GUESSING WORD MEANINGS

Using affixes to guess word meanings

Many English words are made up of three parts: prefixes, stems and suffixes.
Prefixes are elements which are attached to the beginning of a word, or come before
(pre—) it. Examples are foil like bi— (meaning ‘two’ or ‘twice’) in words like biannual
(meaning ‘twice a year’ or ‘every two years’) or bilateral (meaning ‘having or involving
two sides, reciprocal, or involving two sides or parties equally’), and inter- (meaning
‘between’ or ‘among’) in words like interlay (meaning ‘to lay or put between or among’)
and interlude (meaning ‘something that fills time between two events’). Stems are the basic
forms from which other words are composed. Examples are mit (meaning ‘send’) and tract
(meaning ‘pull’ or ‘draw’). They are used to make words like transmit, submit, traction and
retract. Suffixes are elements which are attached to the ends of stems, or come after them.
Examples are -er (meaning ‘the person who’) in words like painter (‘one who paints’) and
miner (‘a person who works in a mine digging coal, gold, etc.’) and -ize (meaning ‘to be or
make like’) in words like economize (‘to be or make economical’) and hypothesize (‘to
make a hypothesis’).
Prefixes and suffixes are together called affixes. Knowing, the meaning of common
stems and affixes can help you guess the meaning of unfamiliar words when you are
reading. We will look at sterns in the next section. In this section we will work on affixes.
As we said a moment ago, there are two types of affixes, prefixes and suffixes.
Prefixes usually change a word’s meaning; suffixes generally alter the part of speech a
word represents, e.g. whether it is a verb, a noun, an adjective or
an adverb. Here are some examples of these processes:

Prefixes changing meaning

prefix usual meaning example meaning

anti- against antimagnetic resisting magnetism
antiseptic stopping infection
antithesis contrast of two ideas, theories
de- lower, reduce, decarbonate remove carbon dioxide from
lessen, reduce, reverse,
decrease depopulate reduce population
mis- bad wrong misbehave behave wrongly,
inappropriately
mismanage manage badly, dishonestly
misunderstand misinterpret, understand
wrongly
un- not unaware not aware, not conscious
unemployed not used, not employed
unqualified absolute, without
qualifications
 Suffixes changing meaning
part of speech suffix examples

a. verb -ize theorize

-ate resuscitate
-fy satisfy
b. adverb -ly slowly

c. noun -ance contrivance

-ence coincidence
-dom suction
-tion wisdom
-ism communism
-ist capitalist
-er researcher
-ness consciousness
-ship leadership
d.adjective -able memorable
-ible divisible
-ful eventful
-less careless
-ic eclectic
-ical historical
-ious religious
-ish reddish
-ive responsive
Suffixes have meangings, too, of course, as can be seen in the list. Thus, edible
means’capable of being eaten’, accessible means ‘capable of being reached and so on.

Recognizing affixes and knowing when you meet new words. If you came across
demystify, for example, you might analyze it something like this. The myst looks like it
comes from mystery. De- usually means ‘lower’ reduce or reverse’, and the -fy shows it is a
verb. It must mean something like ‘to take the mystery out of’. You would be right. Also,
you could quickly tell whether your guess was probably correct or not by seeing if it fitted
the context.

Use affixes to guess vocabulary.

Study the following lists of prefixes and suffixes.

 Prefix Meaning
Example

a-, to, toward ashore, aside

a-, an- not, without amoral
ab-, abs- away from abstraction
ad-, ac-, ag- to adhere
al-, an-, as-, at
ambi- both ambidextrous
ante- before anterior
anti- against antisocial
auto- self automation
bene- well benefactor
bi- two biceps
cata- down catastrophe
circum around circumvent
con-, com-, cor-
cog-, col- together, with cognate
contra- against contraception
de- from deferral
di-, dif-, dis- part, separate divide
dis- not disillusioned
en-, em- put into enthralled
e-, ex- out, from extract
extra (0) - beyond extraterrestrial
ii-, in-, im-, ir- not impartial
in-, im-, in, into involved
infra- below infrared
inter- between, among interfere
intro- into introduce
intra- within intramural
mal- bad maladjusted
meta- beyond metaphysics
micro- small microscope
mis- wrong misdeed
mono- one monogamy
multi- many multitude
non- not nonentity
ob-, oc-, of-, ops-, obstruct against
out- surpass outmaneuver
over- excessive overconfident
para- beside paramedic
per- through permeate
poly- many polyglot
post- after posthumous
pre- before premeditated
preter- more than preternatural
pro- for proceed
re- back, again regain
retro- backward retroactive
se- apart sequential
semi- half semicolon
sub-, suc-, suf-, under submarine
sug-, sup-, sur-
super- over superfluous
syn-, sym-, syl-, sys- together symbol
trans- across transmute
ultra- beyond ultrasound
un- not uncertain

