Latin Prefixes

Prefixes

In the previous post, we had seen a list of prefixes that have their derivation from the Greek language. Let’s see a list of prefixes that have derived from the Latin.

Latin prefix list

Latin prefix	Meaning
Ab (a, abs)	away, from
Bene	well
Circum (circu)	around
De	down
Ad (ac, ar, al, af, as, an, ag, ap, at, a)	to
Bis (bin, bi)	two, twice
Con (cor, com, col)	together, with
Ex (e, ef)	out of
Super	above
Ambi (am, amb)	around, on both sides
Re	again, back
Contra (counter)	against
Post	after
Dis (di, dif)	apart
Pro (pur, por)	for
Ante(anti, an)	before
Pre	before
Extra	outside of, beyond
Preter	beyond
In (im, il, em, ir, en)	into, in
Per (pel)	through
Non	not
Demi	half
Trans (tres, tra)	across
Retro	backwards
Male (mal)	badly, ill
Pen	almost
Semi	half
Sub (suf, suc, sum, sug, sus, sup, sur)	under
Inter (intro, enter)	within, among
Ob (oc, of)	against, in the way of.
Se (sed)	apart
In (im, il, ir)	not
Vice	in the place of
Subter	beneath
Sine	without

Latin prefix examples

Latin prefix	Example
Ab (a, abs)	avert, abuse, abstract
Bene	benefit, benediction
Circum (circu)	circumference, circuit, circumnavigate
De	dethrone, depose, descend
Ad (ac, ar, al, af, as, an, ag, ap, at, a)	accord, aggrieve, adjoin, affect, allege
Bis (bin, bi)	bisect, binocular, biscuit
Con (cor, com, col)	combine, correct, collect, contend
Ex (e, ef)	effect, extract
Super	superfluous, superfine
Ambi (am, amb)	amputate, ambition, ambiguous
Re	refund, return, renew, reclaim
Contra (counter)	counteract, counterfeit, contradict
Post	postdate, postpone, postscript
Dis (di, dif)	differ, divide, disjoin
Pro (pur, por)	portray, pursue, pronoun
Ante(anti, an)	anticipate, ancestor, antedate
Pre	predict, prevent, prefix
Extra	extravagant, extraordinary
Preter	preternatural
In (im, il, em, ir, en)	invade, enact, immerse, illustrate, embrace, irrigate,
Per (pel)	pervade, pellucid
Non	nonsense
Demi	demigod
Trans (tres, tra)	traverse, trespass, transmit
Retro	retrograde, retrospect
Male (mal)	malcontent, malevolent
Pen	peninsula, penultimate
Semi	semicolon, semicircle
Sub (suf, suc, sum, sug, sus, sup, sur)	suffer, subdue, surmount, suggest, succeed, summon, support, sustain
Inter (intro, enter)	introduce, entertain, intervene
Ob (oc, of)	occupy, offend, object
Se (sed)	separate, secede, sedition, seduce
In (im, il, ir)	illegal, insecure, irregular, imprudent
Vice	vice-president, viceroy
Subter	subterfuge
Sine	sinecure

Latin prefix example sentences

Latin prefix	Example
Ab (a, abs)	avert, abuse, abstract - The abstract forms in his painting was breathtaking - (abstract - just an idea but not a definite form)
Bene	benefit, benediction - The benefits of eating healthy food are numerous.
Circum (circu)	circumference, circuit, circumnavigate - The circumference of the circle was too small.
De	dethrone, depose, descend - The King was dethroned due to his negligence.
Ad (ac, ar, al, af, as, an, ag, ap, at, a)	accord, aggrieve, adjoin, affect, allege - The aggrieved member of the committee withdrew the assignment.
Bis (bin, bi)	bisect, binocular, biscuit - My practical exam was to bisect a frog.
Con (cor, com, col)	combine, correct, collect, contend - She combined the molecules to form a new pattern in her research.
Ex (e, ef)	effect, extract - The leaf extract when applied to face reduces acne.
Super	superfluous, superfine - The sand in the sand clock needs to be superfine.
Ambi (am, amb)	amputate, ambition, ambiguous - The ambitious doctor served the poor people in the rural.
Re	refund, return, renew, reclaim - He reclaimed his credit card points in the shoe shop.
Contra (counter)	counteract, counterfeit, contradict - I do not like to be contradicted.
Post	postdate, postpone, postscript - She wrote the postscript as , "Parcel received." (written at the end of the letter after your signature).
Dis (di, dif)	differ, divide, disjoin - She differed a lot from the rest of the group.
Pro (pur, por)	portray, pursue, pronoun - My teacher asked me to circle the pronouns in the sentences.
Ante(anti, an)	anticipate, ancestor, antedate - She anticipated success. (expected).
Pre	predict, prevent, prefix - The witch predicted bad omen.
Extra	extravagant, extraordinary - Her extravagant expenditure for her vacation was worth it.
Preter	preternatural - The preternatural silence killed him.
In (im, il, em, ir, en)	invade, enact, immerse, illustrate, embrace, irrigate. Irrigation is to supply water to help growth of the plants.
Per (pel)	pervade, pellucid - The policy statement was pellucid (understood, clear).
Non	nonsense - She shouted, "Nonsense", when everyone accused her.
Demi	demigod - The demigod was form another dimension.
Trans (tres, tra)	traverse, trespass, transmit - She transmitted the signals from the portal.
Retro	retrograde, retrospect
Male (mal)	malcontent, malevolent - The article was rejected because of its malcontent.
Pen	peninsula, penultimate - India is a peninsular country - surrounded by three sides water and one side land.
Semi	semicolon, semicircle - Her semicircle was perfect.
Sub (suf, suc, sum, sug, sus, sup, sur)	suffer, subdue, surmount, suggest, succeed, summon, support, sustain - She sustained scars after the surgery.
Inter (intro, enter)	introduce, entertain, intervene - I introduced myself in an impressive way to the interviewer.
Ob (oc, of)	occupy, offend, object - She occupied the upper portion of the house.
Se (sed)	separate, secede, sedition, seduce secede - to withdraw from an organization - They planned to secede from the ruling party.
In (im, il, ir)	illegal, insecure, irregular, imprudent - She was involved in some illegal action.
Vice	vice-president, viceroy - The Vice-President resigned as he committee did not support him.
Subter	subterfuge - I used subterfuge to persuade him to come to the party. (trickery or fraud)
Sine	sinecure - a position in the office that requires less or no work but provides an income. I was offered a sinecure as my cousin is the managing director.