sometimes with the prefix stressed.
Ultraconservative—extremely conservatives Ultramarine—situated beyond the sea
Ultramodern—having the very latest ideas, styles.
Ultra-violet—beyond the purple end of the range of colors that make up light seen by human being. Ultra-secret—highly secret.
Ultra-short—very short in duration
Ultra-microscope—an apparatus for making visible scattered light particles too small be perceived by the ordinary.
Ultrahigh—of the highest degree, extremely high Ultraleft—extremely radical
Under-, the prefix, means too little. It combines with verbs, nouns, and ed-participles Undercharge—to take or ask too less
Underestimate—have too low an opinion of the degree or number of Underdeveloped—to become less developed
Undereducated—not normally or adequately educated
Under-occupied—have fewer occupants than there is room for, Underproduce—to produce less than the usual amount. Undertax—to tax insufficiently or inadequately. Underkill—an inability to defeat an enemy.
5) prefixes of orientation and attitude
anti-, the prefix, means against. It combines with adjs and nouns mainly. Antibacterial—directed or effective against bacteria
Anticlockwise—in the opposite direction to the hands of a clock Antisocial—opposed to laws or to organized societies.
Contra-, the prefix, means opposite. It combines with nouns, verbs and adjs. Contradiction—the act of contradicting. Contrafact—opposite to the fact
Counter-, the prefix, means against, in opposition to. It combines with verbs, nouns and adjs. Counteract—to lesson, reduce or oppose the effect Counterattack—to make a counterattack
Counterclaim—an opposing claim, especially in law. Countercurrent—flowing in an opposite direction
Pro, the prefix, has two meanings. Firstly, it means for, on the side of.
Pro-European—supporting or advocating the social cultural or economic unification of western European countries
Pro-common market—supporting European economic community Pro-student—favoring or siding with students
Secondly, it means on behalf of. It combines with nouns freely. Pro-consul—deputy consul.
6) locative prefix
Locative prefixes, like spatial prepositions, may extend their meaning metaphorically to abstract
spheres.
Fore-, the prefix, means front part of, front. It combines freely with nouns. Forearm—the lower part of the arm\\
Forehead—the part of the face above the eyes and below the hair
Foreground—the nearest part of a scene in a view, a picture and a photo Foreleg—either of the 2 front legs of a 4-legged animal Foreword—a short introduction at the beginning of a book.
Inter, the prefix, means between, among. It combines with adjs, verbs and nouns. Intercontinental—extending among continents or carried on between continents. International—having to do with more than one country Intertwine—to twine about one another Interview—to ask questions of Interplay—working together
Interaction—have an effect on each other
Trans, the prefix, means across, from one place to another. It combines freely with verbs and adjs. Transcontinental—go across a continent
Transpacific—crossing or extending across the pacific ocean Transform转换—to change completely in form
Transplant—to move from one place and plant in another Transnational—across the nations.
7) prefixes of time and order
ex-, the prefix, means former. It combines with human nouns ex-husband—former husband ex-president—former president ex-wife—former president
fore, the prefix here, means before.
Foresee—to form an idea or judgment about what will happen in the future Foretell—to tell what will happen in future Forewarn—to warn in advance
Foresight—the ability to see future needs.
Post-, the prefix, means after.
Post-election—relating to a period after election Post liberation—after liberation Post war—after war
Post-doctoral ( post doctorate)—being beyond the doctoral level.
Pre, the prefix, means before.
Pre-school—the period in child‘ s life from the infancy to the age of six that ordinarily precedes attendance at elementary school Pre-knowledge—knowing in advance
Prehistory—a time before history was written Premature—not mature
Preconference—prior to the conference
Pre cook—cook partially before final cooking Pre task—the first part of the whole tasks
Re, prefix, means again, back. Redesign—to design again Redial—make a call again
8) Number prefixes
This part belongs to the neo-classical items. They are originally Greek or Latin widely used numerical prefixes.
Bi, di, the prefix means two. Bicycle—a 2 wheeled vehicle
Bilingual—containing or expressing in two languages Biweekly—appearing every two weeks Bilateral—of, with two sides
Dioxide—a chemical compound containing 2 atoms of oxygen to every one another substance Dichotomy—a division or the process of dividing into two especially mutually exclusive groups
Multi, poly- the prefix, means many. Multi-lateral—having many sides
Multinational—involving more than two countries Multi-forms—having several different shapes
Multimedia—having many media worked together, one of computer systems
Polygamy—the custom or practice of having more than one wife at the same time Polysemy—the existence of many meanings
Polygon—a figure or a flat surface having 5 or more straight sides
Semi-, hemi- the prefix, means half Semicircle—half a circle
Semi-illiterate—a person who is barely able to read or write Semivowel—a sound like a vowel sound, like j in English Hemisphere—half a sphere Hemicycle—half a circle
Hemidemisemiquaver—sixty fourth note.