SUFFIXES

Suffix that forms a noun Meaning Example

-acy, -cy state or quality accuracy, infancy

-age activity courage
result of activity drainage
-al action refusal, rival
-ance, -ence action or process assistance,
dependence
-ant,-ent agent disinfectant,
dependent
-ate state magistrate
-ation resulting state starvation
action exploration
institution organization
-dom rank, condition kingdom
-ee domain employee
-eer affected person volunteer
-en person concerned with maiden
diminutive oxen
-er,-or person who does astronomer
something
-ese- inhabitants, language Chinese
-ess, -tress female form authoress, enchantress
-ful an amount handful
-hood status childhood
-ian, -an pertaining to Polynesian, Republican
-ia names dahlia, Australia
illlnesses phobia, hysteria
classes reptilia
-ic, -ics arts and sciences logic, music
arithmetic, physics
-id name orchid, pyramid
-ide names of elements chloride, dioxide
-in,-ine names of substances gelatin, margarine
-ing material made of roofing
activity driving
result of activity building
-ion condition or action communication
-ism attitude idealism
action baptism
conduct heroism
condition alcoholism
-ist member of a party socialist
occupation cellist
-ite a member of a socialite
community
-ity state or condition purity
-ive condition captive
-let, -ette diminutive booklet,
kitchenette
-ling diminutive fledgling
-ment result fragment
-ness state or condition happiness
-ocracy system democracy
-ry, -ary place of activity refinery, military
-ery collectively machinery
-ship status, condition friendship
-ster occupation gangster
-tive condition captive
-y state or condition fury
the results of an activity' victory
location library, company
-y, ie endearment daddy, auntie

Suffix that forms a verb Meaning Example

-ate put in a state isolate

-ed past tense walked
-en become moisten
cause deafen
-er action wander, waver
imitating sounds chatter
-ify cause simplify
-ize )-ise in British present participle working
English) cause epitomize

Suffix that forms an adjective Meaning

Example
-able, - ible Worthy valuable, sensible
-al,-ial,-ical quality criminal, social,
musical
-ant,-ent kind of agent malignant, apparent
-ate kind of state desolate
-ed having wooded
-en material woolen, golden
-er comparative grander
-ese origin Japanese
-ful having, giving useful
-ian in the tradition Georgian
-ic quality heroic
-ing activity working
-ile having the qualities infantile
-ish belonging to Swedish
having the character of foolish
somewhat youngish passive,
-ive,-active having the quality of attractive,
-itive sensitive
-less without helpless
-like having the qualities of childlike
-ly having the qualities of friendly
-ous, -eous, having the quality of virtuous, courteous,
vivacious
-y full of creamy, bony
-ty in a manner of happily
-ward (s) in a manner direction backwards
-wise in a manner direction clockwise
+

EXERCISE 1
(PREFIXES & SUFFIXES)

I . Explain the underlined words by completing the second sentences below:

1. Outer space is illimitable.

There is……………………. to outer space.

2. The swimmers were seminude.

The swimmers were……………………….

3. The Greens are anti-alcoholics.

They…………… the use of……………….

4. Our differences are irreconcilable.

We can ……………….our differences.
5. His ideas/decisions arc unalterable.
He will………………… his ideas/decisions.

6. He dotes on immeasurability of her love.

He can …………………..her love.

7. Her handwriting is illegible.

We can…………………. her handwriting.

8. The patient is semiconscious.

The patient is………………………………

9 He requires re-hospitalization.
He must go to the………………………..

10. Bob’s argument is irrefutable.

You can……………………… Bob argument.

11. We book an intercontinental flight.

We decided to take a flight………………………

12. The story is pseudo-biographical.

It is a………………………………………………

13. Tom's hair loss is irremediable.

There is…………………for Tom’s hair loss.

