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[EH37] prefixes and suffixes

Prefxes and sufxes

1. PrefxesA prefx is a group o letters at the beginningo a word which changes the word’s meaning.Here is a list o the most common prefxes andexamples o how those prefxes are used.

Anglo- relating to the UK or England an Anglophile (= someone who loves England)

ante- beore or in ront o antedate • antenatal anti-  1 opposed to or against anti-racist laws 

2 preventing or destroying an anti-aircrat missile auto- 1 operating without being controlled by humans

autopilot (= a computer that directs an aircrat)2 sel an autobiography (= a book that someone writesabout their own lie)

bi- two bilingual (= speaking two languages)• bimonthly (= happening twice in a month or onceevery two months)

centi-, cent- hundred a centimetre • a centuryco- with or together a co-author • to coexist contra- against or opposite to contradict (= say the

opposite) • contraception (= something that is used

to prevent pregnancy)counter- opposing or as a reaction to a counter-attack

(= an attack on someone who has attacked you)cross-  1 across cross-border   2 including dierent

groups or subjects a cross-party committee (= oneformed from many political parties) • cross-cultural 

cyber- involving, using or relating to computers,especially the Internet cybercrime • cyberculture 

de- to take something away deorestation (= when thetrees in an area are cut down)

dis- not or the opposite o dishonest • to disagreee- electronic, usually relating to the Internet email  

• e-commerce. Note: ‘e-’ is usally joined onto a wordwith a hyphen (as in e-commerce) but email is usuallywritten without a hyphen

eco- relating to the environment eco-riendly tourism(= tourism that does not damage the environment)

en-  1 used to orm verbs that mean to put into or ontosomething encase • encircle 2 used to orm verbs thatmean to cause to be something enable • endear 

Euro- relating to Europe Europop (= modern, youngpeople’s music rom Europe)

ex- rom beore an ex-boyfriend • an ex-bossextra- outside o or in addition to extracurricular  

activities (= activities that are in addition to the usual

school work)geo- o or relating to the Earth geophysics • geologyhyper- having a lot o or too much o a quality

hyperactive • hypersensitive (= more than normallysensitive)

ill- in a way that is bad or not suitable ill-prepared• an ill-judged remark

in-, il-, im-, ir- not incorrect • illegal • impossible• irregular 

inter- between or among international 

• an interdepartmental meeting intra- within an intranet kilo- a thousand a kilometre • a kilogrammega-  1 inormal extremely megarich 

(= extremely rich) 2 one million 40 megabytesmicro- very small a microchip • microscopic (= extremely small)mid- in the middle o mid-July. • a man in his

mid-forties • mid-afternoon/-morning milli- a thousandth a millisecondmini- small a miniskirt (= very short skirt) • a minibusmis- not or badly mistrust • to misbehavemono- one or single monolingual • a monologue

multi- many a multi-millionaire • a multi-storey car parkneo- new neo-ascistsnon- not, or the opposite o non-alcoholic drinks

• non-smokersomni- everywhere or everything omnipresent  

• omniscient out- more than or better than to outgrow • to outnumber 

• to outdo someone (= to show that you are better thansomeone)

over- too much to overeat • overpopulatedphoto- connected with or produced by light

 photosensitive • photosynthesispoly- many polygamy (= having more than one husband

or wife at the same time) • a polygon (= shape with a loto sides)post- ater or later than postwar • a postgraduatepre- beore or earlier than pre-tax prots • pre-school pro- supporting  pro-democracy demonstrationspseudo- alse a pseudonym (= alse name used

especially by a writer) • pseudo-academic psycho- o the mind or mental processes psychologyquasi- partly quasi-religious ideasre- again to remarry • a reusable container retro- looking at or copying the past retrograde

• retrospective

sel- o or by yoursel or itsel  self-doubt • self-critical semi- hal or partly a semicircle • semi-frozensocio- relating to society socio-economic sub-  1 under or below subzero temperatures  

2 less important or a smaller part o a larger wholea subsection

super- extremely or more than usual a supermodel • super-rich

tele- over a long distance, done by phone, or on or ortelevision the telecommunications industry

thermo- relating to heat or temperature a thermostat  (= piece o equipment that controls temperature)• a thermometer 

trans-  1 across transatlantic fights  2 showinga change to transorm • to translate

tri- three a triangle • a tripodultra- extremely ultra-modern architecture

• ultra-careful un- not or the opposite o unhappy • unfair under-  1 not enough undercooked potatoes

• underprivileged children 2 below underpass

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 3rd edition

© Cambridge University Press 2008

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2. Sufxes

A sufx is a group o letters at the end o aword which changes the word’s meaning andoten its part o speech. Here is a list o themost common sufxes and examples o howthose sufxes are used.

