Latin Roots/ Prefixes with example words

SAT/ACT

a-, an-

not, without

atypical – not normal or usual
anonymous – unknown; name not given

ab-

away from

absent – not present
abduct – to take away by force

ad-

toward, addition

advance – to move forward
adhere – to stick to or follow

anim-

life, spirit

animate – to give life or movement to
animal – a living organism that eats organic material

ante–

before

antecedent – something that comes before
antebellum – occurring before a war (usually the U.S. Civil War)

anti–

opposite

antibiotic – medicine that kills bacteria
antisocial – against normal social behavior

auc–, aug–

increase

augment – to increase or make larger
augmented – increased or expanded

Auction: A public sale where items go to the highest bidder, increasing the price.

aud–, aur–

hear

audio – related to sound
audience – a group of listeners or viewers

auto–

self

autobiography – a book written about one’s own life
automatic – working by itself

ben–, bon–, eu–

good

benefit – an advantage or good result
bonus – something extra
euphoria – intense happiness

brev–

short

brief – short in length or time
abbreviate – to shorten a word

caco–, dys–

bad, abnormal

dyslexia – difficulty reading
dysfunction – abnormal or impaired functioning

cacophony (bad sound),

ceiv–, cept–, capt–

take

receive – to get something
accept – to take or agree to something
capture – to take control of

co–, con–, col–, cor–

with

cooperate – to work together
connect – to join or link

contra–, counter–

against

contradict – to say the opposite
counteract – to work against

extra–

beyond, outside’

depart – to leave
export – to send goods out of a country

hetero–

other

heterogeneous – made of different kinds
heterosexual – attracted to the opposite sex

homo–

same

homogeneous – made of the same kind
homonym – words that sound the same but have different meanings

hyper–

above

hyperactive – extremely energetic
hypertension – high blood pressure

hypo–

below

hypodermic – under the skin
hypothermia – dangerously low body temperature

il–, im–, in–, ir–, non–

not

illegal – against the law
impossible – cannot happen
inactive – not active

inter–

between

international – involving more than one country
interact – to communicate or work together

intra–

within

intramural – within one school or organization
intravenous – into a vein

mal–, mis–, ne–

bad

malfunction – to work incorrectly
mistake – an error

peri–

around

perimeter – distance around a shape
peripheral – outer edge or area

poly

many

polygon – a shape with many sides
polyglot – someone who speaks many languages

polynomial

post–

after

postwar – after a war
postpone – to delay

pre–

before

preview – to see before
predict – to say what will happen

pro–

big, much

promote – to support or advance
prolong – to make last longer

se–

apart

separate – to divide
segregate – to keep apart

re–, retro–

back, again

redo – to do again
retroactive – applied to the past

sub–, suc–, suf–

below

submarine – a ship that travels underwater
subway – underground transportation system

super–, sur–

over, above

superior – higher in rank or quality
surpass – to go beyond

syn–, sym–

together, with

synchronize – to occur at the same time
sympathy – feeling care for someone

symmetry

trans–

across, beyond

transgender

ultra–, outr–

beyond

ultraviolet – light beyond violet in the spectrum
outrageous – shockingly bad or extreme

vice–

in place of

vice president – a person who acts in place of the president

ambu

walk, move

ambulatory – able to walk

perambulate – to walk around

andro

man

android – human-like robot

androgynous – having both male and female traits

patriarchal – male-dominated (andro idea of man-centered power)