14. They found the desert heat unendurable

They could ………………the heat of the desert.

15. Their illiteracy is unfortunate.

It is unfortunate that they are…………………..

16. She sued a doctor for malpractice.

She sued for the……………………… of medicine.

17. Some thoughts are unutterable.

Some thoughts………………………………………

18. Let’s re-popularize the miniskirt!

Let’s make the miniskirt…………………………..!

19. The earth is spheroid.

It is in the shape of a……………………………….

20. Drive only in a state of sobriety.

Drive only when you are……………………………

EXERCISE 2
Guess the meanings of the underlined words in the following sentences by looking at
the prefixes. Refer to the above list of prefixes for help.

1. There will be an international conference on AIDS soon.

1. Countries should learn to coexist peacefully.

2. The American ex-President Mr. Reagan, started as an actor.

3. The teacher asked me to re-wrjte my story

4. What is the difference between a bicycle an a tricycle?

5. The postage is prepaid. You don’t have to stick a stamp on the envelope

6. Find the area of a semicircle.

7. The doctor gave her a medicine to counteract the effect of the poison.

8. Are you monolingual, bilingual, or multilingual?

9. Many aero planes can fly at supersonic speed.

10. We take a trans-European tour last year.

11. He went to a non-English medium school.

12. There was an anti-nuclear demonstration yesterday.

13. She studies psychology at The National University of Singapore

14. Have you taken the subway to town?

15. Both Germany and Britain had many post-war problems.

16. These insects are so microscopic that I can hardly see them.

17. Cutting down the trees too fast can result in deforestation.

18. He is very unclear about his aims.

19. The man is very pro-British in his thinking.

20. John is an ungrateful boy.

21. The Arctic regions have sub-zero temperatures.

22. You must not be disrespectful to your elders.

23. Teenagers these days wear unisex clothes.

24. The actress died from an overdose of sleeping pills.

25. His heart is beating irregularly.

26. Your handwriting is illegible.

27. Tom is incapable of doing anything cruel or harmful.

28. The men tried to abduct the millionaire.

29. Interest will accrue to your bank account.

EXERCISE 3
For each of the following, add a prefix chosen from the box to the word within
brackets to form another word which is opposite in meaning
Dis, il, Im, In, Ir, un

1. it is (legal) to park your car there

2. I think it is (possible) to finish the work by live.

3. It is totally (reparable) because you dropped it.

4. What you say is (logical). It does not make sense.

5. You must not be (loyal) to your organization.

6. The place looks quite (familiar)! I don't think. I have been here before.

7. Jane went to another doctor because she was (satisfied) with the first one.

8. Jim was rather (polite) at first but later apologized for his behavior.

9. I found the food (resistible) and ate too much.

10. You have to wait for a while because taxis come rather (frequently) on this road.

11. The workers are beginning to (load) the cargo.

12. As we were talking, the man suddenly (appeared).

13. You were rather (responsible) in leaving the front door open.

14. Sandra is popular because she is so friendly and (formal).

15. AIDS is an (curable) disease.

16. Don't talk like an (literate) person.

17. Your report of the accident is quite (accurate)

18. I bought an elegant but (expensive) present for my friend.

19. To open the parcel I have to (tie) the knot first.

20. Sam doesn't like anyone who (agrees) with him.

21. The fine Ming vase that you broke is (replaceable).

22. The teacher (approves) of punishing very young children

23. Ted is always (punctual) He never comes to school on time.

24. Sometimes you behave in a rather (mature) manner!

25. If it is (convenient) for you to see me now, I shall come later.

EXERCISE 4
For each of the following, add a suitable suffix chosen from the box below to complete the
part of a word in italics.
able, ar, ee, er, ful, ion, ish, ist, less, proof or
1. The bowl can be placed over the fire as it is heat___ and will not crack.

