.

Examples:

The prefix poly- means many, much, or in great number. It is very common in chemistry and biology, as well as music theory.

Examples:

Tetra- is a numeral prefix, and it means four. It is used to denote a thing that consists of four parts. It is commonly used in various sciences, especially chemistry, math, and geometry.

Examples:

The prefix iso- means equal. It is commonly used in chemistry to describe isometric compounds. It is also used in the formation of various compound words.

Examples:

The prefix di- comes from Greek, and it means two, twice, or double. It is used in the formation of various compound words. It is commonly seen in chemistry.

Examples:

The prefix mono- means something singular, alone, or simply one. It is commonly used in various sciences.

Examples:

The prefix hyper- comes from Greek. It is used to describe something that is abundant, it means over and denotes something in excess or something being exaggerated. It is used commonly in sciences to denote mass or space.

Examples:

Hypo is a very simple prefix that comes from Greek. It means under. It is commonly used in medical terms, as well as generally in sciences and various researches.

Examples:

The prefix peri- comes from Greek. It means around, about, enclosing, surrounding, or near. It is commonly used in biology and geography.

Examples:

In chemistry prefixes are used to name various compounds. These prefixes denote the number of a given element within a compound.

Prefixes:

Examples:

de- | Privation, removal, separation, etc.
inter- | In between, among, together, etc.
pro- | Affinity to something, advancing, etc.
ex- | Our of, from, without
un- | Not, opposite meaning of the original word
re- | Again, repeating, back, etc.
mis- | Mistaken, wrong, incorrect, etc.
con- | Together, joined, etc.
pre- | Before, prior to, in front of, etc.
im- | Change meaning to the negative form of the original
ad- | To, towards, joining, etc.
anti- | Against, in opposition of something, etc.
auto- | Self, same, spontaneous, etc.
pan- | All, union of branches
dia- | Through, completely, going apart, etc.
neo- | New, fresh, young, etc.
post- | Behind, after, later, etc.
ab- | Away from
bi- | Twice, two
co- | Together, jointly, mutually
en- | Confine something in a place, etc.
fore- | Before, in front, superior
retro- | Before, backwards
tele- | Distance, measuring distance
be- | To exist
an- | Without, lacking, not

The prefix de- is of Latin origin. It is used to indicate privation, removal, separation, negation, descent, reversal, or intensity. The prefix de- is also added to verbs in order for them to mean the opposite of what they originally mean.

Examples:

The prefix inter- comes from Latin. It describes something that is between, among, in the midst of, mutual, reciprocated, together, or active during an event. The prefix can be used to modify various types of words.

Examples:

Pro- is a very versatile prefix. It is used to describe an affinity for something. It can also describe priority in space and time, as well as denoting advancing, or indicating substitution. 

Examples:

The prefix ex- is simple to use, because it is most commonly hyphenated. It means out of, from, utterly, thoroughly, not, or without, and can indicate a former status or title.

Examples:

The prefix un- is simple to use because it only means not. It can be attached to all forms of words in order for them to mean the opposite of what they originally do.

Examples:

The prefix re- is originally from Latin. It means again, or describes something that is being repeated, and it can also mean back, or backwards to denote a regression.

Examples:

Mis- is a very versatile prefix, and can be applied to many different types of words. It means ill, mistaken, wrong, incorrect, and in general has a negative context.

Examples:

The prefix con- is used with nouns, adjectives, and some verbs. It means together, joined, as well as denoting a group of people, ideas, or things.

Examples:

The prefix pre- stems from Latin, and it is applied to various different words. It means before, predating, prior to, in advance of, or in front of.

Examples:

The prefix im- is a negative prefix, which means it is used to change the meaning of a word into a negative. It can be applied to many different types of words, most notably nouns and adjectives.

Examples:

The prefix ad- comes from Latin. It means towards, to, with regard to, or in relation to. It can also describe addition, or joining.

Examples:

The prefix anti- means against, opposite of, or in opposition of something. It is used to form compound words that mean the opposite of their original meaning. It is also commonly hyphenated.

