ENGLISH PREFIXES AND COMBINING FORMS

ENGLISH PREFIXES & COMBINING FORMS
Sample Usage	Prefix		Meaning / Effect
asocial; atypical; amoral	a-	(1)	forms adjectives with sense of without; not; un-
amass; ascend	a-	(2)	forms verbs denoting an increase; additional
ashore; afar; away; aloud	a-	(3)	forms adverbs with sense of "on, in, into, to, toward"
afresh; anew	a-	(4)	forms adverbs with a sense of redoing or renewal
abnormal; aberration	ab-		denotes being away from; deviating
adjoin; admixture	ad-		forms nouns & verbs indicating direction, tendency or addition
anticlimax; antiseptic	anti-		forms nouns & adjectives with sense of "against; opposed to"
automobile; automatic	auto-		forms nouns & adjectives with sense of "self action"
bicentennial	bi-	(1)	forms nouns with sense of "every other one"
biweekly; biannual	bi-	(2)	conveys sense of occurring twice in a certain time period
bicycle; bicameral	bi-	(3)	denotes two
biological; biodegradable	bio-		denotes life or living things
bystander; bypass	by-		conveys sense of being near, next to, by
copilot; coauthor	co-		conveys sense of "together; auxiliary"
counteract; counterbalance	counter-		conveys sense of "against; contrary; reciprocating"
dehumidify; decapitate	de-	(1)	denotes removal; separation
degrade; defame	de-	(2)	denotes negation; descent
deactivate; declassify	de-	(3)	denotes reversal
disown; dismount	dis-	(1)	denotes apart; away
disrobe; disinfect	dis-	(2)	denotes reversing
dislike; disbelief	dis-	(3)	denotes negative
enshrine; entomb; enslave	en-	(1)	forms verbs with the sense "cause to be"
entwine; encircle	en-	(2)	forms verbs with the sense "to restrict"
entrust; enliven	en-	(3)	forms transitive verbs
expatriate; exfoliate	ex-		denotes former; previous; from
extraordinary; extracurricular	extra-		denotes beyond; outside of
forehead; forecast	fore-		denotes before; in front of
gigabyte; gigahertz	giga-		denotes a billion
illiterate; illegal	il-		denotes negative; not
immoral; impossible	im-		denotes negative; not
inexpensive; inorganic	in-		denotes negative; not
interbank; intermingle	inter-	(1)	denotes between; among
interact; interlock	inter-	(2)	denotes mutually; reciprocally
intramural	intra-		denotes within
introduction; introspection	intro-		denotes inwardly
irresponsible; irreverent	ir-		denotes negative; not
malcontent; malpractice	mal-		denotes bad; wrongful; not
megabyte; megawatt	mega-	(1)	denotes units of measure that are equal to one million of the units
megapolis; megaphone	mega-	(2)	conveys a sense of being very many or much
microscope; microfilm	micro-		conveys a sense of extreme smallness
miniskirt; minibus	mini-		conveys a sense of smallness
midway; midnight	mid-		conveys a sense of being intermediate; middle
misprint; misjudgment	mis-		denotes being wrong; mistaken; not
monotone; monorail	mono-		denotes being single; one
multicolor; multimedia	multi-		denotes being more than two; multiple
nanosecond	nano-		being extremely small; one billionth
neocolonial; neoclassic	neo-		conveys a sense of being new; recent
nobody; nowhere	no-		denotes being without; not
nonactive; nonstop	non-		denotes absence; not having or not doing
outside; outcast	out-	(1)	denotes exclusion; being not included
outdo; outbid	out-	(2)	conveys a sense of surpassing; going beyond
overhang; overlap	over-	(1)	denotes being above; on top of
overcrowded; overweight	over-	(2)	conveys a sense of surpassing; too much
paraphrase	para-	(1)	denotes being beside; side by side
paranormal	para-	(2)	denotes being beyond what is normal
paramedic; paralegal	para-	(3)	conveys a sense of being subsidiary; assisting
polygon; polyglot	poly-		denotes being multiple; many
postgraduate; postscript	post-		conveys a sense of being after; later
preschool; prepayment	pre-		conveys a sense of being before; prior to
prodemocracy	pro-	(1)	conveys a sense of favoring; supporting
prologue; proactive	pro-	(2)	conveys a sense of being prior; before
redo; repay	re-		conveys a sense of repetition; doing again
retroactive; retrofit; retrograde	retro-		conveys a sense of being backward; going back
self-esteem; self-reliant	self-		without help; in and of itself (usually hyphenated)
semiannual; semicircle	semi-	(1)	denotes being half
semiconductor; semiformal	semi-	(2)	conveys a sense of being partial; somewhat
subconscious; subscript	sub-	(1)	conveys a sense of being under; below; beneath
subcommittee; subordinate	sub-	(2)	conveys a sense of being secondary
supersede; supernatural	super-	(1)	conveys a sense of being beyond; exceeding
superscript; superimpose	super-	(2)	conveys a sense of being above; over
telescope; television	tele-		conveys a sense of being far; distant
topcoat; topless	top-	(1)	conveys a sense of being covering; over
topnotch	top-	(2)	conveys a sense of being best
transcontinental; transfusion	trans-	(1)	denotes being across; through
transform; transfigure	trans-	(2)	conveys a sense of changing
triad; triangle	tri-		denotes being three; triple
ultrasound; ultraviolet	ultra-		conveys a sense of being extreme; exceeding
unfair; unseen	un-	(1)	conveys a sense of being negative; not
undo; untie	un-	(2)	conveys a sense of being opposite; denotes reversal
underdog; underpass	under-		conveys a sense of being below; lesser
uplift; upheaval	up-		denotes a lifting up; a raise; moving higher