2. Smoking can be harm___ to your health.

3. The employ___s of the company want to see the manager.

4. The child___ couple wants to adopt a baby.

5. He is very self___as he thinks of himself all the time.

6. You only need a teaspoon___ of the liquid.

7. No outside noise can come into this sound____ room.

8. The interview____ asked me many difficult questions.

9. Jill is a pian____ who likes to play classical music very much.

10. The police caught the murder___ in Hong Kong.

11. Malaysia is one of the largest produc___ s of rubber.

12. The film actress has many admir__s.

13. There were many buy___s at the art exhibition.

14. Lucy is so forget___ that she can never remember where she puts her things.

15. Are you sure the rubber boots are water____

16. Are all politic____s honest?

17. Prof Galbraith is a well-known economy____.

18. Terror____s must never be allowed into the country.

19. He is such a li____that I never believe what he says.

Select the one word or phrase that most closely matches the meanings of the
underlined word.

EXERCISE 5
1. People said that the personalities of the young married couple were incompatible.
(A) discordant
(B) harmonious
(C) lovable
(D) blissful

2. The newspaper described the amoral activities of the terrorist group in detail
(A) erotic
(B) unproductive
(C) philanthropic
(D) unethical

3. The debate team found their opponents' arguments illogical and consequently
irrefutable.
(A) interesting
(B) challenging
(C) irritating
(D) incontrovertible

4. The enraged manner of the speaker caused the committee to reconsider the issue.
(A) stubborn
(B) angry
(C) forthright
(D) charming

5. The fundraisers claim their motives are apolitical.

(A) pure
(B) laudable
(C) unbiased
(D) nonpartisan
6. The antidote was not where the doctor had left it.
(A) prescription
(B) bandage
(C) anecdote
(D) remedy

7. The house, although not unusually small, made us feel uncomfortable.

(A) dirty
(B) immobile
(C) uneasy
(D) impractical

8. The disadvantage of winning is the notoriety one receives.

(A) pleasure of
(B) goal to
(C) drawback to
(D) purpose of

9. The students' actions toward the substitute teacher were distasteful.

(A) inappropriate
(B) unpleasant
(C) inconsiderate
(D) inhuman
10. The insufficient supply of food did not worry the villagers.
(A) increased
(B) abundant
(C) inadequate
(D) diminishing
11. The manager does not tolerate imperfections in himself or in others.
(A) shyness
(B) stupidity
(C) misbehavior
(D) defects
12. The recluse's mistreatment of animals did not go unnoticed.
(A) cruelty to
(B) protection of
(C) hatred of
(D) loyalty to

13. The reporter wondered how impartial the decision really was.
(A) unprejudiced
(B) bigoted
(C) one-sided
(D) insensitive

14. The directions to the museum are uncomplicated.

(A) difficult
(B) simple
(C) illegible
(D) impractical
15. The solders’ disobedience made them subject to disciplinary action.
(A) habit
(B) tardiness
(C) dishonor
(D) insubordination

16. The speech, contrary to what we all expected, was inoffensive

(A) incomprehensible
(B) interminable
(C) ridiculous
(D) harmless

17. We all, at times, wish we were invisible.

(A) wealthy
(B) more powerful
(C) nonviolent
(D) inconspicuous

18. Inorganic items are catalogued by their Latin names.

(A) Nonmusical
(B) Inanimate
(C) Animated
(D) Chemical

19. We saw he was displeased, but there was not enough time to anything about it.
(A) undressed
(B).far away
(C) hungry
(D) annoyed

20. My aunt's reasoning was clever but invalid.

(A) unjust
(B) unsubstantiated
(C) twisted
(D) evasive

EXERCISE 6

Use information from the lists to complete the following tables.

Some items have been done for you as examples.
(a) prefixes and suffixes
Underline the prefixes and suffixes
 1. circumnavigate 8. interchangeable 15. unfortunately
2. repossession
9. unilaterally 16. reinvestigate
3. disrespectful
4. quickly, 10. impossibility 17. antisocial
5. carelessness
6. desalinate 11. intangibly 18. introspective
7. autobiographical 12. underemployment 19. interdependent
13. overestimation 20. retroactively
14. religiously 21. synthetic

(b) prefixes

Find two examples for each prefix. Use your dictionary if necessary.
prefix usual meaning examples

1. ante- before, in front of antecedent anteroom

2. bi- two twice biennial binary
3. co- with, together coauthor coexist
4. ex- from, out of, away from ____________ ____________
5. hyper- above normal, excessive ____________ ____________
6. in- not, without ____________ ____________
7 intra- inside, within ____________ ____________
8. macro- large, large-scale ____________ ____________
9. micro- small, small-scale ____________ ____________
10. mono- one, single, alone ____________ ____________
11. multi- many ____________ ____________
12. post- after, behind ____________ ____________
13, pre- before ____________ ____________
14. re- again ____________ ____________
15. semi- half, partly ____________ ____________
16. sub- under, below, lower ____________ ____________
17. trans- across, over, change ____________ ____________
18. ultra- excessive, extreme ____________ ____________
19. un- not ____________ ____________
20. uni- one
c) suffixes

Complete the table. Use your dictionary where necessary.