Hemiplegia—paralysis of one lateral half of the body
Tri-, the prefix, means three.
Triangle—a flat figure with 3 straight sides and 3 angles Tricycle—a bicycle with 3 wheels Trilateral—having three sides
Trilingual—consisting of three languages
Uni-, mon-, the prefixes, mean one.
Unification—the act, process or result of unifying Uniform—a dress of a distinctive design or fashion
Unisex—the state or condition of not being distinguishable as to sex Unique—being the only one
Monogamy—the custom or practice having one wife or husband at one time
Monologue—a spoken part of a play, film, for a single performer, especially acting alone Monorail—a railway with a single rail
9) Miscellaneous neo-classical prefixes
Auto, the prefix, means self. It combines with nouns and adjs Autobiography—a book written by oneself about one Autocrat—a ruler with unlimited power
Automation—the act that needs little or non-human control
Extra-, the prefix, means exceptionally. It combines freely with adjs, occasionally with nouns, sometimes written as a separate word
Extralinguistic—outside the province of language or linguistics Extralunar—found existing outside the moon Extraordinate—remarkable
Extravagant—spending too much money
Neo-, the prefix, means new, revived. It combines with nouns and adjs Neo-classism—new classism
Neo-impressionism—a late 19th century French art theory and practice charaterized by an attempt to make impressionism more precise in form
Neo-colonialism—the economic and political policies by which a Great power indirectly maintains or extends its influence over other areas or people.
Neo-Nazi—of or pertaining to a political party which follows the Nazi principles.
Pan, the prefix, means all, world wide. It combines especially with nouns and premodifying denominal adjs
Pan-Americanism—a movement for greater cooperation among the pan-American nations especially in defence, commerce and cultural relations.
Pan-Asianism—a movement or policy seeking the political union of all Asian countries
Proto-, the prefix, means first, original. It combines with nouns and adjs.
Protohuman—relating to or resembling an early primitive human or manlike primate. Protomartyr—the first martyr in a cause or region
Protolanguage—an assumed or recorded ancestral language
Tele, the prefix, means distant. It combines chiefly with classical bases to form nouns. Telegram—a message sent by telegraph
Telescope—a tubelike scientific instrument used for seeing distant objects by making them appear nearer and nearer.
Telecommunication—communication at a distance.
Vice-, the prefix, means deputy. It combines freely with nouns Vice-chairman—an officer next in rank to a chairman Vic-president—an officer next in rank to a president 10) Conversion prefixes.
The function of conversion prefixes is to produce a conversion of the base from one word class to another.
a-, the prefix, chiefly combines with verbs to form predicative adjs.
Asleep—sleeping
Astride—with a leg on each side Atremble—shaking involuntarily
Be-, the prefix, has three cases used in English. First, it combines with –ed to turn noun bases into adjs with intensified force. It means wearing or surrounded by. Befogged—surrounded by fog
Bespectacled—wearing spectacles Bewigged—wearing a wig
Second, it intensifies the force of verbs
Bedazzle—to confuse by a strong light, to impress forcefully Bestir—to stir up
Third, it combines with nouns to be transitive verbs Bedevil—to trouble greatly
Befriend—to act as a friend to sb
Bewitch—to have a magic effect, often harmful, charm as if by magic
En-, em- ( before p or b). the prefix en- or em chiefly combines with nouns to form verbs. The prefix en- means to put into, or to provide with.
Empower—to give someone the power or lawful right
Endanger危害—to cause danger to
Enlarge—make sth larger
4.1.2 suffixation
What is suffixation? Suffixation is a main type of word formation, putting a suffix after the stem,
sometimes without, but more usually with a change of word class. It is known that the primary function of prefixes is to effect a semantic modification of the base while the chief function of suffixes is to change the word class of the base, although suffixes have only a small semantic role. Therefore the suffixes may be classified into four categories according to the word class.
1) Noun suffixes: it may be subdivided into the following five types
(1) denominal nouns名词派生: abstract. The following nouns suffixes combine with noun bases which become largely noncount, abstract or collective nouns of status and activities. -age, the suffix, means measure of or collection of
Baggage—all the bags and other containers with which a person travels Luggage—the cases, bags, boxes, etc, of a traveler.
Percentage—an amount stated as if it is part of a whole which is 100 -dom, the suffix, means the state of being. Kingdom—a country governed by a king Wisdom—the state of being wise Officialdom—officials as a class
-ery, -ry, the suffix, means condition associated with, location of, etc. Drudgery—hard, dull, humble work Slavery—the system of having slaves
Nursery—a place where small children are taken care of Refinery—a building for refining metals, oil or sugar. Machinery—machines in general