How Are Prefixes and Suffixes Alike? 20+ Important Examples

How are prefixes and suffixes alike? What is the similarity and difference between prefix and suffix?

Both prefixes and suffixes are a type of affix and both of them can change a word’s meaning.

An affix is a letter or group of lettres that can be added to the beginning or end of a word to change its meaning. The prefix im- in the word impossible and the suffix -less in the word effortless are affixes.

How Are Prefixes and Suffixes Alike?

Both are a type of affix and both can change a word’s meaning.

A prefix and suffix are both an affix

Prefixes and Suffixes List

10 Examples of Prefixes

Prefixes are letters that can be added to the beginning of a word to form a new word. A prefix can change the word’s meaning.

The table below shows the 10 most common prefixes and their meaning and prefixes examples.

Prefixes	Meaning	Prefixes examples
un-	not/ the opposite of	unlucky, unhappy, unfortunately, unimportant, unpaid, unable, unanswered, etc.
re-	do again	rewrite, redo, reread, rearrange, reapply, readmit, etc.
a-	not /without	atheist, atypical, asexual, awake,
mis-	wrongly or badly	misunderstand, misuse, mishear, misinterpret, misbehave, misinform, etc.
out-	more than/ greater/better, etc.	outweigh, outnumber, outwit, outgrow, outlive, etc.
under-	not enough/ too little	underdeveloped, underpaid, undercooked, underripe, etc.
over-	excessively/too much	overpopulated, oversleep, overcooked, overdo, etc.
pre-	earlier/ before	preplan, preheat, pre-war, pre-book, pre-cut, pre-exist, etc.
post-	after	post-war, post-graduate, post-date, post-natal, post-production, etc.
en-	cause to be/ make/ put into	enlarge, enrich, encircle, endanger, encase, etc.
il-, in-, im-, ir-	not/opposite of	illegal, illiterate, inexperienced, impolite, irrelevant, irregular, etc.

The table and the poster above show over 20 examples of prefixes and their meaning as well as examples.

What Are the 10 Examples of Suffix?

Suffixes are letters added to the end of a word to make a new word. Suffixes change the word’s meaning.

The suffix of a word can sometimes show what part of speech the word is.

Suffixes can also change the part of speech.

In English, some words can take more than one kind of suffix to give different meanings.

1. That was an offensive joke. It was really tasteless.
2. It was such a hilarious joke. It was tasteful.

Tasteful amd tasteless have totally different meanings.

Suffix Table

The table below displays suffixes, their meaning and suffixes examples.

Suffixes	Meaning	suffixes examples
-ful	full of	helpful, hopeful, careful, respectful, doubtful, forgetful, harmful, etc.
-less	having no/ without/	meaningless, helpless, hopeless, homeless, careless, etc.
-able/ -ible	able to / can be done/capable of being	advisable, acceptable, presentable, drinkable, edible, flexible, sensible, etc.
-ish	like/having the nature of	childish, snobbish, foolish, boyish, yellowish, owlish, etc.
-ness	state of /quality of	happiness, rudeness, sadness, carelessness, helplessness, etc.
-ous, -ious	having the nature or quality of	delicious, courageous, nutritious, concious, famous, luxurious, disastrous, humourous, poisonous, hazardous, etc.
-en, -n	become/make	broaden, lengthen, widen, worsen, etc.
-ment	condition of/action of /state of	development, treatment, excitment, achievement, improvement, commitment, management, etc.
-al	connected with	natural, cultural, universal, environmental, etc.
-ial	typical of	financial, partial, industrial, etc.
-ity/-ty	quality of	equality, audacity, tranquillity, complexity, etc.

How Are Prefixes and Suffixes Alike?

Suffixes Sentences and Prefixes sentences

The sentences below show that both prefixes and suffixes are a type of affix that can change the word’s meaning. Also, suffixes change word class.

• It was careless of him to drive so fast in such a busy street.
• Our teacher is very helpful.
• The guitar is a musical instrument.
• To broaden your knowledge, you need to read books.

• Don’t drink this water. It’s undrinkable.
• I hope you won’t misunderstand her.
• The factory had to close down because of financial difficulties.
• Your piece of writing is full of careless mistakes. You need to rewrite it.

• She thought her boss was rude and impolite.
• He is unlikely to study Physics at the university as he loves Maths.
• He was asked to rewrite his essay because it is full of mistakes.
• I have misplaced my ID card. I cannot find it anywhere.

• The fish tastes terrible because it is undercooked.
• It’s good to work hard, but you should not overdo it.
• He is the best student in class. He always outperforms his classmates.
• Successful people set achievable goals.

Lists of Prefixes and Suffixes with Examples

Prefix Meaning New

Important Prefixes and Suffixes Exercises with Answers pdf

Words with Both Prefixes and Suffixes List

Here is a list of words with a prefix and suffix and a root.

• Immeasureable
• Unhelpful
• Undoubtedly
• Unacceptable
• Uninteresting
• Unconsciousness
• Unsuccessful
• Unsuccessful
• Impossibly
• Antidisestablishmentarianism
• Distasteful
• Disrespectful
• Disrespectfully
• Disloyalty
• Disconnected
• Replacement
• Reappearance
• Ilogically
• Nonconformist

Prefixes and Suffixes Exercises with Answers pdf

1. Prefixes Exercises with Answers

Fill in the blanks with the correct prefix.

1. It was —fair of the teacher not to treat the students equally.
2. I do not think that she will be —elected for another term.
3. He is still —employed. He has been looking for a job for months.
4. I did not like the meat. It was —cooked.
5. Some students displayed —proper behavior during the activity.
6. In some poor countries, a lot of people are —literate.
7. You should learn —regular verbs by heart.
8. He always acts in an —responsible manner when he loses his temper.
9. I did not do well on the last test. I think I’ll have to —take it.
10. The fish is—cooked . It is totally burnt.
11. Most workers are complaining that they are —paid.
12. My father is —partial. He does not discriminate between his children.

Suffixes Exercises with Answers

Fill in the blanks with the right suffix.

1. I go to a fit— centre twice a week.
2. This sofa is comfort—.
3. He could not go to work yesterday because of sick—.
4. I do not advise you to talk to him. He is not help—.
5. Reading is the best way to broad— your knowledge.
6. Poor countries suffer from unemploy—.
7. The weather is too cold in this area. I have to buy some wool— clothes.
8. Equal— is the belief that everyone should be equal.
9. Be care—! A car is coming.
10. The legs of these trousers are too long. Could you short— them for me, please?
11. The best treat— for obesity is doing sport on a daily basis.
12. She does exercise every day so as to strength— her muscles.