20 Common Prefixes (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering the 20 prefixes listed in the lecture notes.

un-

Not; opposite of; reverse or negation. Examples: unhappy, unrest.

re-

Again or back; indicates repetition or return. Examples: rebuild, react.

in-, im-, ir-, il- (negation)

Not; negative prefix that makes words opposite in meaning.

dis-

Not; opposite of; removal or separation. Examples: dissimilar, disfavor, discolor.

en-, em-

Put into or onto; cause to be. Examples: encage, embed; endear, emblaze.

non-

Not; negation prefix (e.g., nonhuman).

in-, im (into/inside)

Into, inside, within; toward the interior. Examples: inbound, immerge, illuminate.

over-

Above or too much; excessive. Example: overuse.

mis-

Bad or wrong; failure, lack. Examples: misconduct, misfire.

sub-

Below or under; secondary; less than. Examples: subsoil, subplot, subhuman.

pre-

Before; in front of. Example: prehistoric.

inter-

Between or among. Example: international.

fore-

Before; in front of; forerunner.

de-

Make opposite of; remove; reduce. Examples: decriminalize, dethrone, declass.

trans-

Across or beyond; through; change. Examples: transatlantic, transcribe, transfer.

super-

Above or over; sometimes indicating beyond or excessive.

semi-

Half or partly; occurring in two parts (e.g., semicircle, semimonthly).

anti-

Opposite or counteracting (e.g., antigravity, antibody).

mid-

Middle; in the middle.

under-

Beneath or below; less in degree.