(Eng. 1) Word Analysis and Vocabulary Skills

Lesson 1 is devoted to the study of Word Analysis and Vocabulary Skills

Take a look at the following for some useful information on prefixes, roots and suffixes

By definition, PREFIXES are syllables attached to the beginning of words to change or add to the meaning of the root word in some way. For example, the word prefix itself uses the prefix pre-, meaning before. Thus the meaning of the root word, fix, changes: fix: to place securely or firmly

Prefixes	Meaning	Example
1. ab	from	aberration
2. ad—also ac, af, ag, al,	to	adequate
an, ap, ar, as, at
3. ambi	both	ambidextrous
4. an —also a	without	anarchy
5. anti	against	antipathetic
6. ante	before	antecedent
7. be	throughout	belie
8. bi	two	bilateral
9. cata	down	catacomb
10. circum	around	circumscribe
11. com —also con, col,	together	confluence
cor, cog, co
12. contra	against	contravene
13. de	down (negative)	debase
14. deca	ten	decathlon
15. decem	ten	decimal
16. di	two	digraph
17. dia	through, between	dialectic
18. dis	apart (negative)	disparity
19. du	two	duplicate
20. dys	abnormal	dysphoria
21. epi	upon	epicenter
22. equi	equal	equitable
23. ex	out	extricate
24. extra	beyond	extraterrestrial
25. fore	in front of	foreword
26. he mi	half	hemisphere
27. hyper	excessive	hyperbole
28. hypo	too little	hypothermia
29. in —also ig, il, im, ir	not	inefficient
30. in —also il, im, ir	in, very	invite, inflammable
31. inter	between	interloper
32. intro—also intra	inside	introspective
33. kilo	one thousand	kilogram
34. meta	changing	metaphysics
35. micro	small	microcosm
36. mili —also milli	one thousand	millipede
37. mis	bad, hate	misanthrope
38. mono	one	monopoly
39. multi	many	multifarious
40. neo	new	neophyte
41. nil —also nihil	nothing	nihilism
42. non	not	nonentity
43. ob—also oc, of, op	against	obstinate
44. pan	all	panegyric
45. para	beside	paranormal
46. per	throughout	permeate
47. peri	around	periscope
48. poly	many	polyglot
49. post	after	posterity
50. pre	before	predecessor
51. prim	first	primitive
52. pro	forward	procession
53. quad	four	quadruple
54. re	again	reiterate
55. retro	backward	retrograde
56. semi	half	semiliterate
57. sub —also suc, suf,	under	succumb
sug, sup, sus
58. super —also supra	above	superannuated
59. syn —also sym, syl	together	synthesis
60. trans	across	transgression
61. un	not	unkempt
62. uni	one	unique

ROOT is the main part of a word; the base upon which prefixes and suffixes are added.

