Lesson 1: LATIN PREFIXES 1-15

Let's start with prefixes that tell us where things are going! These little additions can completely change a word's direction, indicating movement away from, toward, or down from a point.

Key Words

• To avert a crisis is to turn it away.
• If you adhere to a plan, you stick to it.
• When a manager demotes an employee, they move them down in rank.

This group of prefixes helps describe movement and direction. A and ab indicate moving away from something, like when you avert your gaze. Ad shows movement toward a destination or sticking to something. De often means moving down or deriving from a source.

Ready to talk about time and count things up? These two prefixes will help you place things 'before' and count in 'twos.'

Key Words

• An anteroom is a smaller room you enter before reaching the main one.
• To bisect a shape is to cut it into two equal parts.
• A statement that is antediluvian seems as if it came from a time before the great flood, meaning it's very old.

These prefixes are all about time and quantity. Ante is your go-to for anything that comes before, whether it's an event in history or a physical space. Bi simply means two, which you can see in words describing anything with two parts or cycles.

Let's get positioned! These prefixes tell you if something is happening around, outside, or inside a boundary.

Key Words

• To circumscribe a shape is to draw a line around it.
• Extrasensory perception is the ability to know things beyond the normal five senses.
• Intravenous means existing or taking place within a vein.

This set of prefixes defines location and boundaries. Circum means to go around something, like sailing around the globe. Extra takes you beyond the normal or expected limits. In contrast, intra keeps things within a specific area, like sports played inside a single school.

Words are all about relationships, and these prefixes show how things connect, conflict, or come in between other things.

Key Words

• When people congregate, they gather together in a group.
• To contradict a friend is to speak against what they said.
• When you intercede in an argument, you go between the two sides to help.

This group of prefixes describes how things relate. Con and its variations (col, com, cor) bring things together. Contra sets up opposition, meaning against. Inter acts as a bridge, signifying something happening between two or more points.

Feeling negative? Or maybe just want to take things apart? These prefixes are perfect for expressing 'not,' 'out,' or 'away.'

Key Words

• If you dispel a rumor, you drive it apart or scatter it so no one believes it anymore.
• To exhale is to breathe out.
• An immoral act is one that is not considered moral.

These prefixes often have a negative or separating force. Dis means to take apart or send away. E and ex mean to move out of something. The prefix in and its cousins il, im, and ir are powerful tools to mean not, completely reversing a word's meaning.

Don't be fooled by double meanings! While 'in' can mean 'not,' it can also mean exactly what it sounds like: in, into, or on.

Key Words

• To infuse a drink with flavor is to pour in an ingredient that fills it with a new taste.
• A good teacher tries to instill confidence in their students.
• To illuminate a subject is to shine light on it, making it easier to understand.

This is the other side of the versatile in prefix. Instead of negating a word, this version signifies inclusion, location, or direction inward. It can mean putting something in or into another thing, or placing something on a surface. The context of the root word is key to knowing which meaning applies.