Examples:

The prefix auto- means self, same, spontaneous, or self-sufficient. It is used to create compound words, and can be used on various types of words.

Examples:

The prefix pan- comes from Greek. It means all, and it implies the union of branches or groups. It is often hyphenated, and can be used to create various compound words.

Examples:

The prefix dia- stems from Greek. It means passing through, thoroughly, completely, going apart, or opposed in the moment. It is a very diverse prefix and is used in different compound words.

Examples:

The prefix neo- comes from Greek. It means new, fresh, young, or recent. It is often hyphenated, and can be used to create various compound words.

Examples:

The prefix post- comes from Latin. It means behind, after, later, subsequent to. It is used in various compound words, and it can be often hyphenated.

Examples:

The prefix ab- comes from Latin. It is a simple prefix and it means away from. It’s used commonly in with various types of words.

Examples:

The prefix bi- is very simple and it means twice, or two. It is used in various compound words.

Examples:

The prefix co- means together, jointly, or mutually, and it is used with various nouns, adjectives, or verbs. It can also be hyphenated sometimes.

Examples:

The prefix en- stems mainly from French. It means to confines something in a place, or to gather in a place, as well as to cause something or someone o be in a specific place. It is a very versatile prefix used in many different compound words.

Examples:

The prefix fore- is fairly simple, and it means before, in front, or superior. It is used with various types of words.

Examples:

The prefix retro- comes from Latin. It means before, or backwards. It is commonly used with various types of words.

Examples:

The prefix tele- means distant, or refers to a transmission over distance. It is most commonly used with nouns and adjectives.

Examples:

Be-, as a separate word, means to exist. Be- as a suffix comes from Old English, and has been used in the English language ever since. It was first used in the formation of verbs, but has since expanded in use.

Examples:

An- is another Old English prefix. It is used to shift words into a negative meaning. This means that the words usually describe something without, lacking, or just simply means not.

Examples:

Prefixes are words that don’t mean anything on their own. They only serve to change the meaning of the word they are attached to. Prefixes, because of that, are not really words.

Prefixes are attached to the start of other words.

Example:

DIS, by itself, does not mean anything. When it’s combined with another word it changes the meaning.

Some prefixed are words that have a meaning on their own, but they are short and can be attached to other words.

The prefix for is very old, and it comes from Scandinavian languages. It was adopted by the English language and has been used for ages. Usually, the prefix for is added to words when they are supposed to describe something that ends up being worse than it started.

Many words that have the prefix for are old, and are not used very commonly today.

Examples:

Other words are used in English regularly, and the prefix has been integrated into the word. In some words an E has been added between the suffix and the rest of the word. In other modern versions the prefix has remained the same

Examples:

Prefix herbicide is an American product that is manufactured in the US, and used to treat various types of grass. It is a selective herbicide and can be applied to different types of grassy terrain, as well as come crops. PREFIX is the name of manufacturer.

Prefixes by themselves are not allowed in Scrabble. This means that just putting any prefix such as post-, pre-, neo-, eb-, or others, is not allowed.

However, you can use words that are built with prefixes. Only complete words are allowed in Scrabble. This means that you can use postmodernism, instead of just modernism.

Prefixes as grammatical elements are not complete words. They cannot be any type of word except a prefix. Prefixes are used to change words and are always added to another type of words.

The only case when prefixes are complete words is when two or more words are hyphenated together. Some examples are jet-black, tar-runway, hot-blooded, and others. In this case, two full words are connected with a hyphen.

Prefix and postfix are terms used in programming and coding. They are connected to operators and operands. Each appears in a different situation, and achieves different results.

A prefix is an expression where the operator appears in the expression before the operands. This is then called a prefix expression.

A postfix appears in an expression when the operator appears in the expression after the operands. This is then called a postfix expression.

Prefix and postfix expressions are used in C++, Java, and C#.