	ROOT	MEANING	EXAMPLES
1	ac, acr	sharp, bitter	acid, acute, acrimonious
2	act, ag	to do, to drive, to force, to lead	agent, enact, agitate
3	ad, al	to, toward, near	adjacent, adhere, allure
4	al, ali, alter	other, another	alternative, alias, alien
5	am	love	amiable, amity, enamor
6	amb	to go, to walk	ambulatory, preamble, ambush
7	amb, amph	both, more than one, around	ambiguous, ambivalent, amphitheater
8	anim	life, mind, soul, spirit	unanimous, animosity equanimity
9	annui, ennui	year	annual, anniversary, perennial
10	anthro, andr	man, human	anthropology, android, misanthrope
11	apo	away	apology, apocalypse, apotheosis
12	apt, ept	skill, fitness, ability	adapt, adept, inept
13	arch, archi, archy	chief, principal, ruler	hierarchy, monarchy, anarchy
14	auto	self	automatic, autonomy, automaton
15	be	to be, to have a certain quality	befriend, bemoan, belittle
16	bel, bell	war	rebel, belligerent, antebellum
17	ben, bon	good	benefit, benevolent, bonus
18	cad, cid	to fall, to happen by chance	accident, coincidence, cascade
19	cant, cent, chant	to sing	chant, enchant, recant
20	cap, capit, cipit	head, headlong	capital, principal, capitulate
21	cap, cip, cept	to take, to get	capture, intercept, emancipate
22	card, cord, cour	heart	encourage, cardiac, discord
23	carn	flesh	carnivore, reincarnation, carnage
24	cast, chast	cut	caste, chastise, castigate
25	ced, ceed, cess	to go, to yield, to stop	exceed, concede, incessant
26	centr	center	central, concentric, eccentric
27	cern, cert, cret, crim, crit	to separate, to judge, to distinguish, to decide	ascertain, critique, discern
28	chron	time	chronic, chronology, synchronize
29	cis	to cut	scissors, precise, incisive
30	cla, clo, clu	shut, close	closet, enclose, preclude
31	claim, clam	to shout, to cry out	exclaim, proclaim, clamor
32	cli, clin	to lean toward, bend	decline, recline, proclivity
33	cour, cur	running, a course	recur, incursion, cursory
34	crat, cracy	to govern	democracy, autocracy, bureaucracy
35	cre, cresc, cret	to grow	creation, increase, increment
36	cred	to believe, to trust	incredible, credit, incredulous
37	cryp	hidden	crypt, cryptic, cryptography
38	cub, cumb	to lie down	succumb, incubate, incumbent
39	culp	blame	culprit, culpable, exculpate
40	dac, doc	to teach	doctor, indoctrinate, docile
41	dem	people	democracy, epidemic, pandemic
42	di, dia	apart, through	dialogue, diatribe, dichotomy
43	dic, dict, dit	to say, to tell, to use words	predict, dictionary, indict
44	dign	worth	dignity, indignant, disdain
45	dog, dox	opinion	dogma, orthodox, paradox
46	dol	suffer, pain	condolence, indolence, dolorous
47	don, dot, dow	to give	donate, endow, endow
48	dub	doubt	dubious, indubitable, dubiety
49	duc, duct	to lead	conduct, induct, conducive
50	dur	hard	endure, durable, obdurate
51	dys	faulty, abnormal	dysfunctional, dystopia, dyslexia
52	epi	upon	epidemic, epigram, epigraph
53	equ	equal, even	equation, equanimity, equivocate
54	err	to wander	err, error, erratic
55	esce	becoming	adolescent, coalesce, acquiesce
56	eu	good, well	euphoria, eulogy, euthanasia
57	fab, f am	speak	fable, famous, affable
58	fac, fic, fig, fait, feit, fy	to do, to make	fiction, factory, feign
59	fer	to bring, to carry, to bear	offer, transfer, proliferate
60	ferv	to boil, to bubble	fervor, fervid, effervescent
61	fid	faith, trust	confide, fidelity, infidel
62	fin	end	final, finite, affinity
63	flag, flam	to burn	flame, flammable, inflammatory
64	flect, flex	to bend	deflect, reflect, flexible
65	flu, flux	to flow	fluid, fluctuation, superfluous
66	fore	before	foresight, forestall, forbear
67	fort	chance	fortune, fortunate, fortuitous
68	fra, frac, frag, fring	to break	fracture, fraction, infringe
69	fus	to pour	confuse, infusion, diffuse
70	gen	birth, creation, race, kind	generous, genetics, homogenous
71	gn, gno	to know	ignore, recognize, incognito
72	grad, gress	to step	progress, aggressive, digress
73	grat	pleasing	grateful, gratitude, ingratiate
74	her, hes	to stick	cohere, adherent, inherent
75	(h)etero	different, other	heterosexual, heterogeneous, heterodox
76	(h)om	same	homogeneous, homonym, anomaly
77	hyper	over, excessive	hyperactive, hyperextend, hyperbole
78	id	one's own	idiom, idiosyncrasy, ideology
79	ject	to throw, to throw down	eject, dejected, conjecture
80	join, junct	to meet, to join	joint, junction, juxtapose
