English Prefixes: List of Prefixes with Meanings and Examples

Learn the useful list of prefixes in English with their meanings and examples!

Table of Contents

What Is A Prefix?

English prefixes are affixes (i.e., bound morphemes that provide lexical meaning) that are added before either simple roots or complex bases (or operands) consisting of (a) a root and other affixes, (b) multiple roots, or (c) multiple roots and other affixes. Examples of these follow:

Undo (consisting of prefix un- and root do)
Untouchable (consisting of prefix un-, root touch, and suffix -able)
Non-childproof (consisting of prefix non-, root child, and root proof)
Non-childproofable (consisting of prefix non-, root child, root proof, and suffix -able)

English words may consist of multiple prefixes: anti-pseudo-classicism (containing both an anti- prefix and a pseudo- prefix).

In English, all prefixes are derivational. This contrasts with English suffixes, which may be either derivational or inflectional.

English Prefixes

English prefixes	Meanings	Examples
a-	verb > predicative adjective with progressive aspect	afloat, atremble
a-	not	acyclic, asexual, atonal, atheist
anti-	against, opposite	anti-freeze, antivirus, anticlimax, Antichrist
arch-	supreme, highest, worst	arch-rival, archangel
be-	equipped with, covered with, beset with (pejorative or facetious)	bedeviled, becalm, bedazzle, bewitch
co-	joint, with, accompanying	co-worker, coordinator, cooperation
counter-	against, in opposition to	counteract, counterpart
de-	reverse action, get rid of	de-emphasize
dis-	not, opposite of	disloyal, disagree
dis-	reverse action, get rid of	disconnect, disinformation
en-/em-	to make into, to put into, to get into	enmesh, empower
ex-	former	ex-husband, ex-boss, ex-colleague, ex-friend
fore-	before, in front	forearm, forehead, forehand, forerunner
hind-	after	hindsight, hindquarters
mal-	bad(ly)	malnourish, maladjusted
mid-	middle	midstream, midlife
midi-	medium-sized	midi-length
mini-	small	minimarket, mini-room, minivan
mis-	wrong, astray	misinformation, misguide, misfortune
out-	better, faster, longer, beyond	outreach, outcome
over-	excessive, above	overreact, overact, overbearing
post-	after, behind	post-election, post-graduation, post-war
pre-	before	prevent, previous, pre-election, pre-enter, pre-select
pro-	for, forward, in favor of	propulsion, propound, pro-life
re-	again, back	redo, revisit, rerun, reorganize
self-	self	self-sufficient, self-explanatory
step-	family relation by remarriage	stepbrother, stepmother
trans-	across, from one place to another	transatlantic, transSiberian
twi-	two	twibill, twilight
un-	not, against, opposite of	unnecessary, unequal, undesirable, unhappy
un-	reverse action, deprive of, release from	undo, untie, unexpected, unlock
under-	below, beneath, lower in grade/dignity, lesser, insufficient	underachieve, underground, underpass, underdeveloped, underrated
up-	greater, higher, or better	upgrade, uplift, upsurge
with-	against, back, away (from)	withstand, withcall
Afro-	relating to Africa	Afro-American, Afro-Caribbean
ambi-	both	ambidextrous, ambitendency
amphi-	around, two, both, on both sides	amphiaster, amphitheatre, amphibian
an-/a-	not, without	anemic, asymmetric
ana-, an-	up, against	anacardiaceous, anode
Anglo-	relating to England	Anglo-Norman, Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-American
ante-	before	antenatal, antechamber, antecedent
anti-	opposite, against	antivenom
apo-, ap-	away from, detached	aphelion, apogee, apomorphine
astro-	star	astrobiology, astrology, astronomy
auto-	self	autobiography, automatic, autonomy,
bi-	two	bicycle, biped
bio-	life, biological	biology
