Prefixes

Prefix	General Meaning	Example
a(n)-	not , without	atonality, asexuality, amoral, anarchy
ab-	away	abduction, absolutism, ablution
acr(o)-	high, up	Acropolis
aer(o)-	air	aeronautics, aerodrome, aeroplane, aerodynamics
agr(o)-	relating to farming	agriculture
an(a)-	out of	anachronism
andr-	man	androgyny, androcentrism, android, androgen
Anglo-	English or British	Anglo-Irish relations, anglophile
ante-	before	antebellum
anthrop(o)-	relating to human beings	anthropology , anthropocentrism , anthropomorphic
ant(i)-	against	antidote, antibody, anticlockwise
aut(o)-	self	autonomy, autobiography, automobile, autopilot
bathy-	deep	Bathyscape, Bathysphere
bi-	two	bicycle, bijection, bilingual, bicameralism, bisexuality
bi(o)-	life	biology, biography, biosphere, biotechnology
bibli(o)-	relating to books	bibliophilia, bibliography
brady-	slow	bradycardia
bronch(o)-	relating to breathing	bronchitis
cardi(o)-	heart	cardiovascular
cent-, centi -	hundred or hundred th	centenary, centimeter, centipede
chron(o)-	time	chronology, chronograph
circum-	around	circumcision, circumnavigation, circumlocution, circumference
co-	together	cooperative, cohabit
com-, con-, col-, cor-	with, together	conference , connotation , context , Congress , congregation
contr(a)-, contr(o)	against, opposite	contradiction , contraception , controversy
cosm(o)-		cosmology , cosmopolitan , cosmotheism
counter-	against, opposite	counterpoint, counterweight, Counter-Reformation
cry(o)-	frost , icy cold	cryogenics, cryoelectronics, cryostorage
crypt(o)-	hidden	cryptography, cryptozoology
cyt(o)-	hollow, receptacle, cell	cytoplasm, cytology
de-	taking something away, the opposite	decentralisation, deforestation, dehydration
dec(a)-, dek(a)-	ten	decamerous
deci -	one tenth	deciliter
dem(o)-	people, nation	demographics, democracy
derm(o)-, derm(a)-, dermat-	skin	dermatology, dermatitis
dynam(o)-	power , force	dynamic, dynamite , dynamo
dis-	reverse , opposite	dissent, discovery, disambiguation
dys-	bad, deformed, abnormal	dyspepsia, dystrophy, dysarthria
eco-	house	economy, ecology, ecosystem, ecotourism, ecotage
ecto(s)-	outside	ectoskeleton
electr(o)-	electricity	electrocution
encephal(o)-	brain	encephalitis
enne(a)-	nine	enneastyle
eo-	dawn, early	eobacterium
ep(i)-, eph-	above	epitaxy
erg(o)-		ergonomics
ethn(o)-		ethnology , ethnolinguistics , ethnocentrism
eu-	good	eulogy , euthanasia , eugenics , euphemism
ex-	former	ex-wife, ex-president
ex(o)-	outside	exoskeleton
extra-	very, more than usual, outside, beyond	extra-thin, extra-special extraordinary, extraterrestrial
flor(i)-	relating to flowers	florist
fore-	before, in advance	foreskin, foreshadowing
gyn-	female	gynaecology, gynoid
hex(a)-	six	hexapod
hyper-	excessive, (least to greatest in order: hypo, sub, super, hyper)	hyperactive, hyperthyroidism
hyp(o)-	below, (least to greatest in order: hypo, sub, super, hyper)	hypodermic
in-	extremely	inflammable , invaluable
in-, il-, im-, ir-	not	infallibility , illiteracy , immoral , irrelevant
inter-	between, from one to another	intervention , international
intra-	within, interior	intramural, intravenous
kilo -	thousand	kilogram, kilowatt
mal-	bad, badly	malpractice, malnutrition
maxi-	most, very, large	maxi-dress
mega -, megal-	million , very large	megabyte, megaphone
meta-	after, beyond	metacarpal, metaphysics
micro -	one millionth, very small	microgram , microorganism, micronation
mid-	in the middle of	mid-term elections , Mid-Autumn Festival, Mid-Atlantic Ridge
milli -	thousandth	milligram, milliliter
mini-	small	miniskirt, miniscule
mis-	bad , wrong	miscarriage, misanthropy, misogyny
mon(o)-	one , single	monolith , monorail , monotony , monocle
multi-	many	multiculturalism , multilingual
non-	not	nonsense, non-denial denial
non-	nine	none, nonagon
oct(o)-, oct(a)-	eight	octane , octopod , octagon
oo- (" oo -oh")	egg, ovum	oocyte
out-	more, to a greater degree	to outdo, to outrun
over-	more than normal, too much	overpopulation, over-consumption
pent(a)-	five	pentagon
post-	after	Post-Fordism , postpartum depression , postmodernity , postmodernism
pre-	before	prediction, preview, precedent, prenatal care
pro-	for, in favour of	pro-choice, pro-life, promotion
quadr-, quart-	four	quadrangle, quadruplet, quartic, quartile
quin(que)-	five , into five parts	quinquesection
quint(i)-	fifth , five	quintiped
re-	again, repeatedly	reduction , reflection , revolution
rect(i)-	proper, straight	rectify, rectangle
scler(o)-	hard	scleroderma atherosclerosis
semi-	half	semi-automatic, semi-detached
Sino-	Chinese	Sino-American relations
sphygm(o)-	pulso	sphygmomanometer
schiz(o)-, schist(o)-	split	schizophrenia, schistocyte
sub-	below, less than, under,(least to greatest in order: hypo, sub, super, hyper)	subset, subsonic, subway, subtitles
super-	extremely, more than, (least to greatest in order: hypo, sub, super, hyper)	superhuman , Superego , supersonic
syn-	along with, together, at the same time	synergy, synchronicity
tach(y)-, tach(o)-	fast, speed	tachycardia , tachometer
tel(e)-, tel(o)-	far, over a long distance	telecommunications, television, telephoto lens, telodynamic
tel(o)-, tel(e)-	end, complete, mature	teloblast
trans-	across, beyond	transfer, transubstantiation, transatlantic, Trans-Siberian railway
tri-	three	triangle, tricolor, triptych
ultra-	extremely, beyond a certain limit	Ultramontanism , ultraviolet
un-	not, opposite, take something away	unconstitutional , undelete
uni-	one , single	uniform , unification
ur-	first, original	urtext
zoo- (" zoo -oh")	relating to animals	zoomorphic , zoology