Latin Prefixes
Ab (from, away)
| avert (to turn away) | avoid (to keep away from) | abduct (to take away by force) |
| abandon (to give up or leave behind) | abase (to lower in rank or dignity) | abate (to reduce or lessen) |
| abhor (to shrink away from with disgust) | abjure (to renounce or give up) | absolve (to free from guilt or blame) |
| abstract (drawn away; not concrete) | avulsion (a tearing away) | abnormal (away from the norm) |
| abscend (to go away secretly) | abstain (to hold oneself away from) | abscond (to run away and hide) |
| absolve (to free from blame or obligation) | abrogate (to do away with or repeal) | abrupt (broken off suddenly) |
| ablate (to remove or carry away) | avocation (something away from one’s main calling) | avulsion (tearing away of a body part or land) |
| aberrant (straying away from the right path) | ablation (the act of carrying or wearing away) | abnegate (to deny or give up (to move away from pleasure or right)) |
| absent (away, not present) |
Ad (to)
| adapt (to adjust to) | adhere (to stick to) | adjoin (to be next to) |
| adjacent (lying next to, near) | adjacent (lying next to, near) | advance (to move forward) |
| adopt (to take as one’s own) | address (to direct to someone) | adhesion (sticking to a surface) |
| adjure (to appeal earnestly to) | adduce (to bring forward as evidence) | advent (coming or arrival (toward us)) |
| admit (to allow to enter; to confess) | adversary (one turned toward (in opposition)) | advocate (one who calls to (support)) |
ac-
| accept (to take to oneself) | access (a way to; approach) | accede – to yield to; give consent |
| acclaim (to shout toward; praise) | accompany (to go along with) | accomplish (to bring to completion) |
| accord (to give or grant to) | account (to reckon toward) | account (to reckon toward) |
| accuse (to charge toward) |
af-
| affect (to act upon) | affirm (to state positively to) | affix (to attach to) |
| afford (to provide to) | afford (to provide to) |
ag-
| aggravate (to make heavier, to add to) | aggregate (to group together | aggrieve (to cause distress to) |
| aggress (to step toward (attack)) |
al-
| allocate (to assign to) | allure (to attract to) | allude (to refer to indirectly) |
| ally (to join to) | alleviate (to lighten toward) | allot (to assign to) |
an-
| annex (to attach to | announce (to declare to) | annoy (to trouble toward) |
| annotate (to add notes to) | annotate (to add notes to) |
ap-
| appeal (to call to) | append (to attach to) | apply (to put to use) |
| appoint (to assign to) | approach (to come near to) | approve (to regard favorably toward) |
ar-
| arrive (to reach to) | arrest (to stop toward) | arrange (to put in order to) |
| arrogate (to claim to oneself) |
as-
| ascend (to climb to) | ascribe (to attribute to) | aspire (to breathe toward; strive to) |
| assault (to leap toward (attack)) | assert (to claim to be true) | assist (to stand by) |
| assume (to take to oneself) | assure (to make certain to) | assemble (to gather to) |
at-
| attain (to reach to) | attempt (to try toward) | attend (to give attention to) |
| attract (to draw to) | attest (to bear witness to) | attach (to fasten to) |
Ambi (on both sides)
| ambidextrous (able to use both hands equally well) | ambiguous (having two or more possible meanings; unclear) | ambivalence (the state of having mixed or opposite feelings about something) |
| ambivalen (having conflicting feelings toward a person or situation) | ambisexual (attracted to both sexes; bisexual) | ambience (the surrounding atmosphere or mood) |
| ambient (relating to the surrounding area or environment) | ambit (the scope, extent, or bounds of something) | ambition (a strong desire to achieve something (originally meant “going around for votes”) |
| ambitious (having or showing a strong desire and determination to succeed) | ambitendency (the presence of opposing tendencies or drives in a person) | ambiversion (a personality trait combining both introversion and extroversion) |
| ambivert (a person whose personality has both introverted and extroverted features) | ambilateral (affecting or relating to both sides) | ambiparous (producing both eggs and live young) |
| ambipolar (having both positive and negative electrical charges or polarities) | ambispective (looking both forward and backward in time (in thought or planning)) | ambisinister (clumsy with both hands (the opposite of ambidextrous)) |
| ambidexter (a person who can use both hands equally; also one who is deceitful (uses both sides)) | ambidextrously (in a manner using both hands equally well) | ambidexterity (skill in using both hands with equal ease) |
| ambivalence (coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings) | ambivalent (having mixed or contradictory feelings) | ambiversion (balance between introversion and extroversion) |
| ambivert (someone who exhibits both introvert and extrovert traits) | ambiguous (open to more than one interpretation) | ambiguity (the quality of having multiple meanings; uncertainty) |
| ambition (desire for success or achievement) | ambitious (having a strong desire to achieve something) | ambit (boundary or scope of something |
| ambient (surrounding, encompassing) | ambience (the mood or atmosphere of a place) | ambitiousness (the quality of being ambitious) |
| ambilateral (relating to or affecting both sides of the body) | ambiparous (producing both eggs and live young) | ambipolar (having or involving both polarities (positive and negative)) |
| ambisinister (awkward or clumsy with both hands) | ambitendency (existence of opposing tendencies or drives) | ambifacial (having two faces or sides that are structurally different) |
| ambicoloration (having two colors on opposite sides or areas) | ambidermous (having two types of skin or epidermal layers) | ambigastric (having two bellies (as in certain muscles) |
| ambipennate (having feathers or wings on both sides (used in biology) | ambirotatory (able to rotate plane-polarized light in either direction (chemistry term)) | ambiflexion (bending both ways; double curvature) |
