Prefixes and Suffixes in English: Guide and Examples

There are many prefixes and suffixes examples but before you check you need to know what prefixes and suffixes are.

A Prefix is a letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a word to make a new word

For example:

• Atheist
• Autopilot

A Suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word to make a new word

List of Prefixes

These are some of the most common prefixes in English

refix	Meaning	Examples
a-, an-	without, lack of, not	atheist
ante-	before, earlier, in front of	antecedent,
anti-	against, opposite of	antibody
auto-	self, same	autopilot
circum-	around, about	circumscribe
co-	with, together	co-pilot
com-, con-	together, with	companion,
contra-, contro-	against, opposite	contradict
de-	down, off, away from	devalue, deactivate,
dis-	not, apart, away	disappear
en-	put into, cover with	enclose
ex-	out of, from, former	extract, ex-president
extra-	beyond, outside,	extracurricular
hetero-	different, other	heterosexual
homo-, homeo-	same, alike	homosexual
hyper-	over, more, beyond	hyperactive
il-, im-, in-, ir-	not, without	illegal, immoral
in-	in, into	insert
inter-	between, among	interstellar
intra-, intro-	within, inside	introvert
macro-	large, prominent	macrocosm
micro-	very small	microscope
mono-	one, single, alone	monogamy,
non-	not, without	nonaggressive
omni-	all, every	omniscient
post-	after, behind	postmortem
pre-, pro-	before, forward	precede
sub-	under, lower	submarine
sym-, syn-	same time, together	symmetry
tele-	over a distance	telecommunications
trans-	across, beyond	transmit, transaction
tri-	three, every third	tricycle, trimester
un-	opposite of	unfinished, unskilled,
uni-	one, single	unicorn
up-	higher/better	upgrade, upload

Suffixes

These are some most common suffixes in English

eer	engaged in something	volunteer, engineer
-er	someone who performs an action	helper, preacher
-ion	the action or process of	celebration, opinion
-ity	the state or condition of	probability, equality
-ment	the action or result of	movement
-ness	a state or quality	fondness, awareness
-or	a person who is something	distributor
-sion	state or being	depression, confusion
-ship	position held	worship, ownership
-th	state or quality	strength, labyrinth

Sentences with Prefixes and Suffixes

These are some examples of sentences with prefixes and suffixes in English

Let’s start with the prefixes in English

1. He became a superstar overnight.
2. This is a unsafe place for little children
3. She is an atheist
4. They won’t disappear

Let’s start with the suffixes in English

1. There is a lot of confusion out there
2. They worship God the way they know
3. She was a preacher in the north

Video about Prefixes and Suffixes

Watch this short video about prefixes and suffixes

Most common prefixes and suffixes and what they mean : Most common prefixes and suffixes

Follow EnglishPost.org on Facebook

You can check our latest articles in any of these pages:

1. Teaching English in Costa Rica
2. EnglishPost.org
3. SoyProfe.org

More Information

These are some posts that you might find interesting

1. Transitive Verbs List
2. List of Intensifiers and Mitigators
3. Demonstrative Pronouns Examples
4. 100 Linking Words Examples
5. 5 Types of Pronouns in English
6. 3 Types of Conditional Sentences
7. 25 Passive Voice Examples
8. Guide to Using Too and Enough
9. 3 Types of Conjunctions in English
10. Full Guide to Prepositions of Place