Prefixes

Common Prefixes Prefix | Meaning | Example | a-, an- | without | amoral | ante- | before | antecedent | anti- | against | anticlimax | auto- | self | autopilot | circum- | around | circumvent | co- | with | copilot | com-, con- | with | companion, contact | contra- | against | contradict | de- | off, away from | devalue | dis- | not | disappear | en- | put into | enclose | ex- | out of, former | extract, ex-president | extra- | beyond, more than | extracurricular | hetero- | different | heterosexual | homo- | same | homonym | hyper- | over, more | hyperactive | il-, im-, in-, ir- | not, without | illegal, immoral, inconsiderate, irresponsible | in- | into | insert | inter- | between | intersect | intra- | between | intravenous | macro- | large | macroeconomics | micro- | small | microscope | mono- | one | monocle | non- | not, without | nonentity | omni- | all, every | omniscient | post- | after | postmortem | pre-, pro- | before, forward | precede, project | sub- | under | submarine | syn- | same time | synchronize | trans- | across | transmit | tri- | three | tricycle | un- | not | unfinished | uni- | one | unicorn | | | |

A suffix is a letter or a group of letters attached to the end of a word to form a new word or to alter the grammatical function of the original word. For example, the verb read can be made into the noun reader by adding the suffix -er; read can be made into the adjective readable by adding the suffix -able.
Understanding the meanings of the common suffixes can help us deduce the meanings of new words that we encounter. The table below defines and illustrates 26 common suffixes.
Common Suffixes Noun Suffixes | Suffix | Meaning | Example | -acy | state or quality | privacy | -al | act or process of | refusal | -ance, -ence | state or quality of | maintenance, eminence | -dom | place or state of being | freedom, kingdom | -er, -or | one who | trainer,