anthro

human

anthropology – study of humans

anthropocentric – human-centered

anthropomorphic – giving human traits to non-humans

bellu, belli

War

belligerent – aggressive; warlike

bellicose – eager to fight

carn

flesh

carnivore – meat-eating animal

carnal – physical; fleshly

incarnation – embodiment in flesh

clam, claim

shout

exclaim – to shout out

proclaim – announce publicly

acclaim – praise loudly

clin

lean, bend

incline – to lean

inclination – tendency or lean

recline – lean back

clud, clus, claus

close

include – to close in

exclusive – restricted

seclude – isolate

cred

trust, belief’
credible – believable

credence – belief or trust

demo–

people

democracy – government by the people

demographic – population group

demagogue – manipulative political leader

dog, dox

thought, idea
orthodox – traditional belief

dogmatic – stubbornly opinionated

heterodox – unconventional in belief

duc, duct

to lead, pull

conduct – to lead

ev

time, age

longevity – long life

primeval – ancient

fac

to do, make

manufacture – to make

fiss

break, part

fissure – a crack

fission – division into parts

flict

strike

conflict – a clash

fort

strength

fortify – to strengthen

fract, frag, frai

break

fracture – a break

fragmentation – breaking into parts

fractious – unruly or hard to control

gnos

knowledge

diagnosis – identifying knowledge

agnostic – uncertain of knowledge

prognosis – predicted outcome

grad, gress

to go

progress – move forward

Graduate

regress – return to an earlier state

progression – forward movement

greg

group, herd

gregarious – social

gyn

woman

gynecology – women’s medicine

Mysogenistic

her, hes

to stick

adhere – to stick to

cohesive – sticking together

jac, ject

to throw

eject – to throw out

inject – throw in

project – throw forward

trajectory – path of motion

loq, log, loc, lix

talk

dialogue – conversation

monologue – one person speaking

eloquent – persuasive in speech

colloquial – conversational

luc, lum, lus

light, clear’

illuminate – light up

luminous – glowing

meta, mut

change

mutate – to change

mutation – a change

metamorphic -denoting or relating to rock that has undergone transformation by heat, pressure, or other natural agencies, e.g. in the folding of strata or the nearby intrusion of igneous rocks.

immutable – unable to change

morph

shape

metamorphosis – change of shape

morph – to change form

polymorphic – many-formed

narco

sleep

narcolepsy – sleep disorder

narcotic – drug causing sleep

somnolent – drowsy

omni

all

omnivore – eats everything

omnipotent – all-powerful

omniscient – all-knowing

omnipresent – everywhere

oper

work

operate – to work

operation – act of working

pac, plac

peace, calm

pacify – to calm

placate – to soothe

scien

knowledge

prescient – having foresight

omniscience – complete knowledge

rupt

break

disrupt – interrupt forcefully

rupture – burst

sanct

holy

sanctimonious – falsely moral

consecrate – declare sacred

path

feeling

empathy – shared feeling

sympathy – care for others

apathy – lack of feeling

phon

sound

telephone – sound over distance

phonics – sound system of language

pug

war, fight

pugnacious – eager to fight

pugilist – boxer

senti

feeling

sentient – capable of feeling

sentimentality – excessive emotion

somn, sop

sleep

somnolent – sleepy

insomnia – inability to sleep

son

sound

sonorous – rich and loud

resonant – echoing

soph

wise

sophisticated – refined

philosophical – reflective or thoughtful

spec

look

speculative – based on guesswork

spectacle – striking visual display

term

end, boundary

interminable – endless

terminate – bring to an end

terr

earth

terrain – land surface

terrestrial – relating to Earth

theo

God

theological – religious

theocracy – religious government

ven

come

convene – come together

intervene – come between

vid, vis

to see

visionary – imaginative

evident – clearly seen

voc, voke

call

advocate – support publicly

provocation – act of stirring response

vol

roll, turn

volatile – unstable

revolutionary – radically changing

xen

stranger

xenophobia – fear of foreigners

xenophile – admirer of foreign cultures

Suffixes

–able, –ible

capable of

infallible – incapable of error

indefatigable – tireless

–ate, –ify,–efy, –ize, –ise

make

consolidate – strengthen unity

intensify – make stronger

–cess, –cede

to go, yield

concede – admit unwillingly

secede – withdraw formally

–cide

to kill

genocide – mass killing

regicide – killing a king

–cis

cut

decisive – clearly determined

incision – surgical cut

–ette, –illo

little

kitchenette – small kitchen

novelette – short novel

–ist

a person

pragmatist – practical thinker

idealist – driven by ideals

–logy, –ology

study

epistemology – study of knowledge

sociology – study of society

–ous

full of

ambiguous – unclear

meticulous – extremely careful