prefix

Prefix& Suffix

Prefixes

A prefix is a set of letters that is added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. Each prefix
has a general meaning, so you will be able to understand what a word with a prefix means more
easily.

Let's look at an example.

friendly unfriendly

The first man looks very friendly! I think it would be nice to spend time with him.

The second man looks unfriendly. I don't think it would be much fun to spend time with him!

We can see in the second sentence that we added the prefix "un-" to the word "friendly." This prefix
"un-" means "not" or "the opposite of."

Here are more examples with the prefix "un-":
happy ----> unhappy
finished ----> unfinished
believable ----> unbelievable
acceptable ----> unacceptable

These words are all adjectives. We can also use the prefix "un-" with verbs.

Look at these examples:
do ----> undo
plug in ----> unplug

When you see a word that begins with the prefix "un-", you can know its meaning by looking at the
word's root (the part that is not the prefix or the suffix). It might be a word you already know!

But, be careful! Be sure you've seen the whole prefix before you decide the word's meaning.

Look at the word below:

underdeveloped
Let's try to find the prefix. Is it "un-" as in underdeveloped? No, that doesn't sound right!

We know the word "develop," which means "to grow bigger or become more advanced." This is the
root of our word!

So, the prefix must be under, which means "below," "lower," or "not enough." The
word underdeveloped means "not developed enough."

The table below has some common prefixes, their meaning, and an example word.

Prefix Meaning Example word
dis- not, opposite of disagree
in-, im- not incorrect, impossible
mis- incorrectly misunderstand

re- again redo (do again)

un- not uninteresting

under- below, lower, not enough underwater

Suffixes

A suffix is a set of letters that is added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. Each suffix
has a general meaning, so you will be able to understand what a word with a suffix means more
easily.

Let's look at an example.

love lovable

The couple is getting married because they love each other very much.
That teddy bear is so cute and lovable!

We can see in the second sentence that we added the suffix "-able" to the word "love." This suffix "-
able" means "capable of being" or "able to be."
So, the word lovable means something is able to be loved, or it makes you feel love for it.

Here are more examples with the suffix "-able" or "-ible" (depending on the root word):
present ----> presentable
comfort ----> comfortable
depend ----> dependable
reach ----> reachable

"-able" is an example of an adjective suffix. Any time you see a word ending in "-able", it is
an adjective.

Some suffixes are noun suffixes. They always make a noun. For example, "-ment" talks about an
"action" or a "process":

enjoy ----> enjoyment

treat ----> treatment

govern ----> government

Do you remember the word underdeveloped that we look at a moment ago? The root of this word is
"develop."

development

The root is the same, but we have used the noun suffix ment, so this is the process or action of
developing.

The table below has some common adjective suffixes, their meaning, and an example word.

Suffix Meaning Example word
-able, -ible able to be terrible
-ful full of beautiful
-less not having, without toothless

And here are some noun suffixes, their meaning, and an example word.

Suffix Meaning Example word
-dom place or state of being freedom
-er a person who does worker
-ment action or process payment
-ness state of being happiness