What is a prefix?
DEFINITION: A prefix is part of a word.
It is the beginning letters of the word
that usually mean something. Quite
often, if you know Spanish or another
language, the beginning syllable can
help you to break down (decode) what
the word means. This means a lot,
especially if you are taking a test
Prefix
Anon-
Meaning
without, less
not, without
Example
away
non-renew
Understanding the meaning of a common prefix can
help you to figure out the meanings of new words.
Some prefixes, however, have more than 1 meaning.
Let’s look a few common
prefixes
PREFIX
MEANING
EXAMPLE
Auto
Self
automobile
Dis
Not
disappear
Intra
Between
intravenous
Pre
Before
Precede, prefix
Post
After
Postmortem
Postoperative care
Sub
Under
Subway, submarine
Syn
Same time
Synchronize
synovial
Contra-
Against
Contradict
Common Prefixes – continued
PREFIX
Meaning
Example
Co-
With
co-pilot
co-teacher
In-
Into
Insert
introduce
Mono-
One
Monocycle
monovision
Tri-
Three
Tricycle
trimester
Bi-
Two
Bicycle
Bisecting lines
Trans-
Across
Transport
transaction
Uni-
one
Unicycle/ unicorn
universe
Un
Not
Unfinished, unprepared
One more list
PREFIX
MEANING
EXAMPLE
Re-
To do over, again
Remove, renew
Pre-
before
preview
Mis-
Wrong, bad
Misbehavior
De-
Remove, separate
Destroy, deforest
Multi-
Many, multiple
Multi-family house
Over-
Too much of
Overeat, oversleep
Trans
Across
Transport
Translate
Non-
Not
Non-violent
Dis-
Not, opposite of
discharge
Super-
Above
supervisor
Tele
So, now that we have our list, let’s try to figure
out some words
1. tranlate
2. uniform
3. unhappy
4. subterrain
5. misbehavior
6. teleport
7. transact
8. autonomous
9. disappoint
10. interaction
Common prefixes match
Match the prefix on the left to the meaning on the
right
_______ Re-(renew)
_______ Pre- (preview)
_______ Mis-(misbehavior)
_______ De- (deforestation)
_______ Tele- (television)
_______ Un- (unhappy)
_______ Bi- (bi-weekly)
_______ Uni- (uniform)
_______ octo-(octopus)
_______ Sub- (subway)
_______ Multi- (multiple)
1 wrong, bad
2. before
3. again, back
4. eight
5. one, same, whole
6. remove or reduce
7. twice (two times)
8. far, distant
9. many, (usually more than 2)
10. under or low
11. not
Common prefixes match
Match the prefix on the left to the meaning on the right
___3____ Re-(renew)
1 wrong, bad
___2____ Pre- (preview)
2. before
____1___ Mis-(misbehavior) 3. again, back
__6_____ De- (deforestation) 4. eight
__8_____ Tele- (television)
5. one, same, whole
_11____ Un- (unhappy)
6. remove or reduce
__7____ Bi- (bi-weekly)
7. twice (two times)
__5____ Uni- (uniform)
8. far, distant
___4___ octo-(octopus)
9. many, (usually more than 2)
__10__ Sub- (subway)
10. under or low
__ 9___ Multi- (multiple)
11. not
Let’s try another few prefixes that we can review or learn
Bi- bi-weekly
A. One or the same
uni-uniform
B. Many, several
octo- octopus
C. two or twice
sub- subway
D. very small
multi-multiple
E. Under, below or low
micro-microorganism F. eight