Tuesday, December 11, 2012

prefix/suffix


Prefix
A prefix is a group of letters placed before the root of a word. For example, the word "unhappy" consists of the prefix "un-" [which means "not"] combined with the root (stem) word "happy"; the word "unhappy" means "not happy."

A Short List of Prefixes:

PREFIX
MEANING
EXAMPLES
de-
from, down, away reverse, opposite
decode, decrease
dis-
not, opposite, reverse, away
disagree, disappear
ex-
out of, away from, lacking, former
exhale, explosion
il-
not
illegal, illogical
im-
not, without
impossible, improper
in-
not, without
inaction, invisible
mis-
bad, wrong
mislead, misplace
non-
not
nonfiction, nonsense
pre-
before
prefix, prehistory
pro-
for, forward, before
proactive, profess, program
re-
again, back
react, reappear
un-
against, not, opposite
undo, unequal, unusual
 
 
 

 

 

                                                                 Suffix
A suffix is a group of letters placed after the root of a word. For example, the word flavorless consists of the root word "flavor" combined with the suffix "-less" [which means "without"]; the word "flavorless" means "having no flavor."

                                                    A Short List of Suffixes:

SUFFIX
MEANING
EXAMPLES
-able
able to, having the quality of
comfortable, portable
-al
relating to
annual, comical
-er
comparative
bigger, stronger
-est
superlative
strongest, tiniest
-ful
full of
beautiful, grateful
-ible
forming an adjective
reversible, terrible
-ily
forming an adverb
eerily, happily, lazily
-ing
denoting an action, a material, or a gerund
acting, showing
-less
without, not affected by
friendless, tireless
-ly
forming an adjective
clearly, hourly
-ness
denoting a state or condition
kindness, wilderness
-y
full of, denoting a condition, or a diminutive
glory, messy, victory,

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