Prefixes vs Suffixes ? What are they?

Prefixes:

As per the dictionary, "pre" means previous to or before. So, prefixes are a group of letters placed before the original/root word.

Examples and meanings:

Unhappy: un (prefix) means not. happy (root word, adjective). unhappy means not happy.

Reappear: re (prefix) means again or back. appear (root word, verb). reappear means to appear again.

Suffixes:

Suffixes are a group of letters placed After/onto the end of the original/root word.

Examples and meanings:

• devalue: value (root word, noun). de- (prefix) changes the noun to a verb with the opposite meaning. de- only means reverse, away, opposite
• Stronger: Strong (root word, adjective). -er (suffix) changes the adjective to a comparative meaning between 2 people or things. "He is strong, but his brother is stronger than him."
• Acting: Act  (root word, verb). - ing (suffix) changes the verb to a noun/action. "She was not good at acting, so she changed her career to Engineering."

Below you can find many examples on prefixes and suffixes. With these examples, you will know the difference between them and how they affect the stem/original/main word.

Below is the most important prefixes:

Prefix	Meaning	Examples
ante-	before	antenatal, anteroom, antedate
anti-	against, opposing	antibiotic, antidepressant, antidote
circum-	around	circumvent, circumnavigate
co-	with	co-worker, co-pilot, co-operation
de-	from, down, away, reverse, opposite	decode, decrease, devalue
dis-	not, opposite	disagree, disappear
em-, en-	cause to, put into	embrace, encode, embed, enclose, engulf
ex-	out of, away from, lacking, former	exhale, explosion, ex-boyfriend
extra-	beyond, more than	extracurricular, extraordinary
fore-	before	forecast, forehead, foresee, foremost
homo-	same	homosexual, homonuclear, homoplastic
hyper-	over, above	hyperactive, hyperventilate
il-, im-, in-, ir-	not	illegal, impossible, indefinite, irresponsible
im-, in-	into	insert, import, inside
infra-	beneath, below	infrastructure, infrared, infrasonic
inter-, intra-	between	interact, intermediate, intranet
macro-	large	macroeconomics, macromolecule
micro-	small	microscope, microbiology, microfilm, microwave
mid-	middle	midfielder, midway, midsummer
mis-	bad, wrong	mislead, misplace, misinterpret
mono-	one, singular	monotone, monobrow, monolithic
non-	not	nonfiction, nonsense
omni-	all, every	omnibus, omnivore, omnipotent
para-	beside	parachute, paramedic, paradox
post-	after	post-mortem, postpone, post-natal
pre-	before	prefix, prehistory
pro-	forward, before	progress,proactive
re-	again, back	reply, react
semi-	half	semicircle, semi-final, semiconscious
sub-	under	submerge, submarine, sub-category, subtitle
super-	above, over	superfood, superstar, supernatural, superimpose
therm-	heat	thermometer, thermostat, thermodynamic
trans-	across, beyond	transport, transnational, transatlantic
tri-	three	triangle, tripod, tricycle
un-	against, not, opposite	undo, unequal, unusual, unfinished
uni-	one	unicycle, universal, unilateral, unanimous

Below is the most important suffixes:

Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-able	able to, having the quality of	comfortable, portable
-acy	state or quality	democracy, accuracy, lunacy
-al	relating to, process or action	educational, comical, denial
-al	having the form or character of	fiscal, thermal, herbal, colonial
-ance, -ence	state or quality of	nuisance, ambience, tolerance
-ate	become	mediate, collaborate, create
-dom	place or state of being	freedom, stardom, boredom
-en	become	sharpen, strengthen, loosen
-er	comparative	bigger, stronger
-er, -or	person or object that does a specified action	reader, creator, interpreter, inventor, collaborator, teacher
-esque	in a manner of or resembling	picturesque, burlesque, grotesque
-est	superlative	strongest, tiniest
-ful	full of	beautiful, grateful
-ful	notable for	handful, playful, hopeful, skilful
-ible	forming an adjective	accessible, illegible
-ic, -ical	having the form or character of	psychological, hypocritical, methodical, nonsensical, musical
-ify, -fy	make or become	justify, simplify, magnify, satisfy
-ily	forming an adverb	happily, lazily
-ing	showing an action, a material, or a gerund	acting, showing
-ious, -ous	characterised by	pious, jealous, religious, ridiculous
-ise, -ize	become	publicise, synthesise, hypnotise
-ish	having the quality of	squeamish, sheepish, childish
-ism	doctrine, belief	Judaism, scepticism, escapism
-ist	person or object that does a specified action	Geologist, protagonist, sexist, scientist, theorist, communist
-ity, -ty	quality of	extremity, validity, enormity
-ive	having the nature of	inquisitive, informative, attentive
-less	without, not affected by	friendless, tireless, meaningless
-ly	forming an adjective	freely,clearly, hourly
-ly	related to or quality	softly, slowly, happily, crazily, madly
-ment	condition	enchantment, argument
-ness	showing a state or condition	kindness, wilderness
-ship	position held	friendship, hardship, internship
-sion, -tion	state of being	position, promotion, cohesion
-ward, -wards	direction	towards, afterwards, backwards, inward
-wise	in relation to	otherwise, likewise, clockwise
-y	full of, showing a condition	glory, messy, victory

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