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:

SUFFIXMEANINGEXAMPLENOUN 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
-er, -or | person or object that does a specified action | reader, creator, interpreter, inventor, collaborator, teacher
-ism | doctrine, belief | Judaism, scepticism, escapism
-ist | person or object that does a specified action | Geologist, protagonist, sexist, 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 | publicise, synthesise, hypnotise
ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES |  | 
-able, -ible | capable of being | edible, fallible, incredible, audible
-al | having the form or character of | fiscal, thermal, herbal, colonial
-esque | in a manner of or resembling | picturesque, burlesque, grotesque
-ful | notable for | handful, playful, hopeful, skilful
-ic, -ical | having the form or character of | psychological, hypocritical, methodical, nonsensical, musical
-ious, -ous | characterised 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 | characterised 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 spelled.

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).

-itis | Medicine – meaning: infection, inflammation
-pathy | Medicine – meaning: have a condition
-penia | Medicine – meaning: deficiency
-tomy/otomy | Medicine and biology – meaning: condition, procedures, etc.
-logy | Science and medicine – meaning: various branches of science
-lysis | Biology and science – meaning: decomposition, loosening, etc.
-osis | Biology – meaning: infection, condition, state, etc.
-centisis | Medicine – meaning: surgical puncture
suffixes for pain | Medicine and biology

The suffix –itis is commonly used in medicine. It describes a type of infection, condition, inflammation, or some medical diagnoses.

Examples:

The suffix -pathy comes from Greek, and is commonly used in medicine. It means to suffer from a disease, or have a condition.

Examples:

The suffix -penia is common in medicine. It means to have a deficiency of something.

Examples:

The suffixes -tomy or -otomy are often used in biology and medicine. They refer to medical conditions, diagnoses, procedures, or operations.

Examples:

The suffix –logy is commonly used in sciences, and medicine. It refers to various branches of science, or to a body of knowledge. It can also denote collection of stories and discourses.

Examples:

The suffix -lysis of common biology, various sciences, and academics in general. It refers to decomposition, loosening, breaking down, separation, or decomposition.

Examples:

-Osis is a very common suffix in biology. -Osis means to be infected with something, or means a condition, state, abnormal process, and disease.

Examples:

General surgical punctures are described with the suffix -centisis. This suffix is used to denote that a specific part of the body has been surgically punctured. It can be used with almost any body part.

Examples:

In order to describe pain through the use of a suffix you can use any medical suffix to present the condition. There is no specific suffix that denotes a type of pain. Instead, you can use a variety of suffixes to describe a specific type of condition, or pain in a specific area.

Suffix examples:

Word examples:

Names can have suffixes depending on the person’s academic honors, religious affiliation, political title, or family status.

The suffix Jr. is used after names. It means that a person is the offspring of a father with the same name. Some famous examples are Martin Luther King Jr., Cuba Gooding Jr. Sammy Davis Jr., John F. Kennedy Jr. and others.

-ism | Practice, action, principle, etc.
-ous | Form of possession
-al | Kind of, pertaining to, etc.
-ist | Specific action, specific value, doctrine, etc.
-able | Capability, susceptible of, fit for, etc.
-ic | Something has a characteristic of something else
-ion | Action, condition
-tion | Action or result of something
-ed | Past tense, adjectives from nouns or verbs, compound verbs
-ly | Repeated in intervals
-ment | Actions, results
-ness | Quality, state
-er | Specific action, job, origin, etc.
-ate | Group of people, office, institution, etc.
Pertaining to | -as, -al, -ar, -ary. -ic, -ical, -ous, and -ile

The -ism suffix comes from Ancient Greek. It is used to form action nouns from verbs. They mean some kind of practice, action, principles, doctrines, devotion, adherence, etc.

Examples:

The suffix -ous is used for adjectives. It means that something is full, or a form of possession. It also means that something has a given quality.

Examples:

The suffix -al is commonly used to make adjectives out of nouns. It means kid of, pertaining to, having a form or character of something.

Examples:

The suffix –ist is used for nouns. It means a person who performs a specific action, produces something specific, plays a specific instrument, holds a specific value, has a specific doctrine, and others.

