prefix | meaning | example |
a- | not, without | ashore |
ab- | from, away, off | abnormal |
ad- ac- af- ag- al- an- ap- ar- as- at- | to, toward, toward | addition |
acro- | beginning, end, tip, top, peak, summit, height | acromegaly |
aero- | air, atmosphere, gas, aviation | aeroplane |
Afro- | African | Afro-American |
agro- | of or belonging to fields or soil, agricultural | agrotechnology |
ambi- amphi- | on both sides, of both kinds, both | ambidextrous |
ana- | up, upward, back, backward | anabaptist |
Anglo- | English | Anglo-American |
ante- | prior, earlier, anterior, forward | antedate |
anti- ant- | one that is opposite in kind to, opposing or hostile to in opinion, sympathy, or practice, serving to prevent, cure, or alleviate, | antibiotic |
apo- | away from, off | apogee |
aqua- | water | Aquarius |
arch- archi- | chief, principal, extreme, primitive, original, primary | archbishop |
audio- | hearing, sound, auditory | audiometer |
astro- | star, heavens, outer space, astronomical | astronaut |
auto- | self, same one, automatic, self-acting | automaton |
baro- | weight, pressure | barometer |
be- | on, around, over about, to, at, upon, against, across, make, cause to be, treat as, affect, afflict, treat, provide, or cover with especially excessively | befool |
bene- | good | benediction |
bi- | two, into two parts, twice, doubly, on both sides, | bicycle |
biblio- | book | bibliomania |
bio- | life, living organisms or tissue | biology |
by- | secondary, ab | bypath |
cardio- | heart | cardiogram |
cat- cata- | down, per | category |
cent- centi- | one hundredth part of | centimeter |
chrono- | time | chronograph |
cine- | movie | cinematograph |
circum- | around, about | circumstance |
co- | with, together, joint, jointly, in or to the same degree | cooperation |
con- com- col- cor- | with, together, joint, jointly, in or to the same degree | connect |
contra- | against, contrary, contrasting | contradict |
counter- | contrary, opposite, opposing, retaliatory, complementary, corresponding, duplicate, substitute | counteract |
cyber- | computer, computer network | cyberspace |
de- | do the opposite of, reverse of, remove from, reduce, something derived from, get off of | decode |
deca- dec- deka- | ten | decathlon |
deci- | one tenth part of | deciliter |
demi- | half, one that partly belongs to | demitasse |
dendro- | tree | dendrochronology |
di- | twice, twofold, double | dioxide |
dia- | through, across | diagram |
dis- di- | do the opposite of, not, completely, deprive of | dislike |
dys- | abnormal, difficult, impaired, bad | dyspeptic |
eco- | habitat or environment, ecological or environmental | ecology |
en- em- | in, within, put into or onto, go into or onto, cause to be, provide with, | enable |
endo- | within, inside taking in | endocytobiology |
epi- | upon, besides, over, alter, outer | epistle |
ethno- | race, people, cultural group | ethnocentric |
eu- | well, easily, true, good | eugenics |
Euro- | European | European |
ex- e- ef- | out of, outside, not, away, off | exact |
exa- | quintillion (1018) | 1Em |
exo- | outside, outer, turning out | exocarp |
extra- | outside, beyond | extraordinary |
femto- | one quadrillionth (10−15) part of | femtosecond |
ferro- | ferrous iron | ferroelectric |
for- | so as to involve prohibition, exclusion, omission, failure, neglect, or refusal, completely, excessively, to exhaustion, to pieces destructively, detrimentally | forbid |
fore- | earlier, beforehand, foremost, front part of | forearm |
Franco- | French | Franco-American |
gastro- | stomach, gastric | gastroenteritis |
geo- | earth, ground, soil, geographic, geography | geology |
giga- | billion (109), huge | gigabit |
grand- | large and striking in size, scope, extent, or conception | grandfather |
hecto- hect- | hundred | hectare |
hemo- haemo- | blood | hemoglobin |
helio- | sun, helicopter | heliograph |
hemi- | half | hemisphere |
hepta- hept | seven, containing seven atoms, groups, or equivalents | heptagon |
hetero- heter | other than usual , other , different | heterochromatin |
hexa- hex | six | hexagon |
homo- | one and the same, similar, alike | homeopathy |
hydro- hydr- | water, liquid | hydrogen |
hygro- | humidity, moisture | hygrometer |
hyper- | above, beyond, excessive | hyperactive |
hypo- hyp | under, beneath, down | hypocrite |
in- il- im- ir- | not, in | invisible |
Indo- | India or the East Indies, Indo-European | Indo-European |
infra- | below, within, below in a scale or series | infrared |
inter- | between, among, in the midst, reciprocal | international |
intra- | within, during, between layers of | intravascular |
intro- | in, into, inward, within | introduce |
iso- | equal, homogeneous, uniform | isotope |
kilo- | thousand | kilometer |
macro- | large, on a large scale | macrobiotic |
mal- | bad, abnormal, inadequate | malicious |
maxi- | extra long, large | maximum |
mega- | great, large, million (106) greatly surpassing others of its kind, | megalopolis |
meta- | occurring later than or in succession to, after change more comprehensive, transcending derived from by loss of water | metaphysical |
micro- | small, minute, one millionth (10-6) part of | microwave |
mid- | being the part in the middle or midst occupying a middle position | middle |
milli- | one thousandth part of | millimeter |
mini- | smaller or briefer than usual, normal, or standard | miniature |