No. noun verb adjective adverb

I description
2 hypothesize
3 theoretical
4 informatively
5 economy
6
liberalize
7 central
8 repeatedly
9 tolerance ___
10 activate
11 clear
12 successfully
13 inclusiveness
14 understand
15 tight
16 justifiably
17 analysis .
18 demonstrate
19 _._ valid
20 explanatorily
EXERCISE 7
Instruction: Choose the correct form of each word to complete the sentence that
follows. The first has been done for you as an example.
1. fortunate, unfortunate, fortunately, unfortunately
The mistake unfortunately meant that the experiment had to be repeated

2. understand, misunderstand, understanding, misunderstanding

The vagueness of the instructions caused him to___________ his task.

3. sensitive, hypersensitive, sensitivity, hypersensitivity

The man's overreaction to innocent remarks suggested he was__________

4. include, exclude, inclusion, exclusion

Cultural differences often lead to_____________from some social events.

5. mistakable, unmistakable, mistakably, unmistakably

The two animals’ similarity of coloring makes them easily____________

6. model, remodel, modeled, remodeled

The unpredicted research findings forced him to_____________

7. unilateral, bilateral, unilaterally, bilaterally

The two countries are engaged in______________ negotiations.

8. respect, disrespect, respectful, disrespectful

The president threatened military action if they refused to ____________the terms
of the treaty.

9. social, antisocial, socially, antisocially

Her frequent exclusion from group meetings was due to her___________
behavior

10. monolingual, bilingual, trilingual, multilingual

A child exposed to two languages from birth roughly equally will grow up
_______________

Using stems and affixes to guess word meanings

We said that many words comprise three parts, prefixes, items and suffixes. We
said that stems arc the basic forms from which other words are composed. So, irreparable
consists of the prefix ir- (meaning ‘not’), the item repair (from the verb ‘repair’), and the
suffix -able (meaning ‘possible to’ or not capable of ‘being’). The whole word,
irreparable, means it is impossible to repair, or not capable of being repaired.
 Together with affixes, stems can be .very useful in helping you guess the
meaning of unknown words. For example, if we know the following stems and their
meanings

stem usual meaning

port carry

hydro water

spect look at, see

We can use our knowledge of affixes to guess the approximate meanings of these words:

word approximate meaning

transport carry across, over
porter a person who carries
hydrodynamic operated by water power
hydrology the science, study to the earth's waters
spectator someone who watches
inspect look at-carefully, examine

Using stems and affixes in this way will not always tell us the exact meaning of an
unknown word. It will often help you guess the approximate meaning, however. You will
be able to see from the context whether your guess is correct or not, and will not have to
stop to consult a dictionary if it looks right.

Use stems and affixes to guess vocabulary

Many English sterns were originally Latin or Greek words. A list of common ones is to be
found in the next pages. You have probably looked at this list before, but should now study
it carefully before doing exercises 3 and 4
Stems

