Enlarging Vocabulary through Etymology
A KEY TO WORD RECOGNITION
PREFIXES
| PREFIX | MEANING | EXAMPLE |
|---|---|---|
| a, ab | away from | amoral, absent |
| ad, ac , ag, at | to | advent, accrue, aggressive, attract |
| an | without | anarchy |
| ante | before | antedate |
| anti | against | antipathy |
| bene | well | beneficent |
| bi | two | bicameral |
| circum | around | circumspect |
| com, con | together | commit, confound |
| col | collate | |
| contra | against | contraband |
| de | from, down | descend |
| dis, di | apart | distract, divert |
| ex, e | out | exit, emit |
| extra | beyond | extracircurricular |
| in, im | inept, impossible | |
| il, ir | illicit, irrelevant | |
| inter | between | interpose |
| in, intra | within | inheret, intramural |
| intro | introspective |
SUFFIXES
| SUFFIX | MEANING | EXAMPLE |
|---|---|---|
| able, ible | capable of being | capable, reversible |
| age | state of | storage |
| ance | relating to | reliance |
| ary | relating to, place | dictionary |
| ate | act | confiscate |
| ation | action | radiation |
| cy | quality | democracy |
| ence | relating to | confidence |
| er | one who | adviser |
| ic | pertaining to | democratic |
| ious | full of | rebellious |
| ize | to make like | harmonize |
| ment | result | filament |
| ty | condition | sanity |