Examples:

The suffix -able is commonly used for adjectives. I refers to someone or something that is capable of something, susceptible of, fit for, tending or given to something.

Examples:

The suffix -ic is used to create adjectives out of other words. It originally comes from Greek and Latin, and it means that something, or someone, has the characteristic of something else.

Examples:

The suffix -ion is of Latin origin. It denotes and action or condition, and it is often used to form nouns out of adjectives.

Examples:

The suffix –tion is used to form nouns. They mean an action of something, or the result of something. 

Examples:

The suffix -ed is very versatile. It can be used in three different ways: 1) to form the past tense for weak verbs, 2) to form adjectives out of nouns or verbs to describe someone or something, 3) added to nouns or verbs in order to form compound adjectives that are hyphenated.

Examples:

The suffix -ly is added to various words depending on the purpose. It can be added to adverbs to form adjectives, or to nouns in order for them to mean something that is repeated in certain intervals.

Examples:

The suffix -ness is very common and is used often. It is used on adjectives and principles, in order to create abstract nouns that denote a quality or a state.

Examples:

The suffix -er is used in many different ways, and is a common suffix in English. It can be attached to verbs in order to create an agent noun that describes a person doing a specific action. It can also be used to create nouns that describe a person’s job, location or origin, or a special characteristic.

Examples:

The suffix -ate is added often to nouns, adjective, and verbs. When it is added to nouns it denotes a group of people, an office or institution, or administrative region. When it is added to verbs it changes the verb to mean that something is caused to change. When added to adjectives it means that something is showing or full of something.

Examples:

There are multiple suffixes that mean something pertains to something else. These are: -as, -al, -ar, -ary. -ic, -ical, -ous, and -ile. Some words incorporate more than one suffix.

Examples:

What does Bank account Suffix mean?

Account numbers and card numbers are divided into sections. While the prefix denotes the bank issuing the card, the body is the account numbers, and the suffix is the account type.

The suffix is important because it lets the bank know which type of account is being used, and that way customers can’t access operations not approved for the type of account. The suffix is made up of two to three numbers.

Different numbers describe a different type of account. There are various types of accounts, and each has a unique number profile for a specific bank.

Examples:

When you are learning the different types of prefixes, it is important to remember that not every word containing these combinations is a prefix. Sometimes words have ‘combining forms’, which look very similar to prefixes but work differently!

As you know, a prefix is a letter or a group of letters that appears at the beginning of words, but it can also be removed from the base word, and the word would still be a word without it, even if the meaning changes.

For example, non- means ‘not’ or ‘without’, this is used in words such as ‘nonsense’. The word ‘sense‘ can be separated from the prefix and it would still be a word on its own, even if the meaning is different.

Combining forms are similar to prefixes, and are sometimes known as ‘chameleon prefixes’, because they act like them and appear at the beginning of words like them, BUT the combining form is intrinsic to the word, meaning it is a part of the word and cannot be removed.


They are called ‘chameleons’, because they change their spelling and physical form to suit the word they are attached to!

So, combining forms act as prefixes but are different, because the remaining letters cannot be separated to form an independent word.

PREFIXMEANINGEXAMPLECOMBINING FORMMEANINGEXAMPLEcom-, con- | with, alongside | comprise, connote | com-, con- | with, jointly | companion, comrade, community
contra- | against | contraindicate | contra- | against | contraceptive, contradict
de- | opposite | devalue | de- | down, away | descend
ex- | former | ex-husband | ex- | out | exhort
a- | not, without | amoral | a-, an- | not, without | apathy, anaemic
in- | not | inconvenient | in- | into | inebriate, indulge
homo- | same | homograph, homophone | homo- | same | homogeneous
magn- | great | magnate | magn- | great | magnificent, magnanimous, magnitude, magnify
para- | beside | paragraph, paramedic | para- | beside | paradox
sub- | under | submarine | sub- | under | substitute
trans- | across | transnational, transparent | trans- | through, across | transmit, transcend
tri- | three | triangle, tripod | tri- | three | triceps, triathlon