Prefixes in English 3

What is a prefix?

A prefix (affix) is a word, or letter(s) placed at the beginning of another word (a base word) to adjust or qualify its usage or meaning. The opposite of prefix is suffix.

List of English Prefixes

Prefix	General Meaning	Example
a(n)-	not , without	atonality , asexuality , amoral , anarchy
ab-	away	abduction , absolutism , ablution
ac-
acr(o)-	high, up	Acropolis
aden(o)-
aer(o)-	air	aeronautics , aerodrome , aeroplane , aerodynamics
agr(o)-	relating to farming	agriculture
an-
an(a)-	out of	anachronism
an(o)-
andr-	man	androgyny , androcentrism , android , androgen
anem-
Anglo-	English or British	Anglo-Irish relations, anglophile
ante-	before	antebellum
anthrop(o)-	relating to human beings	anthropology , anthropocentrism , anthropomorphic
ant(i)-	against	antidote , antibody , anticlockwise
aut(o)-	self	autonomy , autobiography , automobile , autopilot
bar(o)-	atmosphere
bathy-	deep	Bathyscape , Bathysphere
be-	completely, thoroughly; excessively; on; around; about; used to form transitive verbs
bi-	two	bicycle , bijection , bilingual , bicameralism , bisexuality
bi(o)-	life	biology , biography , biosphere , biotechnology
bibli(o)-	relating to books	bibliophilia , bibliography
blast(o)-
brady-	slow	bradycardia
brom(o)-
bronch(o)-	relating to breathing	bronchitis
cac(o)-
cardi(o)-	heart	cardiovascular
cent-, centi -	hundred or hundredth	centenary, centimeter, centipede
cephal(o)-
chrom(o)-, chromat(o)-
chron(o)-	time	chronology, chronograph
circum-	around	circumcision, circumnavigation, circumlocution, circumference
cion(o)-
co-	together	cooperative, cohabit
colpo-
com-, con-, col-, cor-	with, together	conference , connotation , context , Congress , congregation
contr(a)-, contr(o)	against, opposite	contradiction , contraception , controversy
cosm(o)-		cosmology , cosmopolitan , cosmotheism
counter-	against, opposite	counterpoint , counterweight , Counter-Reformation
crin(o)-
cry(o)-	frost , icy cold	cryogenics , cryoelectronics , cryostorage
crypt(o)-	hidden	cryptography , cryptozoology
cyt(o)-	hollow, receptacle, cell	cytoplasm , cytology
dactyl(o)-
de-	taking something away, the opposite	decentralisation , deforestation , dehydration
dec(a)-, dek(a)-	ten	decamerous
deci -	one tenth	deciliter
dem(o)-	people, nation	demographics , democracy
derm(o)-, derm(a)-, dermat-	skin	dermatology , dermatitis
di-	two , double
didact(o)-	apt at teaching
dynam(o)-	power , force	dynamic , dynamite , dynamo
dis-	reverse , opposite	dissent , discovery , disambiguation
dox(o)-	Doxology
dys-	bad, deformed, abnormal	dyspepsia , dystrophy , dysarthria
eco-	house	economy , ecology , ecosystem , ecotourism , ecotage
ecto(s)-	outside	ectoskeleton
edaph(o)-
electr(o)-	electricity	electrocution
embry(o)-	full
encephal(o)-	brain	encephalitis
end(o)-, ent(o)-
enne(a)-	nine	enneastyle
enter(o)-
eo-	dawn, early	eobacterium
ep(i)-, eph-	above	epitaxy
erg(o)-		ergonomics
erythr(o)-
erot(o)-
stom(o)-, stomat(o)-
ethn(o)-		ethnology , ethnolinguistics , ethnocentrism
eu-	good	eulogy , euthanasia , eugenics , euphemism
ex-	former	ex-wife, ex-president
ex(o)-	outside	exoskeleton
extra-	very, more than usual, outside, beyond	extra-thin, extra-special extraordinary, extraterrestrial
flor(i)-	relating to flowers	florist
fore-	before, in advance	foreskin , foreshadowing
gyn-	female	gynaecology , gynoid
hemi-	half	hemimetabolous
hex(a)-	six	hexapod
hyper-	excessive, (least to greatest in order: hypo, sub, super, hyper)	hyperactive , hyperthyroidism
hyp(o)-	below, (least to greatest in order: hypo, sub, super, hyper)	hypodermic
in-	extremely	inflammable , invaluable
in-, il-, im-, ir-	not	infallibility , illiteracy , immoral , irrelevant
inter-	between, from one to another	intervention , international
intra-	within, interior	intramural, intravenous
kilo -	thousand	kilogram , kilowatt
mal-	bad, badly	malpractice , malnutrition
maxi-	most, very, large	maxi-dress
mega -, megal-	million , very large	megabyte , megaphone
meta-	after, beyond	metacarpal , metaphysics
micro -	one millionth, very small	microgram , microorganism , micronation
mid-	in the middle of	mid-term elections , Mid-Autumn Festival , Mid-Atlantic Ridge
milli -	thousandth	milligram , milliliter
mini-	small	miniskirt , miniscule
mis-	bad , wrong	miscarriage , misanthropy , misogyny
mon(o)-	one , single	monolith , monorail , monotony , monocle
multi-	many	multiculturalism , multilingual
non-	not	nonsense, non-denial denial
non-	nine	none, nonagon
oct(o)-, oct(a)-	eight	octane , octopod , octagon
oo- (" oo -oh")	egg, ovum	oocyte
out-	more, to  a  greater degree	to outdo, to outrun
over-	more than normal, too much	overpopulation , over-consumption
pent(a)-	five	pentagon
post-	after	Post-Fordism , postpartum depression , postmodernity , postmodernism
pre-	before	prediction , preview , precedent , prenatal care
pro-	for, in favour of	pro-choice, pro-life, promotion
quadr-, quart-	four	quadrangle , quadruplet , quartic , quartile
quin(que)-	five , into five parts	quinquesection
quint(i)-	fifth , five	quintiped
re-	again, repeatedly	reduction , reflection , revolution
rect(i)-	proper, straight	rectify, rectangle
scler(o)-	hard	scleroderma atherosclerosis
semi-	half	semi-automatic , semi-detached
sept(a)-	seven	heptachord
sex(i)-	six	sexivalent
Sino-	Chinese	Sino-American relations
spasm(o)-
sperm(o)-, spermat(o)-
spher(o)-
sphygm(o)-	pulso	sphygmomanometer
splen(o)-
splanchn(o)-
schiz(o)-, schist(o)-	split	schizophrenia , schistocyte
staphyl(o)-
styl(o)-	pillar
sub-	below, less than, under,(least to greatest in order: hypo, sub, super, hyper)	subset , subsonic , subway , subtitles
super-	extremely, more than, (least to greatest in order: hypo, sub, super, hyper)	superhuman , Superego , supersonic
syn-	along with, together, at the same time	synergy , synchronicity
tach(y)-, tach(o)-	fast, speed	tachycardia , tachometer
tel(e)-, tel(o)-	far, over  a  long distance	telecommunications , television , telephoto lens , telodynamic
tel(o)-, tel(e)-	end, complete, mature	teloblast
trans-	across, beyond	transfer , transubstantiation , transatlantic , Trans-Siberian railway
tri-	three	triangle , tricolor , triptych
ultra-	extremely, beyond  a  certain limit	Ultramontanism , ultraviolet
un-	not, opposite, take something away	unconstitutional , undelete
uni-	one , single	uniform , unification
ur-	first, original	urtext
zoo- (" zoo -oh")	relating to animals	zoomorphic , zoology