Lesson 2: LATIN PREFIXES 16-30

Let's start by looking at prefixes that tell us about opposition, movement, and time. These little additions can completely change a word's direction!

Key Words

Example Usage

• After the storm, the city had to postpone the festival, literally meaning to 'put it after' its scheduled date.
• The castle walls were built to obstruct the enemy's advance, or to 'pile up an obstacle against' them.
• The speaker's powerful message seemed to permeate the entire crowd, 'passing through' each person in the room.

Now, let's see how prefixes can indicate moving forward, going beyond limits, or coming before something else.

Key Words

Example Usage

• A passing grade in English is a prerequisite for the advanced literature class, meaning it is 'required before' you can enroll.
• The manager decided to promote the hardest-working employee, which means to 'move her forward' to a higher position.
• The hero's abilities were preterhuman, demonstrating strength 'beyond' what is normally human.

These next prefixes are experts at showing backward movement, repetition, or the act of pulling things apart.

Key Words

Example Usage

• The new law was made retroactive, meaning it was 'acting backward' to apply to events that happened in the past.
• The child was recalcitrant and refused to clean his room, as if he were 'kicking back' against his parents' request.
• To focus on his work, the writer chose to seclude himself in a cabin, effectively 'shutting himself apart' from society.

Let's explore prefixes that describe quantity and position, telling us if something is half, under, or above something else.

Key Words

Example Usage

• The company holds a semiannual sale, which is an event that occurs every 'half year.'
• A submarine is a vessel designed to travel 'under' the surface of the sea.
• The new champion will supersede the old one, literally 'sitting above' them in the rankings and taking their place.

Our final group of prefixes expands our understanding of words by showing movement across, going beyond, or standing in for something else.

Key Words

Example Usage

• Building a transcontinental railroad was a massive project that involved laying tracks 'extending across' an entire continent.
• His ultraconservative views were considered 'exceedingly' traditional by the rest of the group.
• When the president is away, the vice president is the official who acts 'in place of' the president.