Stem Meaning
Example
act do activate
ambula walk ambulance
ami, amo love enamored
annus year annual
aqua water aquarium
anthrop humankind anthropomorphic
astr star astronaut
audi hear audition
biblio book bibliography
bio life biography
carni meat carnivorous
ced,cede, coed, cess go, come precede
chronos time chronometer
cide kill homicide
claudo close claustrophobia
dict say dictation
dorm sleep dormitory
duct lead conduct
ego self egocentric
fact make factory
fer carry transfer
fem woman effeminate
Fidel trust fidelity
flex bend flexible
fluent, flou flow superfluous
frac, frag break fracture
frat brother fraternal
fuge . flee fugitive
gam marriage bigamist
gen birth, race genocide
geo earth geology
gnostos know prognosis
gram letters grammar
graph writing telegraph
gress step, move ingress
gyn woman gynecologist
herbi grass herbivore
host enemy hostile
here stick coherence
hetero different heterogeneous
homo alike homogeneous
hydro water hydraulic
ject throw interjection
later side lateral
lingua tongue linguistics
lithos stone paleolithic
logy study biology
lumin light illuminate
manu hand manipulate
magni big magnify
mania madness megalomaniac
masc male masculine
matri mother matriarch
metros measure metrical
mit, miss send transmit
morph form metamorphic
mort death immortal
nym name synonym
omni all omnipotent
ops eye optical
pater, patri father paternal
pathy feelings sympathy
ped foot pedestrian
pel, pulse push, drive repulsive
pend hang appendage
phil love philosophy
phobia fear acrophobia
phon sound microphone
port carry transport
tact touch contact
tele distance telepathy
terre earth terrestrial
thermo heat thermostat
theo god monotheist
tract draw away traction
vene come intervene
vert turn diversion
vis see invisible
yore eat carnivore
zoo animal zoologist
EXERCISE 8

Instruction: Use information from the lists and your dictionary to do each part of this
exercise. Some items have been done for you as examples.

(a) Underline the stems in the following words and write them in the middle column.
Then write the approximate meaning of each stem in the column on the right

No WORD STEM APPROXIMATE

MEANING
1. corporation 1. corp 1.body
corpus
incorporate
2. psychology 2. 2.
psychometry
psychosis
3. terrain 3. 3.
terrarium
terrestrial
4. socialist 4. 4.
antisocial
sociology
5. telegram 5. 5.
telepathy
telescope
6. manufacture 6. 6.
artifact
factory
7. generate 7. 7.
genetic
gender
8. geomorphology 8. 8.
isomorphic
morphology
9. transport 9. 9.
porter
portable
10. biology 10. 10.
ethology
methodology
 (b). Find out the meaning of the following stems. Then, use your dictionary to write two
examples of words using each stem.
No STEM APPROXIMATE EXAMPLES
MEANING
1. ortho 1. straight, regular, 1. a. orthodox
correct standard b. orthogonal
2. medi 2. middle 2. a.
b.
3. mega 3. 3. a.
b.
4. sequ 4. 4. a.
b.
5. tract 5. 5. a.
b.
6. soli 1. Single, only, 6. a.
alone b.
7. Son 7. 7. a.
b.
8. para 8. beside, 8. a.
alongside, b.
resembling, like
9. Con 9. Together 9. a.
b.
10. omni 10. 10.a.
b.

EXERCI SE 9
Instruction: Use your knowledge of the meanings of stems and affixes to guess
the meanings of the underlined words in the sentences below. Check your guesses to see
that they fit the context provided by the rest of the sentences.

Circle the letter corresponding to your answer.

1. Only one candidate is a supporter of socialized medicine. The others prefer a

system of private health insurance.
a. medical care for preventing diseases before they occur
b. publicly financed medical care for all members of the community
c. drugs and medicaments produced for mass consumption

2. The research is designed to discover the age at which children develop

metalinguistic awareness. It is hypothesized that this will occur some years after the
beginnings of speech itself.
a. the ability to talk about their dreams
b. the ability to communicate
c. consciousness of language
3. The prime minister threatened to intervene in the dispute if industry and the trade
unions cannot resolve their differences.
a. Make the dispute illegal
b. come between the other two parties as a third party mediator
c. stop the dispute

4. The government claims the issue is a moral one, transcending party politics.
a. concerning
b. going beyond or above
c. depending on
5. The article discusses several intra-psychic phenomena.
a. occurring within the mind
b. extrasensory
c. mysterious

6. Although Christian missionaries have worked there for over hundred and fifty years,
the tribe is still polytheistic
a. tribe is still polytheistic.
b. given to worshipping many gods
c. given to worshipping their own god

7. Smith is well-known for his unorthodox views on child care.

a. not traditional
b. incorrect
c. religious
8. The opposition party accused the government of mismanaging the economy
a. using it for its own purposes
b. inflating
c. doing or handling it badly

9. Bigamy has only recently been made a criminal offense.

a. Stealing
b. marrying a second time knowing a previous marriages is still valid
c. running a casino offering two games for gamblers when only licensed for one
such game

10. The strike disrupted the negotiations.

a. broke, disturbed
b. completed
c. introduced a new element into