List of Common Prefixes

Prefix	Meaning	Example
uni, mono	one	unicycle: a vehicle with one wheel
du, bi	two	bipolar: having two extremities (or ends)
tri	three	tripartite: containing three parts
quadr, tetra	four	quadriplegic: a person paralyzed in both arms and both legs
quint, penta	five	quintuplets: five babies all born at the same time from the same mother
sex, hexa	six	sextet: a group of six
sept, hepta	seven	heptagon: a geometric shape with seven sides
octo, oct	eight	octopus: a sea creature with eight tentacles
nov, non	nine	nonagenarian: a person in his or her nineties
dec, deca	ten	decade: a period of ten years

Prefix	Meaning	Example
a	without	amoral: not having morals
anti	against	antifreeze: a substance that prevents freezing
contra	against	contradict: say the opposite of
de	from, remove	dethrone: to remove from power
dis	apart, away	disbar: to take away a lawyer’s right to practice law
il, im, in, ir	not	irreparable: not fixable
mal	bad, wrong	malcontent: an unhappy person
mis	wrong, bad	misconstrue: mistake the meaning of
non	not	noncommittal: giving no clear indication of attitude or feeling

Prefix	Meaning	Example
ante	before	antebellum: existing before a war
fore	before	foreword: preface
post	after	postpone: to put off until later
pre	before	premonition: previous notice or warning
re	again	revise: to see again, to change
syn	the same time	synchronous: happening simultaneously

Prefix	Meaning	Example
ad	to, for	adhere: to stick to something
circum	around	circumnavigate: go around
co, col	with	cooperate: to do together
com, con, cor	with	converse: to talk with another
e, ex	out of	extract: a piece taken from a larger work or thing
hetero	other	heterogeneous: consisting of diverse parts
homo	same	homophone: a word that sounds the same as another word
hyper	over, more	hyperactive: overactive
hypo	under, less	hypothermia: low body heat
inter	between	interview: conversation between two people
intra	within	intramural: related to interaction of groups or people within a larger group
sub	under	submarine: underwater
super	above	supersonic: faster than the speed of sound
trans	across	transnational: going across national boundaries