mis- | badly, wrongly, unfavorably, not, opposite or lack of, | misunderstand |
mono- | one, single, alone | monoplane |
multi- | many, multiple, much | multinational |
nano- | one billionth (10−9) part of, nanoscale | nanometer |
neo- | new, recent | neolithic |
neuro- | nerve, neural | neurogenic |
new- | recently, newly | newborn |
nitro- | nitrogen | nitrogen dioxide |
non- | not, other than, reverse of, absence of of little or no consequence, unimportant, worthless | nonsense |
ob- o- oc- of- op- | inversely, | obverse |
oct- octa- octo- | eight | octagon |
off- | away | off-duty |
omni- | all, universally | omnibus |
ortho- orth- | straight, upright, vertical, correct, corrective | orthodox |
out- | out, away | outage |
over- | so as to exceed or surpass, excessive | overact |
oxy- | containing oxygen or additional oxygen | oxygen |
paleo- palaeo- | early, primitive, archaic | Paleozoic |
pan- | all, completely, whole, general | Pan-American |
para- | beside, alongside of, beyond, aside from closely related to faulty, abnormal closely resembling, almost | parachute |
penta- pent- | five | pentagon |
per- | throughout, thoroughly containing an element in its highest or a high oxidation state | perfect |
peri- | all around, about, near, enclosing, surrounding | periscope |
peta- | quadrillion (1015) | petabyte |
petro- | stone, rock, petroleum | petrol |
philo- phil- | loving, having an affinity for | philosophy |
phono- | sound, voice, speech | phonogram |
photo- | light, radiant energy, photographic | photograph |
pico- | one trillionth (10−12) part of, small | picosecond |
poly- | many, several, much, multi | polytechnic |
post- | after, subsequent, later behind, posterior, following after subsequent to, later than posterior to | postpone |
pre- | earlier than, prior to, before in advance, beforehand in front of, anterior to | prefix |
pro- | earlier than, prior to, before rudimentary precursory front, anterior projecting taking the place of, substituting for favoring, supporting, championing | produce |
proto- | first in time beginning, giving rise to first formed, primary | prototype |
pseudo- | false, spurious temporary or substitute formation similar to resembling, isomeric with, or related to | pseudonym |
psycho psych- | mind, mental processes and activities brain | psychology |
pyro- | fire, heat | pyrolysis |
quad- quadri- | four | quadrangle |
quasi- | in some sense or degree resembling in some degree | quasiparticle |
radio- | radiant energy, radiation | radioactive |
re- | again, anew, back, backward | restart |
retro- | backward, back, situated behind | retroactive |
Russo- | Russian | Russo-Japanese War |
self- | oneself or itself to, with, for, or toward oneself or itself from or by means of oneself or itself | self-acting |
semi- | precisely half of to some extent, partly, incompletely partial, incomplete | semiconductor |
Sino- | Chinese | Sino-Japanese War |
step- | related by virtue of a remarriage (as of a parent) and not by blood | stepfather |
stereo- | solid, solid body stereoscopic | stereoscope |
strato- | stratus and | stratosphere |
sub- suc- suf- sug- sum- sup- sur- sus- | under, beneath, below subordinate, secondary, next lower than or inferior to less than completely, perfectly, or normally, somewhat almost :nearly | submarine |
sulfo- sulf- sulpho- sulph- | sulfur | sulfoxide |
super- | over and above, higher in quantity, quality, or degree than :more than in addition, extra | superb |
supra- | over and above, higher in quantity, quality, or degree than :more than in addition, extra | supranational |
syn- sy- sym- syl- sys- syr- | with, along with, together at the same time | synergy |
sur- | over, above, up | surface |
techno- | technical, technological | technology |
tele- tel- | distant, at a distance, over a distance telegraph | telephone |
tera- | trillion (1012) | terabyte |
thermo- therm- | heart, thermoelectric | thermometer |
topo- top- | place, locality, topography | topography |
tetra- | four, having four, having four parts | tetragon |
trans- | on or to the other side of, across, beyond through so or such as to change or transfer | transparent |
tri- | three, having three elements or parts | triangle |
turbo- | coupled directly to a driving turbine consisting of or incorporating a turbine | turbocharger |
twi- | two, double, doubly, twice | twins |
ultra- | beyond in space, on the other side beyond the range or limits of, transcending beyond what is ordinary, proper, or moderate, excessively, extremely | ultraviolet |
un- | not opposite of, contrary to deprive of completely | unknown |
under- | in or into a position below or beneath something below or short of some quantity, level, or limit down to defeat, ruin, or death | underfoot |
undeca- | twelve | undecagon |
uni- | one, single | uniform |
up- | used as a function word to indicate motion to or toward or situation at a higher point of in a direction regarded as being toward or near the upper end or part of in the direction opposite to | uphold |
vermi- | worm | vermin |
vice- | one that takes the place of | vice president |
vita- | life | vital |
with- | in opposition to so as to be separated or detached from in the direction of used as a function word to indicate a participant in an action, transaction, or arrangement | withdraw |
Reference by
1, http://mage8.com/tango/column7.html
2, https://blog.allaboutlearningpress.com/prefixes/
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