DuySa

Building Vocabulary: Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes

Many studies show the importance of building children’s vocabulary. One study has shown that a set of 20 prefixes and 14 roots, and knowing how to use them, will unlock the meaning of over 100,000 words. A similar study showed that a set of 29 prefixes and 25 roots will give the meaning to over 125,000 words. Imagine adding suffixes! Below are lists of prefixes, suffixes, and roots - with their meanings and example words.¹ Reviewing these also can help many ELL students to see relationships between and among languages. Many prefixes have a basis in Latin - also the basis for Spanish, French, and Italian - or Greek.

Table 1: 32 Prefixes

Prefix	Meaning	Example words and meanings
a, ab, abs	away from	■    absent ■    abscond	■    not to be present, away ■    abscond - to run away
ad, a, ac, af, ag, an, ar, at, as	to, toward	■    adapt ■    adhere ■    annex ■    attract	■    to fit into ■    to stick to ■    to add or join ■    to draw near
anti	against	■    antifreeze ■    antisocial	■    a substance to prevent freezing ■    refers to someone who’s not social
bi, bis	two	■    bicycle ■    biannual ■    biennial	■    two wheeled cycle ■    twice each year ■    every two years
circum, cir	around	■    circumscribe ■    circle	■    to draw around ■    a figure that goes all around
com, con, co, col	with, together	■    combine ■    contact ■    collect ■    co-worker	■    to bring together ■    to touch together ■    to bring together ■    co-worker
de	away from, down, the opposite of	■    depart ■    decline	■    to go away from ■    to turn down
dis, dif, di	apart	■    dislike ■    dishonest ■    distant	■    not to like ■    not honest ■    away
epi	upon, on top of	■    epitaph ■    epilogue	■    writing upon a tombstone ■    speech at the end, on top of the rest
equ, equi	equal	■    equalize ■    equitable	■    to make equal ■    fair, equal
ex, e, ef	out, from	■    exit ■    eject ■    exhale	■    to go out ■    to throw out ■    to breathe out
in, il, ir, im, en	in, into	■    inject ■    impose	■    to put into ■    to force into
in, il, ig, ir, im	not	■    inactive ■    ignoble ■    irreversible ■    irritate	■    not active ■    not noble ■    not reversible ■    to put into discomfort
inter	between, among	■    international ■    interpose	■    among nations ■    to put between
mal, male	bad, ill, wrong	■    malpractice ■    malfunction	■    bad practice ■    fail to function, bad function
mis	wrong, badly	■    mistreat ■    mistake ■    misplace	■    to treat badly ■    to get wrong ■    to put in wrong place
mono	one, alone, single	■    monopoly ■    monotone ■    monologue ■    monosyllable	■    one ownership ■    one note ■    speech by one person ■    one syllable
non	not, the reverse of	■    nonsense ■    nonprofit	■    not making sense ■    not making a profit
ob	in front, against, in front of, in the way of	■    obstacle ■    obvious ■    obviate	■    something that stands in the way of ■    right in front of, apparent ■    to do away with, make unnecessary
omni	everywhere, all	■    omnipresent ■    omnipotent	■    always present, everywhere ■    all powerful
per	through	■    pervade ■    perceive	■    to pass through, to spread through ■    to become aware through sight
poly	many	■    polysyllable ■    polygon	■    many syllables ■    figure with many sides
post	after	■    postpone ■    postmortem	■    to do after ■    after death
pre	before, earlier than	■    preview ■    prehistoric ■    preface	■    a viewing earlier than another ■    before written history ■    a statement before an article or book
pro	forward, going ahead of, supporting	■    proceed ■    prowar ■    promote	■    to go forward ■    supporting the war ■    to raise or move forward
re	again, back	■    retell ■    recall ■    recede	■    to tell again ■    to call back ■    to go back
se	apart	■    secede ■    seclude	■    to withdraw, become apart ■    to stay apart from others
sub	under, less than	■    submarine ■    subway ■    subliminal	■    under water ■    a path or way to move under ground ■    below the level of consciousness
super	over, above, greater	■    superstar ■    superimpose	■    a start greater than other stars ■    to put over something else
trans	across	■    transcontinental ■    transverse	■    across the continent ■    to lie or go across
un, uni	one	■    unidirectional ■    unanimous ■    unilateral	■    having one direction ■    sharing one view ■    having one side
un	not	■    uninterested ■    unhelpful ■    unethical	■    not interested ■    not helpful ■    not ethical

