Prefixes
Anti-
Against, opposite
If you are antisocial, you’re a hermit and don’t like to be around people.
Uni
one.
A unicycle has one wheel.
Scien-
Knowledge
A scientist is a person with knowledge.
-able, -ible
capable of, worthy of
Someone huggable is worthy of being hugged.
rupt
break
When a pipe ruptures, it breaks.
Auto-
Self
Your autobiography is the story of your life.
Dec
ten.
The decimal system is based on units of ten.
Morph-
Shape
Something amorphous is without shape.
-ist
a person
A typist is a person who types.
fort
strength
To fortify something is to strengthen it.
Circum-
Around
The circumference of a circle goes around the circle
Kilo, mill
thousand.
A kiloliter is 1000 liters. A millennium is 1000 years.
Senti-
Feeling
If you are sentimental, you have strong feelings.
-ify,-efy
to make
To beautify is to make beautiful.
co-, con-, col-, cor-
with, together
You work together with coworkers.
Ante-
Before
When the clock tells you that it’s 5 a.m., the a.m. stands for ante meridian, which means before the middle, or the first half of the day.
Pico
trillionth.
A picogram is one trillionth of a gram.
Fiss-
break, part
A fissure is a break in the earth’s surface.
-cis
cut
An incision is a cut.
Eu
good
A eulogy is a good speech
Se-
Apart
An ill person may be segregated from her friends so she doesn’t infect them.
Femto
quadrillionth. A femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second.
Voc, Voke
call
When you provoke someone, you call forth some action or emotion.
-ette, -illo
little
A dinette is a little dining table.
An armadillo is a little armored animal.
caco-, dys
bad, abnormal
Something cacophonous is bad-sounding.
A dysfunctional family doesn’t function normally