Word building in English

English is a very flexible language and you can build on your vocabulary and learn how to make new words.
One way of doing this is to add prefixes (such as dis, pre or co) before the word.

Here's a list of common prefixes with their meanings and some examples.

anti (= against)
antibodies, anti-social

auto (self)
autonomous, autobiography, automobile

bi (= two)
bicycle

co (= with)
cooperate, coordinate

contra (= against)
contradict, contravene

de (= remove)
deregulate, deselect

dis (= not)
disappear

il (= not)
illegal

im (= not)
immaterial, immature

inter (= between)
international

mis(= badly/wrongly)
misinform, misbehave, misunderstand

multi (= many)
multinational

non (= opposite)
non-profit

out (= more than)
outperform, outdone

over (= too much)
oversleep, overwork

post (= after)
postpone, postnatal

pre (= before)
predict

re (= again)
rewrite, relive

sub (= under)
submarine

super (= higher/improved)
supermarket

trans (= across)
transatlantic

uni (= one)
uniform

under (= not enough)
underpaid, underfed

Help a friend learn English
Share

More English reading articles on Rich Reads