What Are Prefixes? Its Definition, Commonly used Prefixes and Examples

Meaning of Prefixes

The letters which we add to the beginning of certain words to give it a different meaning is referred to as prefixes. By attaching a prefix, usually, a new word is formed which means the opposite to the existing word. A prefix can also be used to denote the time, place and manner of the word. Some examples of how prefixes are used:

I’m sorry I was unable to reach on time.
Non-payment of rent could result in the tenant being asked to leave the house.
Have you ever met an extraterrestrial being? (meaning a being from another planet)
The curry was overcooked and quite tasteless.

Here are some of the commonly used prefixes:

Prefix	Meaning	Examples
anti-	against/opposed to	anti-government, anti-racist, anti-war
auto-	self	autobiography, automobile
de-	reverse or change	de-classify, decontaminate, demotivate
dis-	reverse or remove	disagree, displeasure, disqualify
down-	reduce or lower	downgrade, downhearted
extra-	beyond	extraordinary, extraterrestrial
hyper-	extreme	hyperactive, hypertension
l-, im-, in-, ir-	not	illegal, impossible, insecure, irregular
inter-	between	interactive, international
mega-	very big, important	megabyte, mega-deal,
mid-	middle	mid-October
mis-	incorrectly, badly	misaligned, mislead, misshapen
non-	not	non-payment, non-smoking
over-	too much	overcook, overcharge, overrate
out-	go beyond	outdo, out-perform, outrun
post-	after	post-election, post-war
pre-	before	prehistoric, pre-war
pro-	in favour of	pro-communist, pro-democracy
re-	again	reconsider, redo, rewrite
semi-	half	semicircle, semi-retired
sub-	under, below	submarine, sub-Saharan
super-	above, beyond	super-hero, supermodel
tele-	at some distance	television, telephone
trans-	across	transatlantic, transfusion, transfer
ultra-	extremely	ultrasound
un-	remove, reverse, not	undo, unpack, unhappy
under-	less than, beneath	undercook, underestimate
up-	make or move higher	upgrade, uphill

There are no rules as to when a hyphen should be used while writing a prefixed word. Practicing your English skills over a period of time will give you an idea on how prefixes should be properly used.

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