-able/-ible changes a verb into an adjective meaning‘able to be’ avoidV avoidable • admireV admirable

-age changes a verb into a noun meaning ‘the actiondescribed by the verb or the result o that action’ marryVmarriage • breakV breakage • spill V spillage

-aholic, -oholic makes a noun meaning ‘a personwho is unable to stop doing or taking something’a workaholic • an alcoholic 

-al 1 changes a noun into an adjective meaning ‘relatingto’ cultureV cultural • nationV national • natureV

natural   2 changes a verb into a noun meaning ‘theaction described by the verb’ approveV approval • removeV removal 

-an, -ian 1 makes a noun meaning ‘a person who doessomething’ historian • politician 2 makes an adjectivemeaning ‘belonging somewhere’ American

-ance, -ence, -ancy, -ency makes a noun meaning‘an action, state, or quality’ performance • independence

-ation, -ion changes a verb into a noun meaning ‘theprocess o the action described by the verb, or theresult o that action’ educateV education • explainV explanation • connect V connection

 -centric makes an adjective meaning ‘having thestated thing as your main interest’ Eurocentric 

-ed makes an adjective meaning, ‘having this thingor quality’ bearded • coloured • surprised

-ee changes a verb into a noun meaning ‘someone thatsomething is done to’ employV employee • interviewV interviewee • trainV trainee

-en changes an adjective into a verb meaning ‘to becomeor make something become’ thickV thicken • fat V 

 atten-ence, -ency See -ance

-er, -or  changes a verb into a noun meaning ‘the personor thing that does the activity’ danceV dancer • employV employer • act V actor • cookV cooker  (= a machine or cooking) • timeV timer 

-esque makes an adjective meaning ‘like or in the styleo someone or their work’ a Dali-esque painting 

-ul changes a noun into an adjective meaning,‘having a particular quality’ beautyV beautiul • power V  powerful • useV useul 

-hood makes a noun meaning ‘the state o beingsomething and the time when someone is something’childhood • motherhood

-ian See -an-ible See -able

-ical changes a noun ending in -y or -ics into anadjective meaning ‘relating to’ history V historical • politicsV  political 

-ing makes an adjective meaning ‘making someoneeel something’ interest V interesting • surpriseV  surprising • shockV  shocking 

-ion See -ation

-ise See -ize

-ish makes an adjective meaning 1 slightly a greyishcolour • a smallish (= quite small) house  2 typical o orsimilar to a childish remark 3 approximately ityish (= about ity)

-ist 1 makes a noun meaning ‘a person who does aparticular activity’ artist • novelist • scientist  2 makesa noun and an adjective meaning ‘someone with a

particular set o belies’ communist • feminist -ive changes a verb into an adjective meaning ‘having

a particular quality or eect’ attract V attractive• createV creative • explodeV explosive

-ize, -ise changes an adjective into a verb meaning‘to make something become’ modern ‘ modernize• commercial V commercialize

-less changes a noun into an adjective meaning ‘without’homeless people • a meaningless statement • a hopeless situation

-like changes a noun into an adjective meaning ‘typical

o or similar to’ childlike trust • a cabbage-like vegetable-ly 1 changes an adjective into an adverb describing the

way that something is done She spoke slowly• Drive safely.  2 makes an adjective and an adverbmeaning ‘happening every day, night, week etc’ a dailynewspaper • We hold the meeting weekly. 3 changesa noun into an adjective meaning ‘like that personor thing’ mother Vmotherly • cowardV cowardly

-ment changes a verb into a noun meaning ‘ the actionor process described by a verb, or its result’ developV development • disappoint V disappointment 

-monger  makes a noun meaning ‘a person who

encourages a particular activity, especially one thatcauses trouble’ a war-monger 

-ness changes an adjective into a noun meaning ‘thequality or condition described by the adjective’ sweet V sweetness • happyV happiness • darkV darkness• ill V illness

-ology makes a noun meaning ‘the study o something’ psychology (= the study of the mind) • sociology (= the study o society)

-or  See -er 

-ous changes a noun into an adjective meaning‘having that quality’ danger V dangerous• ambitionV ambitious

-phile makes a noun meaning ‘enjoying or likingsomething’ a Francophile (= someone who lovesFrance) • a bibliophile (= someone who loves books)

-proo makes an adjective meaning ‘protecting against,or not damaged by, a particular thing’ a bullet-proo vest • a waterproof jacket 

-ridden makes an adjective meaning ‘ull o somethingunpleasant or bad’ a guilt-ridden mother 

-ship makes a noun showing involvement betweenpeople friendship • a relationship • partnership

-speak used to orm nouns to mean the speciallanguage used in a particular subject area or businesscomputerspeak • marketingspeak

-ward, -wards makes an adverb meaning ‘towardsa direction or place’ inward • forward • homeward

-wise changes a noun into an adverb meaning ‘relatingto this subject’ Weather-wise, the holiday was great.

-y changes a noun into an adjective meaning ‘having alot o something, oten something bad’ noiseV noisy •dirt V dirty • smell V smelly

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 3rd edition

© Cambridge University Press 2008