Common Prefixes

Meaning

Example

a, ab, abs

away, from

absent, abstain

ad, a, ac, af, ag, an, ar, at, as

to, toward

adhere, annex, affix, adapt

bi, bis

two

bicycle, biped, bisect

circum

around

circumference

com, con

together, with

combination, connect

de

opposite, from, away

detract, defer, delete

dis, dif, di

apart, not

disperse, different

epi

upon, on top of

epicenter

equi

equal

equality, equitable

ex, e

out, from, forth

eject, exhale, exit

hyper

over, above

hyperactive, hypersensitive

hypo

under, beneath

hypodermic

in, en

in, into, not

inject, endure, incorrect

inter

between, among

international, intercede

mal, male

bad, ill

malpractice, malevolent

mis

wrong

mistake, misunderstand

mono

alone, single, one

monotone, monopoly

non

not

nonsense

ob

in front of, against

obvious

omni

everywhere, all

omnipresent

pre

before

predawn, preview

pro

forward

proceed, promote

re

again, back

recall, recede

retro

backward, behind, back

retroactive

se

apart

secede, secure

sub

under

subway

super

greater, beyond

supernatural, superstition

trans

across, beyond

transcend, transcontinental

un, uni (pronounced yoon, yoon-ee)

one

unilateral, unity

un (pronounced uhn)

not

unhappy, unethical

Common Core Roots

Meaning

Example

bas

low

basement

cap, capt

take, seize

capture, capable

cred

believe

credible

dict

speak

predict, dictionary

duc, duct

lead

induce, conduct

fac, fact

make, do

artifact, facsimile

graph

write

autograph, graphic

log

word, study of

dialog, biology

scrib, script

write

transcribe, subscription

spec, spect

see

specimen, aspect

tact

touch

contact, tactile

ten

hold

tenacious, retentive

therm

heat

thermostat, thermometer

ver

true

verify

Common Suffixes

Meaning

Example

-able, -ible

able to (adjective)

usable

-er, -or

one who does (noun)

competitor

-fy

to make (verb)

dignify

-ing

forms a participle

running, acting

-ism

the practice of (noun)

rationalism, Catholicism

-ist

one who practices (noun)

feminist, environmentalist

-ive

forms an adjective

creative

-ize

bring about, make (verb)

popularize

-less

without, lacking (adjective)

meaningless

-logue, -log

type of speaking or writing (noun)

prologue, dialog

-ment

act or process of (noun)

enjoyment

-ness

the condition of (noun)

aggressiveness

-ship

the art or skill of (noun)

sportsmanship

-tion

turns a verb into a noun

indication, separation

-tude

the state of (noun)

rectitude