81	jur	to swear	jury, perjury, abjure
82	lect, leg	to select, to choose	election, select, eclectic
83	lev	lift, light, rise	elevator, lever, alleviate
84	loc, log, loqu	word, speech	dialogue, eloquent, loquacious
85	luc, lum, lus	light	illustrate, lucid, luminous
86	lud, lus	to play	illusion, elude, allude
87	lug, lut, luv	to wash	lavatory, dilute, deluge
88	mag, maj, max	big	magnify, magnitude, magnanimous
89	man	hand	manual, manufacture, manifest
90	min	small	minute, diminish, minutiae
91	min	to project, to hang over	prominent, imminent, preeminent
92	mis, mit	to send	transmit, remit, intermittent
93	mon, monit	to warn	monitor, admonish, remonstrate
94	morph	shape	amorphous, metamorphosis, anthropomorphic
95	mort	death	immortal, morbid, moratorium
96	mut	change	mutate, immutable, permutation
97	nam, nom, noun, nown, nym	rule, order	economy, taxonomy, autonomy
98	nat, nas, nai	to be born	native, nascent, renaissance
99	nee, nic, noc, nox	harm, death	innocent, noxious, innocuous
100	nom, nym, noun, nown	name	nominate, homonym, nominal
101	nounc, nunc	to announce	announce, pronounce, denounce
102	nov, neo, nou	new	novice, novel, neophyte
103	ob, oc, of, op	toward, to, against, completely, over	object, obstruct, obsequious
104	omni	all	omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient
105	pac, peas	peace	pacify, appease, pacifier
106	pan	all, everyone	panorama, pandemic, panacea
107	par	equal	par, disparate, parity
108	para	next to, beside	parallel, paragon, paradox
109	pas, pat, path	feeling, suffering, disease	passionate, antipathy, apathetic
110	pau, po, pov, pu	few, little, poor	poverty, pauper, impoverish
111	ped	child, education	pediatrician, encyclopedia, pedantic
112	ped, pod	foot	pedestrian, expedite, impede
113	pen, pun	to pay, to compensate	penalty, punishment, penance
114	pend, pens	to hang, to weigh, to pay	depend, compensate, pensive
115	per	completely, wrong	perplex, permeate, pervade
116	peri	around	perimeter, peripheral, peripatetic
117	pet, pit	to go, to seek, to strive	compete, petition, impetuous
118	phil	love	philosophy, philanthropy, bibliophile
119	phone	sound	telephone, homophone, cacophony
120	plac	to please	placid, placebo, complacent
121	ple	to fill	complete, deplete, plethora
122	plex, plic, ply	to fold, to twist, to tangle, to bend	complex, comply, implicit
123	pon, pos, pound	to put, to place	expose, component, juxtapose
124	port	to carry	import, portable, importune
125	prehend, prise	to take, to get, to seize	surprise, apprehend, reprisal
126	pro	much, for, a lot	proliferate, profuse, proselytize
127	prob	to prove, to test	probe, probation, reprobate
128	pug	to fight	repugnant, pugnacious, impugn
129	punc, pung, poign	to point, to prick	point, puncture, punctilious
130	que, quis	to seek	inquisitive, conquest, query
131	qui	quiet	quiet, tranquil, acquiesce
132	rid, ris	to laugh	riddle, ridiculous, derision
133	rog	to ask	interrogate, surrogate, abrogate
134	sacr, sanct, secrsacredsacr	sacred	sacred, sacrament, sanction
135	sal, sil,sault, suit	to leap, to jump	assault, insolent, desultory
136	sci	to know	conscious, science, omniscient
137	scribe, scrip	to write	scribble, prescribe, circumscribe
138	se	apart	separate, segregate, seditious
139	sec, sequ	to follow	consequence, sequel, obsequious
140	sed, sess, sid	to sit, to be still, to plan, to plot	subside, assiduous, dissident
141	sens, sent	to feel, to be aware	sense, sentiment, dissent
142	sol	to loosen, to free	dissolve, resolution, dissolution
143	spec, spic, spit	to look, to see	perspective, speculation, circumspect
144	sta, sti	to stand, to be in place	static, obstinate, steadfast
145	sua	smooth	suave, persuade, dissuade
146	tac, tic	to be silent	tacit, reticent, taciturn
147	tain, ten, tent, tin	to hold	detain, sustain, tenacious
148	tend, tens, tent, ten u	to stretch, to thin	extend, tension, tenuous
149	theo	god	atheist, theology, apotheosis
150	tract	to drag, to pull, to draw	attract, detract, tractable
151	us, ut	to use	abuse, utility, usurp
152	ven, vent	to come, to move toward	convene, venture, intervene
153	er	truth	verdict, verisimilitude, veritable
154	vers, vert	to turn	revert, aversion, versatile
155	vi	life	vivid, vigorous, vicarious
156	vid, vis	to see	evident, survey, visionary
157	voc, vok	to call	vocal, advocate, equivocate
158	vol	to wish	volunteer, volition, benevolence

