All languages create new words. There are different processes used in creation of new words. English is both compounding--putting words or word particles together to make new words--and, to a lesser extent, inflectional--creating new words by morphophonemically altering the root of the old word. One way of creating new words in English is through affixation of word particles to the word. English does this essentially through prefixation, and secondarily through suffixation. It adds prefixes to roots to create words with new meanings, and it adds suffixes to ends of these words to alter the meaning of these new words to fit various semantic and syntactic categories in English.

What follows are a list of prefixes in English with their alternative forms, their approximate meanings and some examples for each. Prefixes come in three forms--Latin, Greek and Anglo-Saxon. One rule governs the addition of prefixes: Prefixes change the meaning of the root, but not the spelling of the root.

Learning and knowing prefixes in English are part of word attack strategies that help learners to understand better the meaning of new words they encounter in their course of English.

 Anglo-Saxon Prefixes

Greek Prefixes

Roman Prefixes

List of Prefixes

a--(to, at, on) abound, afoot

be--(around) betoken, betidings, beware, besiege, betroth, bemoan

mis--(wrong, miss, poorly) mistake, misrepresent, miscarriage

over--(beyond, above) overstep, overwhelm, overreach, overpower

un--(not) unhelpful, uninterested, untruthful

under--(less, support) underwrite, underlay, undergrowth, understand

a, an--(not, without) atypical, anarchy

amphi-- on both sides

ana--back, again, up

anti-- opposite, against

ap-, apo-, aph--(away from, from, off) apology, apostrophe, apogee

arch-, arche-, archi--(chief) archtypical

auto-- (self) automobile

cat-, cata-, cath--(down) catatonic

dia--( through) diameter, diagram

di-, dis--(twice) digraph

dys--( ill, bad) dysfunctional

ec-, ex--(out of) eccentric, extricate

el-, em-, en-- (in) entrance, embalm

endo--(in) endothermic

ep-, epi--(upon) epiphenomenal

eu, ev--(well good, beneficial) eugenic, euphoria, euthanasia

ep, epi--(beside, upon) epigraph, epoch, episode

hemi--(half) hemisphere

hetero--(mixed) heterodox

homo--(self, same) homosexual, homogenous

hyp-, hypo--(under) hypnosis, hypodermic

hyper--(over, above) hypersensitive

met-, meta--(after, over) metalog

mon-, mono--(alone, one, single) monosodium, monopoly

ortho--(right) orthogonal, orthodox

pan--(all) panoptic, panoply

par-, para--(beside, extra) paragraph, paraphrase

peri--(round, around) periscope, peripheral

pro-- (before) prosimian

pros--(towards) prosthetic

proto--(first) prototype

sy, syn, sym, syl--(together, with) synthesis, synergy, symphony, syllable

a-, ab-, abs-- (from, away from) absolve, abject, abstract

ad, ad, ac, af, ag, at--(to, toward) adjoin, ascribe, adjudicate, affix

ante--(before, in front) antechamber

bi-, bis--(two, twice) biannual, bisect

circum, circu --(around) circumscribe, circulate, circumambulate

com, co, col, con, cor--(together, with) commune, cohabit, collaborate, concord

de--(down, lower) depression, deform, detach

dis, di, dif--(apart, away) distract, divert, diffuse

ex, e, ec, ef--(out, away) excommunicate, exceed, evaporate, eccentric, effluent

extra--(beyond) extrapolate, extradite

in, il, im, ir--(in, into) inscribe, illuminate, impel, irradiate

in, ig, im, ir--(not) inconvenience, impatient, ignoble, irregular

inter, intro--(between, within) interdenomination, interplay, introject

mal-, male--(bad, ill) malvolent

my, mys, mis--(wrong, bad, against) mysogyny, myopia, misanthropy

non--(not) nonviolent, nonsecular

ob-, oc-, of-, op-- (against, in the way of) object, occlude, offend

par-, pel-, per--(through) percolate, permutate

post--(after) post-war

prae-, pre--(before, in front of) preconceive, preclude

pro--(before, in front of, foward, for, on behalf of) protect, project, propel

re-, red--(back, again) repeat, repel, return

retro-- (backward) retroject

se-, sed--(aside, apart)

semi--(half) semi-circular

sub-, suc-, sud-, suf-, sug-, sum-, sup-, sur-, sus--(under, beneath) subterraneum, subset

super--(above, over) superficial, superfluous

trans--(beyond, through, across) transcontinental, transsexual

ulti-, ultra--(beyond) ultimate, ultraspectacular

un-, uni-- (one) union, universe

vice--(in place of) viceroy

Please note, in English, the prefix "a" occurs as both an old English and a Greek form, and the prefixes "in" and "mis" occur in both English and Latin forms. Also the prefix "in" is variable in meaning between "into" and "not."

ab-, from

ambi-, amphi-, together, around

ante-, before

anti-, against, opposite

auto-, self

bene-, good

bi, bin-, two

by-, beside

counter, contra-, opposite

dec, deci-, ten

demi-, half

di, du-, two

dia-, through

dys-, bad

e-, out

em, en-, in

ennea-, nine

enter-, between

epi-, after, upon

equi-, equal

eu-, good

ex-, out

exa-, quintillion

extra-, outside

femto-, quadrillionth

for-, not

giga-, billion

hect-, hundred

hemi-,half

hept-, seven

hetero-, different

hex-, six

homo-, same

hyper-, excessive

hypo-, less

inter-, between

intra-, infra-, within

intro-, enter

is-, equal

kilo-, thousand

macro-, large

magni-, large, great

mal-, bad

mega-, large, million

meta-, change

micro-, small, millionth

mid-, middle

milli-, thousand

mon, mono-, one

multi-, many

myria-, then thousand

nano-, billionth

ne, neg-, not

neo-, new

non-, not, nine

nove-, nine

oct-, eight

off-, from

olig-few

omni-, all

out-, beyond

on-, on

over-, more

pan- all

para-, beside, almost

pen, pene-, almost

pent-, five

per-, through

peri-, around

peta-, quadrillion

pico-, trillionth

poly-, many

post-, after

pro-, favor

prot-, first

pseudo-, false

quad-, four

quint-, four

retro-back

self-, self

semi-, part

sept-, seven

sex-, six

sub-, under

super-, over, more than

tele-, far

tera-, trillion

tetra-, four

trans-, across

tri-, three

ultra-, beyond

under-, beneath, less

uni-, one, together

with-, from