Prefixes and Roots

Prefixes that mean “to,” “with,” “between,” or “among”

Prefix

Meaning

Examples

ad, ac, af, an, ap, as, at

to, toward

adapt—to fit into,

adhere—to stick to

attract—to draw near

com, con, co, col

with, together

contact—to touch together combine—to bring together collect—to bring together coworker—one who works together with another worker

in, il, ir, im

into

inject—to put into impose—to force into illustrate—to put into example

irritate—to put into discomfort

inter

between, among

international—among nations

 interact—to act among the people

pro

forward, going ahead

proceed—to go forward promote—to move forward

Prefixes that mean “bad”

mal

wrong, bad

malady—illness malevolent—evil malfunction—poorly functioning

mis

wrong, badly

mistreat—to treat badly mistake—to get wrong

Prefixes that mean “away from,” “not,” or “against”

ab

away from

absent—not present, away

abscond—to run away

anti

against

antifreeze—a substance used to prevent freezing antisocial—someone who is not social

de, dis

away from, down, the opposite of, apart, not

depart—to go away from decline—to turn down

dislike—not to like dishonest—not honest distant—apart

ex, e, ef

out, from

exit—to go out

eject—to throw out

efface—to rub out, erase

in, il, ir, im

not

inactive—not active impossible—not possible

illiterate—not literate irreversible—not reversible

non

not

nonsense—no sense nonstop—having no stops

ob

against, in front of

obstacle—something that stands in the way of

obstinate—inflexible

un

not

unhelpful—not helpful uninterested—not interested

Prefixes that denote distance

circum

around

circumscribe—to write or inscribe in a circle circumspect—very careful

equ, equi

equal, the same

equalize—to make equal

equitable—fair, equal

post

after

postpone—to do after postmortem—after death

pre

before

preview—a viewing that goes before another viewing prehistorical—before written history

trans

across

transcontinental—across the continent transit—act of going across

re

back, again

retell—to tell again recall—to call back, to remember

sub

under

subordinate—under something else subconscious—under the conscious

super

over, above

superimpose—to put something over something else superstar—a star greater than other stars

un, uni

one

unity—oneness unanimous—sharing one view unidirectional—having one direction

Root

Meaning

Examples

cap, capt, cept, ceive

to take, to hold

captive—one who is held

capable—to be able to take hold of things concept—an idea or thought held in mind receive—to take

cred

to believe

credible—believable credit—belief, trust

curr, curs, cours

to run

current—now in progress, running cursor—a moveable indicator

recourse—running for help

dic, dict

to say

indicate—to say by demonstrating diction—verbal saying

duc, duct

to lead

induce—to lead to action

aqueduct—a pipe or waterway that leads water

fac, fic, fect, fy

to make, to do

facile—easy to do fiction—something that has been made up satisfy—to make happy or to fulfill

affect—to make a change in

jec, ject

to throw

project—to put forward trajectory—a path of an object that has been thrown

mit, mis

to send

admit—to send in missile—something that gets sent through the air

pon, pos

to place

transpose—to place across

compose—to put into place many parts deposit—to place in something

scrib, script

to write

describe—to write or tell about

scripture—a written tablet

spec, spic

to look

specimen—an example to look at

 inspect—to look over

ten, tain

to hold

maintain—to hold up or keep

retentive—holding

ven, vent

to come

advent—a coming convene—to come together