Match These Prefixes Suffixes And Roots To Their Meanings

Match These Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots to Their Meanings: A Comprehensive Guide

Understanding prefixes, suffixes, and roots is crucial for expanding your vocabulary and improving your reading comprehension. This comprehensive guide will delve into a wide range of these linguistic building blocks, matching them to their meanings and providing ample examples to solidify your understanding. This knowledge will not only enhance your language skills but also boost your performance in various standardized tests and academic settings.

Prefixes: Adding Meaning to the Beginning

Prefixes are word parts added to the beginning of a word to modify its meaning. They often indicate quantity, location, time, or negation.

Common Prefixes and Their Meanings:

• a-, an-: without, lacking (e.g., amoral, anarchy)
• ab-: away from (e.g., absent, abduct)
• ad-: to, toward (e.g., adjacent, adhere) (Note: This prefix often changes form depending on the following letter; see examples below)
• ante-: before (e.g., antecedent, antebellum)
• anti-: against, opposite (e.g., antibody, antidote)
• bene-: good, well (e.g., benevolent, beneficial)
• bi-: two, twice (e.g., bicycle, bilingual)
• circum-: around (e.g., circumference, circumnavigate)
• co-, com-, con-, cor-: together, with (e.g., cooperate, combine, connect, correlate)
• contra-, counter-: against, opposite (e.g., contradict, counteract)
• de-: down, away from, opposite (e.g., descend, depart, deactivate)
• dia-: through, across (e.g., diameter, dialogue)
• dis-: apart, not (e.g., disagree, disconnect)
• ex-, extra-: out, beyond (e.g., expel, extraordinary)
• fore-: before, in front of (e.g., forecast, forehead)
• hyper-: over, above (e.g., hypertension, hyperactive)
• hypo-: under, below (e.g., hypothermia, hypothesis)
• il-, im-, in-, ir-: not (e.g., illegal, impossible, inaccurate, irrelevant)
• inter-: between, among (e.g., international, interview)
• intra-: within (e.g., intravenous, intramural)
• mal-: bad, ill (e.g., malfunction, malpractice)
• mid-: middle (e.g., middle, midnight)
• mis-: wrongly, badly (e.g., misunderstand, misinterpret)
• mono-: one (e.g., monologue, monochrome)
• non-: not (e.g., nonprofit, nonsense)
• ob-, op-: against, toward (e.g., object, oppose)
• omni-: all (e.g., omnipresent, omnipotent)
• per-: through, thoroughly (e.g., permeate, perfect)
• post-: after (e.g., postpone, postscript)
• pre-: before (e.g., prepare, preview)
• pro-: forward, in favor of (e.g., progress, proponent)
• re-: again, back (e.g., repeat, return)
• retro-: backward (e.g., retroactive, retrospect)
• semi-: half (e.g., semicircle, semifinal)
• sub-: under, below (e.g., submarine, subordinate)
• super-: above, beyond (e.g., superior, supernatural)
• trans-: across, beyond (e.g., transport, transform)
• ultra-: beyond, exceeding (e.g., ultrasonic, ultraviolet)
• un-: not, opposite (e.g., unhappy, untie)

Examples of ad- prefix variations:

• addition becomes addition
• admit becomes admit
• adjacent remains adjacent
• adhere remains adhere

Suffixes: Modifying the End of a Word

Suffixes are added to the end of a word to change its grammatical function or meaning. They often indicate the part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) or add nuances to the meaning.

Common Suffixes and Their Meanings:

• -able, -ible: capable of being (e.g., breakable, visible)
• -al: relating to (e.g., national, medical)
• -ance, -ence: state or quality of (e.g., importance, existence)
• -ant, -ent: one who (e.g., assistant, student)
• -ar: relating to (e.g., singular, regular)
• -ary: relating to (e.g., elementary, dictionary)
• -ate: to make or cause to become (e.g., activate, consolidate)
• -ed: past tense (e.g., walked, talked)
• -ee: one who receives (e.g., employee, grantee)
• -er, -or: one who (e.g., teacher, actor)
• -ful: full of (e.g., helpful, wonderful)
• -ic, -ical: relating to (e.g., historic, historical)
• -ing: present participle (e.g., walking, talking)
• -ion, -tion, -sion, -ation: action or state of (e.g., action, education, decision, information)
• -ish: having the characteristics of (e.g., childish, foolish)
• -ism: doctrine, practice, or belief (e.g., socialism, nationalism)
• -ity, -ty: state or quality of (e.g., velocity, happiness)
• -ive: having the nature of (e.g., active, creative)
• -less: without (e.g., homeless, fearless)
• -ly: in the manner of (e.g., quickly, slowly)
• -ment: action or result of (e.g., improvement, government)
• -ness: state or quality of (e.g., goodness, darkness)
• -ous, -ious: full of (e.g., dangerous, glorious)
• -ship: state, condition, or skill of (e.g., friendship, leadership)
• -some: tending to (e.g., troublesome, lonesome)