SUFFIXES are syllables added to the end of words to change or add to their meaning. They often change a word’s part of speech, thereby also changing how the word functions in a sentence. Suffixes tell you whether a word is a person, place, or thing (a noun); an action or state of being (a verb); or a modifier, which is a word that describes (an adjective or adverb).

SUFFIXES	MEANING	EXAMPLE
1. able —also ible	capable of	legible
2. acy	state of	celibacy
3. ant	full of	luxuriant
4. ate	to make	consecrate
5. er, or	one who	censor
6. fic	making	traffic
7. ism	belief	monotheism
8. ist	one who	fascist
9. ize	to make	victimize
10. oid	like	steroid
11. logy	study of	biology
12. ose	full of	verbose
13. ous	full of	fatuous
14. tude	state of	rectitude
15. ure	state of, act	primogeniture

RULE: MOST OF THE TIME, BUT NOT ALWAYS

While prefixes and suffixes are fundamental components of our vocabulary, it’s important to remember that they are tools to use in conjunction with other vocabulary skills. For example, vanquish and varnish both end in -ish, but they are both verbs, not adjectives. But most words that end in -ish are adjectives describing a characteristic. Thus, as you come across vocabulary words with common prefixes and suffixes, use your knowledge of prefixes and suffixes, but look for other clues to meaning as well, including context and word rootsto be sure you are on the right track.

NOUN SUFFIXES

-ance, -ence: action, process, or state of

adolescence (the state of growing up from childhood to adulthood; the transitional period between youth and maturity),

dependence (the state of being dependent)

-ion: act or process; state or condition

detection (the act of detecting),

election (the act or power of electing)

-ism: act, practice, or process; state or doctrine of

feminism (belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes),

materialism (the belief that the acquisition of material possessions is the highest good)

-ist: one who (performs, makes, produces, believes, etc.)

dentist (one who is trained and licensed to practice dentistry),

pianist (one who plays the piano)

-ity: quality, state, or degree

equality (the state or quality of being equal),

fidelity (the quality of being faithful)

-sis: process or action

diagnosis (the process of identifying the nature or cause of a disease or injury),

paralysis (loss of sensation or ability to move or function)

-ure: act, condition, process, function

enclosure (the act of enclosing or state of being enclosed),

failure (the condition or act of not achieving a desired end; the act or fact of failing to perform as expected or requested)

ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES

-able, -ible: capable or worthy of; tending or liable to

dependable (worthy of being depended on, trustworthy),

incredible (not credible; unable to be believed, improbable)

-al, -ial, ical: having the quality of, relating to, or characterized by

practical (of or relating to practice or action; useful),

ethical (of or relating to ethics or morals)

-an, -ian: one who is or does; related to, characteristic of

humanitarian (one who is devoted to the promotion of human welfare; relating to, or characteristic of a humanitarian),

politician (one who seeks or holds a political office)

-ic: pertaining or relating to, having the quality of

dramatic (of or relating to drama, theatrical),

realistic (of or relating to the representation of things as they really are)

-ile: having the qualities of

fragile (easily broken, damaged, or destroyed; frail),

servile (pertaining to or befitting a slave; abjectly submissive, slavish)

-ish: having the character of

childish (characteristic of, pertaining to, or resembling a child),

foolish (devoid of good sense or judgment; exhibiting folly, in the manner of a fool)

-ive: performing or tending towards (an action); having the nature of

cooperative (marked by a willingness to cooperate; done with or working with others for a common purpose),

defensive (serving to defend or protect)

-ous, -ose: full of, having the quality of, relating to

glorious (having or deserving glory, famous),

nauseous (causing nausea, sickening)

VERB SUFFIXES

-ate: to make, cause to be or become

deteriorate (to make worse, impair; to make inferior in quality or character),

irritate (to cause annoyance or disturbance in; to make impatient, angry, annoyed)

-ify, -fy: to make, form into

beautify (to make beautiful),

specify (to state explicitly or in detail)

-ize: to cause to be or become, to bring about

colonize (to establish a colony),

democratize (to make or become democratic)

References:

Chesla, E. (2004). Just in Time Vocabulary. LearningExpress, LLC, New York

Kolby, J. Vocabulary 4000. The 4000 Words Essential for an Educated Vocabulary,