circum-	around, surrounding	circumnavigate
cis-	on this side of	cislunar
con-/com-/col-/cor-/co-	together or with	confederation, commingle, colleague, correlation, cohabit
contra-	opposite	contradict, contraindication
cryo-	ice	cryogenics
crypto-	hidden, secret	cryptography
de-	down	depress, descend
demi-	half	demigod
demo-	people	democracy, demography
deuter-	second	deuteragonist, deuterogamy
di-	two	dicotyledon, digamy, dioxide
dia-	through	dialysis, diameter
dis-/di-/dif-	apart	differ, dissect, divide
du-/duo-	two	dual, duet
eco-	ecological	ecosystem
electro-	electric, electricity	electro-analysis, electromagnetic
en-, el-, em-	in	ellipsis, emphasis, energetic
epi-, ep-	upon, at, close upon, in addition	ephemeron, epicentre, epidermis
Euro-	European	Eurocentric
ex-	out of	exit, expel, explode, exploit, explore, export
extra-	outside	extracurricular
Franco-	French, France	Francophile, Franco-British, Franco-German
geo-	relating to the earth or its surface	geography, geology, geometry
gyro-	spinning on an axis	gyrocopter, gyroscope, gyrosphere
hetero-	different	heterosexual
hemi-	half	hemimorphic, hemisphere
homo-	same	homogenous, homologous
hydro-	relating to water, or using water	hydroelectricity, hydrant
hyper-	above, over	hyperthermia
hypo-	under or below something, low	hypothermia
ideo-	image, idea	ideograph, ideaology
idio-	individual, personal, unique	idiolect, idiopathic
in-	in, into	insert, include
Indo-	relating to the Indian subcontinent	Indo-European
in-, il-, im-, ir-	not, opposite of	illicit, impossible, inexact, irregular
infra-	below, beneath	infrared
inter-	among, between	interact, intercede, international
intra-	inside, within	intravenous
iso-	equal	isochromatic, isotherm
macr-	long	macrobiotic
maxi-	very long, very large	maxi-skirt
mega-, megalo-	great, large	megastar, megalopolis
meta-	after, along with, beyond, among, behind	metabolism, metaphysics
micro-	small	microbacillus
mono-, mon-	sole, only	monogamy, monotone, monosyllabic
multi-, mult-	many	multicultural, multi-storey, multitude
neo-	new	neolithic, neoclassical
non-	not	nonexistent
omni-	all	omnipotent, omnipresent, omnivore
ortho-	correcting or straightening	orthodontics, orthotropic
paleo-	old	paleolithic
pan-	all, worldwide	pan-African, pandemic, panorama
para-	beside, beyond	parallel, paranormal
ped-	foot	pedal, pedestrian
per-	through, completely, wrongly, exceedingly	permeate, permute
peri-	around, near or adjacent	perihelion, periphrase
photo-	light	photoelectric, photography
pod-	foot	podiatrist
poly-	many	polygon, polyhedron
post-	after	postfix, postpone, postscript
pre-	before	predict, prepare, preview
preter-	beyond, past, more than	preternatural
pro-	for, substitute, deputy	proconsul
pro-	before	procambium
pros-	toward	prosthesis
proto-	first, original	protoplasm, prototype
pseudo-	false, imitation	pseudonym
pyro-	fire	pyrokinetic, pyrotechnic
quasi-	partly, almost, appearing to be but not really	quasi-religious
retro-	backwards	retrograde
semi-	half	semicircle
socio-	society, social, sociological	sociopath
sub-, sup-	below, under	submarine, subterranean, suburban, support
super-	above, over	supervisor, superintendent
supra-	above, over	suprarenal
sur-	above, over	surreal, surrender
syn-, sy-, syl-, sym-	together, with	syllable, symbol, synthesis, system
tele-	at a distance	telegraph, telephone, telescope, television
trans-	over, through, across	transverse
tri-	three	tricycle, tripartite
ultra-	beyond	ultramagnetic, ultrasonic, ultraviolet
uni-	one, consisting of only one	unicycle, universal
vice-	deputy	vice-president, vice-principal, vice-admiral

What Is A Prefix?

English Prefixes

Related Posts