Roots: The Core Meaning

Roots are the basic elements of words, carrying the core meaning. Many words are built upon a root, with prefixes and suffixes added to modify its meaning or grammatical function. Understanding the root can significantly help in deciphering the meaning of unfamiliar words.

Common Roots and Their Meanings:

• bene (Latin): good, well (e.g., benefit, benevolent)
• bio (Greek): life (e.g., biology, biosphere)
• cede, ceed, cess (Latin): to go, yield (e.g., precede, proceed, access)
• chron (Greek): time (e.g., chronology, synchronize)
• dict (Latin): to say, speak (e.g., dictionary, predict)
• duc, duct (Latin): to lead, to draw (e.g., conduct, educate)
• geo (Greek): earth (e.g., geology, geography)
• graph (Greek): write (e.g., autograph, biography)
• hydr (Greek): water (e.g., hydrate, hydrosphere)
• ject (Latin): to throw (e.g., inject, reject)
• log (Greek): word, speech, reason (e.g., dialogue, logic)
• luc, lum (Latin): light (e.g., lucid, illuminate)
• meter (Greek): measure (e.g., thermometer, speedometer)
• path (Greek): feeling, suffering (e.g., empathy, pathology)
• ped, pod (Greek): foot (e.g., pedestrian, tripod)
• phon (Greek): sound (e.g., telephone, phonics)
• photo (Greek): light (e.g., photograph, photosynthesis)
• port (Latin): to carry (e.g., transport, import)
• scribe, script (Latin): to write (e.g., describe, manuscript)
• spect, spic (Latin): to look (e.g., inspect, conspicuous)
• struct (Latin): to build (e.g., construct, structure)
• tele (Greek): far, distant (e.g., telephone, television)
• terr (Latin): earth, land (e.g., terrestrial, territory)
• tract (Latin): to pull, drag (e.g., attract, subtract)
• vid, vis (Latin): to see (e.g., provide, vision)
• voc, vok (Latin): to call, speak (e.g., vocal, invoke)

Putting it All Together: Building Your Vocabulary

By understanding the meanings of prefixes, suffixes, and roots, you can effectively decipher the meaning of many unfamiliar words. Let's look at some examples:

• Unbelievable: un- (not) + believe (root related to trust, faith) + -able (capable of being) = not capable of being believed.

• International: inter- (between) + nation (root related to people, country) + -al (relating to) = relating to between nations.

• Subterranean: sub- (under) + terr (earth) + -anean (relating to) = relating to under the earth.

• Antebellum: ante- (before) + bellum (war) = before the war.

• Miscommunication: mis- (wrongly) + communi (root related to sharing) + -cation (action or state of) = wrongly sharing information.

Beyond Memorization: Active Learning Strategies

Simply memorizing lists is not the most effective way to learn prefixes, suffixes, and roots. Engage in active learning techniques to solidify your understanding:

• Contextual Learning: Encounter these word parts within sentences and paragraphs. Pay attention to how they modify the core meaning.

• Word Building: Start with a root and add different prefixes and suffixes to create new words. This will help you internalize the relationships between these elements.

• Flash Cards: Create flashcards with the word part on one side and its meaning and examples on the other. Regularly review your flashcards.

• Online Resources: Utilize online dictionaries and vocabulary-building websites to explore different word parts and their uses.

Conclusion: Unlock the Power of Morphology

Mastering prefixes, suffixes, and roots is an invaluable skill that extends beyond simple vocabulary expansion. It provides a deeper understanding of the structure and evolution of language, empowering you to decipher the meaning of complex words, improve your reading comprehension, and excel in various academic and professional pursuits. Consistent practice and engagement with active learning strategies will pave the way to confidently tackling even the most challenging vocabulary. Remember, language is a living organism; continuous exploration and learning are key to unlocking its full potential.