| ambisinistrous (left-handed on both sides (rare)) | ambipolarity (property of having both positive and negative charge carriers) | ambispective (looking in both directions, backward and forward in time) |
| ambilateralism (principle of acting on or concerning both sides equally) | ambiparental (derived from both parents (in biology/genetics) | ambiparental inheritance (inheritance of genetic material from both parents)) |
| ambidirectional (able to function or move in both directions) |
Ante (before)
| antecedent (something that comes before another thing) | antedate (to occur or come before in time; to predate) | antebellum (before the war, especially the American Civil War)) |
| antechamber (a small room before the main room; a waiting room) | antecedent (a thing or event that existed before another) | antemortem (before death) |
| antepartum (before childbirth) | anteroom (a small room leading to a larger one) | antenuptial (before marriage) |
| antediluvian (before the Biblical flood; extremely old or outdated) | antefix (an ornament at the eaves of a classical building) | antepenultimate (third from the last; before the penultimate) |
| antecessor (one who goes before another; predecessor) | anterograde (moving forward or occurring before a certain point in time) | anteposition (the placing of a word before another in a sentence) |
| antebrachium (the forearm (literally, “before the arm”) | antenatal (before birth; prenatal) | anteroposterior (from front to back; relating to both before and after positions) |
| antetype (an earlier type or model; something before the current form) | anteversion (tilting forward (especially of an organ in anatomy)) | ante (before; earlier (also used in poker for a stake placed before dealing)) |
| anteact (an act that took place before another) | anteal (relating to or situated before something (especially in botany)) | anteambulate (to walk before or in front of someone) |
| anteapical (situated before the apex (in biology)) | antebrachial (relating to the forearm) | antecardium (the front or anterior part of the heart) |
| antecedency (the state of being antecedent or prior) | antecedence (priority in time; coming before) | antecessor (one who goes before; a predecessor) |
| anteclimax (an event or situation occurring before the climax) | antecolic (located in front of the colon (anatomy)) | antecursor (a forerunner or precursor) |
| antediluvian (of the time before the Biblical Flood; very old-fashioned) | antedorsal (situated before the dorsal fin or part (biology)) | antefebrile (before the development of a fever) |
| anteflexion (a bending forward (especially of the uterus)) | antegenesis (earlier formation or development) | antehall (a hall or space before a main hall) |
| antehuman (existing or occurring before the appearance of humans) | antelabium (the outer margin of the lip (in anatomy)) | antelapsarian (before the Fall of Man (in theology)) |
| antemundane (existing or occurring before the creation of the world) | antenatal (occurring before birth; prenatal) | anteocular (in front of the eye) |
| anteorbital (situated in front of the eye socket) | antepalatal (before the palate (in phonetics)) | antipasto (a course served before the main meal; appetizer) |
| antepectoral (situated before the chest or pectoral region) | antepenultimate (third from the end) | antiphialtic (preventing nightmares) |
| antepileptic (before the occurrence of an epileptic attack) | anteposition (the placing of a word before another) | anterad (directed toward the front or before something) |
| enterograde (moving forward or extending before) | anterolateral (situated in front and to the side ) | anteremedial (in front and toward the midline) |
| anteroom (a small room before the main room) | anteroposterior (extending from front to back) | antescript (written or printed before something else) |
| antesunrise (before sunrise) | antetype (an earlier type of model; a prototype) | antevert (to tilt forward) |
| anteversion (forward lifting (especially of the utterus)) | antevocalic (occuring before a vowel) | antewar (before a war) |
| anteword (a word or phrase appearing before another) | anteyield (to give way before something else) |
Bene (well)
| benefit (something that promotes well-being; an advantagage) | beneficial (producing good results; helpful) | benefactor (a person who does good or gives help) |
| benefactress (a woman wh gives help or support) | benefaction (an act of doing good; a charitable gift) | beneficiary (a person who receives benefits; profits, or advantages) |
| benevolence (the quality of being kind or charitable) | benevolent (well-meaning and kindly, showing goodwill) | benign (gentle, kind or not harmful) |
| benignant (kindly and beneficial in effect) | benediction (a blessing, especially at the end of a religious service) | benedictory (expressing or containing a blessing) |
| benedictine (relating to Saint Benedict or his monasic order) | benedictory (conveying a blessing or goodwill) | benefic (doing or producing good) |
| beneficence (the quality of doing good; activekindness) | beneficient (performing acts of kindness o charity) | benison (a blessing; benediction) |
| beneplacit (goodwill or favor) | benevolently (in a kind or charitable manner) |
Bis (twice, two)
| bisect (to divide into two equal parts) | bisection (the axct of cutting or dividing into two) | bisector (a line that divides something into two equal parts) |
| biscuit (twice-cooked; (bis= twice + coctus = cooked) | bissextile (relating to leap year (twice sixth)) | bisexual (having attraction toward both sexes) |
| bistable (having two stable states) | bisectional (relating to a division into two parts) | bisulcate (having two groves or furrows) |
| bisymmetric (having two planes of symmetry) | bisynchronous (operating twice in a given time or in dual synchrony) | bisphenol (any of several chemical compounds with two phenol groups) |
| bisectorial (relating to or acting as a bisector) | bisyllabic (consisting of two syllables) | bisegmental (divided into two segments) |
| bisynaptic (having two synapses (biology)) | bisensory (involving two senses) |