Table 2: 27 Roots

Root	Meaning	Example words & meanings
act, ag	to do, to act	■    Agent ■    Activity	■    One who acts as a representative ■    Action
apert	open	■ Aperture	■ An opening
bas	low	■    Basement ■    Basement	■    Something that is low, at the bottom ■    A room that is low
cap, capt, cip, cept, ceive	to take, to hold, to seize	■    Captive ■    Receive ■    Capable ■    Recipient	■    One who is held ■    To take ■    Able to take hold of things ■    One who takes hold or receives
ced, cede, ceed, cess	to go, to give in	■    Precede ■    Access ■    Proceed	■    To go before ■    Means of going to ■    To go forward
cred, credit	to believe	■    Credible ■    Incredible ■    Credit	■    Believable ■    Not believable ■    Belief, trust
curr, curs, cours	to run	■    Current ■    Precursory ■    Recourse	■    Now in progress, running ■    Running (going) before ■    To run for aid
dic, dict	to say	■    Dictionary ■    Indict ■    Indicate	■    A book explaining words (sayings) ■    To say or make an accusation ■    To point out or say by demonstrating
duc, duct	to lead	■    Induce ■    Conduct ■    Aqueduct	■    To lead to action ■    To lead or guide ■    Pipe that leads water somewhere
equ	equal, even	■    Equality ■    Equanimity	■    Equal in social, political rights ■    Evenness of mind, tranquility
fac, fact, fic, fect, fy	to make, to do	■    Facile ■    Fiction ■    Factory ■    Affect	■    Easy to do ■    Something that is made up ■    Place that makes things ■    To make a change in
fer, ferr	to carry, bring	■    Defer ■    Referral	■    To carry away ■    Bring a source for help/information
graph	write	■    Monograph ■    Graphite	■    A writing on a particular subject ■    A form of carbon used for writing
mit, mis	to send	■    Admit ■    Missile	■    To send in ■    Something sent through the air
par	equal	■    Parity ■    Disparate	■    Equality ■    No equal, not alike
plic	to fold, to bend, to turn	■    Complicate ■    Implicate	■    To fold (mix) together ■    To fold in, to involve
pon, pos, posit, pose	to place	■    Component ■    Transpose ■    Compose ■    Deposit	■    A part placed together with others ■    A place across ■    To put many parts into place ■    To place for safekeeping
scrib, script	to write	■    Describe ■    Transcript ■    Subscription	■    To write about or tell about ■    A written copy ■    A written signature or document
sequ,secu	to follow	■    Sequence ■    Sequel ■    Consecutive	■    In following order ■    A second, following, book ■    One that follows another
spec, spect, spic	to appear, to look, to see	■    Specimen ■    Aspect	■    An example to look at ■    One way to see something
sta, stat, sist,	to stand, or make stand	■ Constant	■ Standing with
stit, sisto		■    Status ■    Stable ■    Desist	■    Social standing ■    Steady (standing) ■    To stand away from
tact	to touch	■    Contact ■    Tactile	■    To touch together ■    To be able to be touched
ten, tent, tain	to hold	■    Tenable ■    Retentive ■    Maintain	■    Able to be held, holding ■    Holding ■    To keep or hold up
tend, tens, tent	to stretch	■    Extend ■    Tension	■    To stretch or draw out ■    Stretched
tract	to draw	■    Attract ■    Contract	■    To draw together ■    An agreement drawn up
ven, vent	to come	■    Convene ■    Advent	■    To come together ■    A coming
ver, vert, vers	to turn	■    Avert ■    Revert ■    Reverse	■    To turn away ■    To turn back ■    To turn around

Table 3: 23 Sufixes

Suffix	Meaning	Example words & meanings
able, ible, ble	able to	■    Edible ■    Salable	■    Able to be eaten ■    Able to be sold
acious, cous, al	like, having the quality of	■    Nocturnal ■    Vivacious	■    Of the night ■    Having the quality of being lively
ance, ancy	the act of, a state of being	■    Performance ■    Truancy	■    The act of performing ■    The act of being truant
ant, ent, er, or	one who	■    Occupant ■    Respondent ■    Teacher ■    Creator	■    One who occupies ■    One who responds or answers ■    One who teaches ■    One who creates
ar, ary	connected with, related to	■    Ocular ■    Beneficiary	■    Related to the eye ■    Connected with one who receives benefits
ence	quality of, act of	■ Existence	■ The act of existing or being
ful	full of	■ Fearful	■ Full of fear
ic, ac, il, ile	of, like, pertaining to	■    Cardiac ■    Civil ■    Infantile ■    Acidic	■    Pertaining to the heart ■    Pertaining to citizens ■    Pertaining to infants ■    Like acid
ion	the act or condition of	■ Correction	■ The act of correcting
ism	the practice of, support of	■ Patriotism	■ Support of one’s country
ist	one who makes, does	■ Artist	■ One who creates art
ity, ty, y	the state of, character of	■    Unity ■    Shifty ■    Showy	■    The state of being one ■    State of shifting around ■    State of always showing oneself
ive	having the nature of	■ Active	■ Having the nature of acting or moving
less	lacking, without	■ Heartless	■ Without a heart
logy	the study of	■ Biology	■ The study of life processes
ment	the act of, the state of	■ Retirement	■ State of being retired
ness	the quality of	■ Eagerness	■ The quality of being eager
ory	having the nature of, a place or thing for	■ Laboratory	■ A place where work is done
ous, ose	full of, having	■    Dangerous ■    Verbose	■    Full of danger ■    Full of words, or wordy
ship	the art or skill of, the ability to	■ Leadership	■ The ability to lead
some	full of, like	■ Troublesome	■ Full of trouble
tude	the state of quality of, the ability to	■ Aptitude	■ The ability to do
y	Full of, somewhat, somewhat like	■    Musty ■    Chilly ■    Willowy	■    Having a stale oror ■    Somewhat cold ■    Like a willow

Table 4: Taking words apart

Word	Prefix	Root	Suffix	Meaning
Concurrence	con: with	curr: run	ence: act of	Act of running with, happening at same time
Exaggerate	ex: out	ag: to do, act	—	To act out
Irreversible	ir: not	vers: turning	ible: able to	Not able to turn back
	re: again
Malediction	male: bad	dict: to say	—	To say bad things, a negative statement
Precursor	pre: before	curs: to run	or: one who	Something that comes before
Unity	uni: one	—	ty: state of	State of being one, a single thing or being
Untenable	un: not	ten: holding	able: able to	Not able to hold on

Developed by Judith Wilde, PhD for Beta Group - Albuquerque, NM and Arlington, VA (rev 8/06).

This document revised from Gary Gruber's work on increasing children's test scores: Dr. Gary Gruber's Essential Guide to Test Taking for Kids, Grades 3, 4, & 5. (1986); Dr. Gary Gruber's Essential Guide to Test Taking for Kids, Grades 6, 7, 8, & 9. (1986); and Gruber's Complete Preparation for the SaT (9th Edition, 2001) -- all published by Collins, New York City.