40 Prefix Examples and Their Meanings

How do you turn disappear into reappear? It’s not a magic trick — it’s just a matter of changing the prefix. Prefixes may only be a few letters long, but they have the power to completely shift the meaning of a word, and even create a new word altogether.

In this article

What Is a Prefix?

Common Prefix Examples

Prefixes That Mean “Not”

Wait, Do You Hyphenate Prefixes?

A prefix is a word, syllable, or letter added to the beginning of a root word to alter its meaning.

For example, in the word disappear, dis- means “do the opposite,” and the root word -appear means “to be visible.” Disappear means “opposite of being visible” — to no longer be seen.

When you change the prefix of a word, you can change the word’s meaning — or even the meaning of the whole sentence.

The magician made the rabbit disappear. (The rabbit vanished.)
The magician made the rabbit reappear. (The rabbit became visible again.)
I feel transformed after my trip to the spa. (The spa changed me.)
I feel informed after my trip to the spa. (I learned something after going to the spa.)
Paul reported the criminals to the police. (Paul told the police about the criminals.)
Paul teleported the criminals to the police. (Paul used technology to instantly send the criminals to the police)

Both prefixes and suffixes are types of affixes — words that you add to a root word to change its meaning.

While prefixes come at the beginning of a word (like disappear), suffixes come at the end of a word (as in disappearance). Both types of affixes are important in creating the meaning of a word.

Most prefixes come from Latin or Greek roots, and they appear in more words (and numbers) than you think.

Prefix	Prefix Meaning	Word Examples
ante-	before, prior to, front	antebellum, antechamber, anterior
auto-	self, one's self, yourself	autobiography, autograph, autonomy
circum -	around, go around	circumnavigate, circumscribe, circumvent
co-	jointly, with, together	coexist, copilot, coworker
com-	together, with	commiserate, compartment, community
con-	with, together	confound, confluence, conversation
en-	put into, surround	encase, endow, envelope
exo-	out, outer	exhale, extend, exoskeleton
extra-	beyond, more	extracurricular, extraterrestrial, extravert
hetero-	different, not the same	heterogeneous, heterosexual, heterocyst
homo-	same, not different	homogenized, homophone, homosexual
hyper-	extreme, beyond	hyperactive, hyperspace, hypertension
inter-	between, in the midst of, among	intermittent, intersect, interstate
mega -	large, massive	megaphone, megadose, megabyte
micro-	small, tiny	microcosm, microphone, microscope
mid-	middle, midpoint	midnight, midseason, midterm
mis-	incorrect, bad, wrongful	misappropriate, misunderstand, misuse
mono-	one, singular	monogamous, monotone, monochrome
over-	too much, excessive	overcook, overdone, overwrought
post-	after	postdate, postscript, post-war
pre-	before, prior to	prefix, preliminary, preschool
re-	again, do over	reconsider, re-evaluate, rewrite
semi-	partial, somewhat, less than fully	semiconductor, semester, semi-retired
sub-	below, beneath	subjugate, submarine, sub-par
trans-	across, change	transfer, transgender, translate

Several prefixes make the new word mean the opposite of the original meaning of the base word.

Prefix	Prefix Meaning	Word Examples
a-	lacking, without, not	amoral, atheist, abiotic
ab-	away, removed, not	abnormal, abstract, absent
an-	without, not, lacking	anaerobic, anacoustic, anhydrous
anti-	against, opposing, contrary to	antibiotic, antifreeze, antisocial
contra-	contrary to, against, opposing	contraindicated, contralateral, contraflow
counter-	opposing, contrary to, against	counterproposal, counteroffer, counter-attack
de-	reverse, undo, remove	deactivate, de-ice, deplane
dis-	remove, separate, apart from	disagree, disapprove, disconnect
ex-	away from, former, lacking	ex-husband, ex-wife, ex-boss
il-	not, lacking, without	illegal, illegible, illogical
im-	without, not, lacking	impossible, improper, impermeable
in-	no, without, lacking	injustice, incomplete, invisible
ir-	not, non, opposite	irreversible, irreplaceable, irregular
non-	not, lacking, without	nonexistent, nonfiction, nonnegotiable
un-	opposite, not, lacking	unkind, unresponsive, unruly

For the most part, you don’t need to hyphenate a prefix to its root word. However, there are a few times to use a hyphen when adding a prefix to a word.

Always hyphenate the prefix self (as in self-esteem or self-confident).
Hyphenate the prefix ex- when it means “former” (as in ex-wife or ex-boss).
Hyphenate prefixes when the prefix ends with the same letter that the root word begins with (such as non-negotiable or re-establish).
Hyphenate prefixes if they could be confused with compound words (such as re-cover to mean “cover again”).