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All About GRE: Old English Origin

PREFIX
MEANING
EXAMPLES

a se
in, on, of, up, to, at away, aside, away from
afire, abed, astride, afoot secede, seduce, seclude

back semi
back half, partly
backstroke, backward semiannual, semicircular

be sub (suc, suf, sub, sum, sup, sus)


around, about, away, completely under, beneath, lower, less
beset, besprinkle, beware subjugate, subsist, succinct, suffuse, suggest,
supplant, sustain, subsidy, subtle
by
near, secondarily, incidental super, sur
by-play, by-product, by-stander over, above, extra, to a degree greater than normal
superscript, supersede, supervise, surtax, surname
for
away, from, off, apart trans, tra
forswear, forsake, forfend across, beyond, through
transfuse, transient, traduce
fore
before, previous ultra
forethought, foreword beyond, excessive
ultramodern, ultraviolet
mis
badly, poorly, not uni
misfit, misfire, misbelieve one
unicellular, unicorn, unite
off
off Greek Origin
offside, offspring, offhand
a, an
out lacking, without, not
better, greater, going away amorphous, anemic, amoral, anarchy, aphasia
outbound, outpatient, outrun
amphi
over both
over, excessively, above amphitheater, amphibiotic
overthrow, overcast, overrun
ana
un up, against, back

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All About GRE: Old English Origin

not, no, a reversal anagram, analysis, anachronism


unfold, unknown, ungodly
anti
under against, opposing, opposite
below antipathy, antitoxin, antithesis
undershirt, undergraduate
apo
with from, off, separate
away, against apostate, apology, apostle
withdraw, withstand, withhold
cata, cath
Latin Origin down, away, thoroughly
catalyst, catastrophe
ab (a, abs)
from, off, away dia
abdicate, abnormal, averse through, across, apart
diameter, diaphanous, diagnose
ad (ac, af, ag, al, an, ap, ar, as, at)
to, toward, near, very dys
adverse, advocate, accede, affiliate, aggression, ill, bad, difficult
allude, annul, appear, arrogate, assent dysentery, dysphasia

ambi exto, ect


both outside, external
ambidextrous, ambivalent ectoderm, ectomorph, ectogenic

ante en, em
before, previous in, within, among
antecedent, antedate, ante endemic, empiric, empathy

bene endo, end


well, good within, inside
benison, benefit, beneficiary endobiotic, endoderm, endoblast

bi epi
two, twice on, over, outside, outer
biennial, bilateral, bisect epigram, epidermis, epitome

circum eu
around good, pleasant, true, well
circumvent, circumspect eugenics, eulogy, euphemism

com (co, col, con, cor) hemi


with, together, very, jointly half
compare, complicate, coexist, collate, hemisphere, hemiplegis

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All About GRE: Old English Origin

concentrate, corrupt
hetero
contra (contro, counter) different
against, opposing heterogeneous, heterolite
contradict, contravene, contrast, controversy,
counter hyper
above, excessive, over
de hyperbole, hypercritical
away, opposed, off, down
demure, demolish, debark hypo
under, down, lower, less
demi hypodermic, hypothesis
half
demigod, demitasse, demimonde iso
equal, alike
dis (di, dif) isomagnetic, isonomy, isosceles
away, out, apart from, reversal of, opposite of,
down macro
dissent, dispel, digress, divert, diffuse, diffident, large, long
discourse, discuss, dislike macrocosm, macroeconomics

ex (e, ec, ef) mega


away, from, out, without, missing, former great, million
excise, eccentric, expel, eject, efface, ex-wife megacycle, megalith, megascopic

extra (extro, exo) mes, meso


outside, beyond middle, intermediate
extramural, extrovert, exoskeleton, extravagant mesomorph, mesosphere

in (ig, il, im, ir) meta, met


not, opposing later, with a change in
incapable, insoluble, illicit, improvident, metabolism, metamorphosis
irrational, ignoble
micro
in (il, im, ir) small
in, into, within microscope, micron, microsown
induct, irrigate, immigrate
mono
inter one
among, between monoplane, monopoly
intercede, intermittent
ne, neo
intro, intra new
inwardly, to the inside, within neogenesis, neology, neophyte
introvert, introduce, intravenous, intrastate

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All About GRE: Old English Origin

olig
mal few
bad, evil, wrong, ill oligarchy, oligopoly
malady, malignant, malcontent
para
multi beside, beyond, related
many parallel, paradox, paraphrase
multimillionaire, multiply
peri
non around, near, enclosing
not perimeter, periscope
nonentity, nonessential
poly
ob (oc, of, op) many
over, against, toward, very, upon polygon, polytechnic
obtrude, obstruct, occlude, offend, oppose,
obloquy pro
earlier, before, in front of, forward
per progress, prophesy, prognosis, program
through, thoroughly, completely
permeate, perspicuous, pernicious, percolate proto
first
post prototype, protopathic
after, later, behind, following
postlude, postpone, postscript pseudo
false
pre pseudonym, pseudo, pseudopod
before, earlier, in front of
preclude, prevent, predicate, precursor syn (sym, syl, sys)
with, together, at same time
pro synchronize, synthesis, sympathy, system,
earlier, before, in front of, in place of, favoring, syllogism
forward
protract, proponent, pronoun, profuse, proceed, tele
pro-Anglo far
telepathy, telephone, telegony
re
back, backward, again
revoke, recede, recur, repeat

retro
back, backward
retrospect, retroactive

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