Affixes in English

What are English Affixes and How to Use Them?

Affixes are small word particles, usually only a few letters, that are added to the base form or stem of a word. They usually modify the meaning or create an entirely new meaning for the word based on which affixes are used. Affixes can be divided into four types: prefixes, suffixes, infixes, and circumfixes.

Prefixes

Prefixes are affixes that come at the beginning of a word, before the root word. They often change the meaning of the word, sometimes in a subtle way and sometimes in a drastic way. For example, adding the prefix un- before happy creates unhappy, which means "not happy". Adding the prefix re- before read creates reread, which means "read again". Some common prefixes are:

Verbs

e.g prefix + verb = verb

Prefix	Meaning	Examples
re-	again or back	restructure, revisit, reappear, rebuild, refinance
dis-	reverse the meaning of the verb	disappear, disallow, disarm, disconnect, discontinue
over-	too much	overbook, oversleep, overwork
un-	reverse the meaning of the verb	unbend, uncouple, unfasten
mis-	badly or wrongly	mislead, misinform, misidentify, misjudge
out-	more or better than others	outperform, outbid
be-	make or cause	befriend, belittle
co-	together	co-exist, co-operate, co-own
de-	do the opposite	devalue, deselect
fore-	earlier, before	foreclose, foresee
inter-	between	interact, intermix, interface
pre-	before	pre-expose, prejudge, pretest
sub-	under / below	subcontract, subdivide
trans-	across, over	transform, transcribe, transplant
under-	not enough	underfund, undersell, undervalue, underdevelop

Nouns

e.g prefix + noun = noun

Prefix	Meaning	Examples
anti-	against	anticlimax, antidote, antithesis
auto-	self	autobiography, automobile
bi-	two	bilingualism, biculturalism, bi-metalism
co-	joint	co-founder, co-owner, co-descendant
counter-	against	counter-argument, counter-example, counter-proposal
out-	more or better than others	outperform, outbid
dis-	the converse of	discomfort
ex-	former	ex-chairman, ex-hunter, ex-husband
hyper-	extreme	hyperinflation, hypersurface
in-	the converse of	inattention, incoherence, incompatibility
in-	inside	inpatient
inter-	between	interaction, inter-change, interference
kilo-	thousand	kilobyte
mal-	bad	malfunction, maltreatment, malnutrition
mega-	million	megabyte
mis-	wrong	misconduct, misdeed, mismanagement
mini-	small	mini-publication, mini-theory, mini-bus
mono-	one	monosyllable, monograph, monogamy
new-	new	neo-colonialism, neo-impressionism
out-	better than	out-number
poly-	many	plysyllabe
pseudo-	false	pseudo-expert
re-	again	re-organisation, re-assessment, re-examination
semi-	half	semicircle, semi-darkness
sub-	below	subset, subdivision
super-	more than, above	superset, superimposition, superpowers
sur-	over and above	surtax, surface
tele-	distance	telecommunications, television, telescope
tri-	three	tripartism, tripode
ultra-	beyond	ultrasound
under-	below, too little	underpayment, under-development, undergraduate
vice-	deputy	vice-president

Adjectives

e.g negative prefix + adjective = adjective

Prefix	Examples
un-	unfortunate, uncomfortable, unjust
im-	inconvenient, incorrect, inappropriate
il-	illogical, illegal, illierate
ir-	irregular, irreplaceable
non-	non-fiction, non-political, non-neutral
dis-	disloyal, dissimilar, dishonest

Suffixes

Suffixes are affixes that come at the end of a word, after the root word. They often change the kind of word (e.g. from verb to noun, or noun to adjective etc.). They can also add more information to the word, such as number, tense, degree, or attitude. For example, adding the suffix -s to cat creates cats, which means "more than one cat". Adding the suffix -ed to walk creates walked, which means "walked in the past". Some common suffixes are:

Verbs

e.g Suffixes used to form verbs with the meaning "cause to be"

Suffix	Example
-ise	stabilise, characterise, symbolise, visualise, specialise
-ate	differentiate, liquidate, pollinate, duplicate, fabricate
-fy	classify, exemplify, simplify, justify
-en	awaken, fasten, shorten, moisten

e.g Suffixes added to a verb (V) to make nouns

Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-ion / sion	action / instance of	alteration, demonstration expansion, inclusion, admission
-er	person who V-s something used for V-ing	advertiser, driver computer, silencer

-ment action / instance of V -ing development, punishment, unemployment -ant / ent person who V -s assistant, consultant student -age action / result of V breakage, wastage, package -al action / result of V denial, proposal, refusal, dismissal -ence / -ance action / result of V preference, dependence, interference attendance, acceptance, endurance -ery / -ry action / result of V
Place of V -ing bribery, robbery, misery refinery, bakery

e.g Suffixes added to a noun (N) to make nouns

Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-er	person concernrd with N	astronomer, geographer
-ism	doctrine of N	Marxism, Maoism, Thatcherism, communism
-ship	state of being N	friendship, citizenship, leadership
-age	collection of N	baggage, plumage

e.g Suffixes added to an adjective (Adj) to make nouns

Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-ity	State or quality of being Adj	ability, similarity, responsibility, curiosity
-ness	State or quality of being Adj	darkness, preparedness, consciousness
-cy	State or quality of being Adj	urgency, efficiency, frequency

Adjectives

Suffix added to verbs or nouns to form adjectives

These are the most common adjectives suffixes

Suffix	Examples
-al	central, political, national, optional, professional
-ent	different, dependent, excellent
-ive	attractive, effective, imaginative, repetitive
-ous	continuous, dangerous, famous
-ful	beautiful, peaceful, careful
-less	endless, homeless, careless, thoughtless
-able	drinkable, countable, avoidable