The Building Blocks of English
Over 150 words decoded through their Latin and Greek roots. Learn the root, unlock dozens of words you've never studied.
Things You Do
Action roots: the verbs hiding inside your vocabularyproceed (go forward), recede (go back), succeed (go after → achieve), exceed (go beyond)
credit (trust given), credibility (believability), credentials (proof of belief), credo (a belief system)
autograph (self-written), biography (life-writing), stenography (narrow writing → shorthand)
eject (throw out), inject (throw in), reject (throw back), project (throw forward)
emit (send out), emission (something sent out), emissary (one sent on a mission), transmit (send across)
commute (change together → travel), immutable (cannot be changed), permute (change thoroughly)
deport (carry away), report (carry back), export (carry out), import (carry in), porter (one who carries)
erupt (break out), eruption (a breaking out), rupture (a break), interrupt (break between)
describe (write down), scribble (write carelessly), prescription (written beforehand), inscribe (write into)
bisect (cut in two), section (a cut piece), sector (a cut-off area), intersect (cut between)
intervene (come between), prevent (come before → stop), avenue (a way to come), revenue (money coming back)
divert (turn away), convert (turn completely), avert (turn from), revert (turn back)
survive (live beyond), revive (live again), vivid (full of life), vivacious (lively personality)
capture (seize hold of), captive (one who is seized), captivate (seize attention)
Where
Location prefixes: position and directioncirculate (move around), circular (shaped around), circumstances (things standing around you)
exit (go out), expel (push out), exclude (shut out), exhale (breathe out)
include (shut in), interior (the inside), inner (more inside), intention (aim directed inward)
return (turn back), reboot (start back up), restart (start again), recall (call back)
subway (way under), subterranean (under the earth), subzero (under zero), submarine (under the sea)
telephone (far sound), teleshopping (far shopping), telecommunication (far connection)
transatlantic (across the Atlantic), transgender (across genders), transmission (sending across)
When
Time prefixes: before, after, and the endanterior (in front), anteroom (room before), antedate (date before), antemeridian (before noon → AM)
foretell (tell before), forecast (plan before), forehead (front of head), foreman (first man)
finish (bring to end), confine (limit the end), define (set the end), finance (end a debt → settle)
previous (going before), prejudice (judge before), prevent (come before → stop), predict (say before), prepare (get ready before)
postpone (put after → delay), postwar (after the war), postscript (written after → P.S.)
The Universe
Nature roots: earth, water, stars, and firegeology (earth study), geography (earth writing), geometry (earth measurement)
territory (area of land), terrace (earthen platform), terrain (the lay of the land)
hydroplane (water plane), hydraulic (water-powered), dehydration (loss of water)
aquamarine (sea-water blue), aquatic (water-related), aquapuncture (water needling)
astronaut (star sailor), astrophysics (star physics), astrology (star study)
pyrotechnics (fire craft → fireworks), pyramid (fire-shaped), pyromania (fire obsession)
The Body
Anatomy roots: from head to toecorporation (a body of people), corporate (relating to a body), corpse (a dead body)
cardiology (heart study), cardiovascular (heart + vessels), cardiac (of the heart)
dermatologist (skin doctor), transdermal (through the skin), epidermis (outer skin)
manual (by hand), manipulation (handling), manuscript (hand-written), manicure (hand care)
dentist (tooth doctor), dental (of teeth), denture (false teeth), indent (tooth-like notch)
pedestrian (one who walks), pedicure (foot care), pedal (foot lever), tripod (three feet)
captain (head person), capital (head city), capitalist (head of money), cap (head covering)
Human States
Emotion and condition roots: love, fear, life, and deathamiable (lovable), amateur (lover of something), Amanda (worthy of love), amorous (full of love)
Philadelphia (city of brotherly love), philodendron (tree-loving plant), philosophy (love of wisdom)
benefit (good result), benefactor (one who does good), beneficial (producing good), benevolent (wishing good)
euphemism (good speech → softened word), euphoria (good feeling), eulogy (good words → praise)
malcontent (badly content), malfunction (bad function), malnutrition (bad nourishment), malice (bad intent)
dysfunction (bad functioning), dysrhythmia (bad rhythm), dysentery (bad intestine), dyslexia (bad reading)
sympathy (same feeling), empathy (in-feeling), apathy (no feeling), pathology (study of suffering)
maniac (obsessed person), kleptomania (stealing obsession), bibliomania (book obsession), megalomania (greatness obsession)
claustrophobia (closed-space fear), arachnophobia (spider fear), homophobia, xenophobia (stranger fear)
psychology (mind study), psychotherapy (mind healing), psychiatry (mind medicine)
biology (life study), bioproducts (life products), biography (life writing), antibiotic (against life)
mortal (subject to death), immortal (not dying), mortuary (place of the dead), mortgage (death pledge)
People
Roots for family, authority, and humanitypatriarch (father ruler), paternal (fatherly), patriot (father-land lover), patron (fatherly protector)
maternity (motherhood), matriarch (mother ruler), material (substance → mother stuff), alma mater (nourishing mother)
fraternal (brotherly), fraternity (brotherhood), fraternize (act like brothers)
dominant (being master), dominate (act as master), dominion (master's territory)
judgment (the act of judging), judicial (of a judge), prejudice (pre-judgment)
anthropology (human study), misanthrope (human hater), anthropomorphic (human-shaped)
democracy (people power), demographic (people writing), epidemic (upon the people)
The Senses
Roots for seeing, hearing, and speakingspectator (one who sees), spectacle (a sight), inspect (look into), specimen (something to look at)
visit (go to see), video (I see), visible (can be seen), vision (the act of seeing)
telescope (see far), microscope (see small), scope (range of seeing), horoscope (hour-watching)
telephone (far sound), microphone (small sound → amplifier), phonics (sound system), symphony (sounds together)
audience (those who hear), audible (can be heard), audio (relating to hearing), audit (a hearing → review)
dictate (say aloud), dictionary (book of sayings), dictation (saying for writing), predict (say before)
eloquent (speaking well), loquacious (very talkative), ventriloquist (belly-speaker), locution (a way of speaking)
Size
Prefixes that make things bigger or smallerminimum (smallest amount), minimal (very small), miniature (tiny version), minor (smaller / lesser)
microphone (small sound → amplify), microbiology (study of tiny life), microscope (see the small)
macroeconomics (big-picture economics), macrocosm (the large universe), macroscopic (visible to the eye)
megaphone (huge sound), megalopolis (huge city), megabyte (huge unit of data)
magnify (make large), magnificent (greatly made), magnitude (greatness in size), magnate (a great person)
Amount
Prefixes for quantity: how many or how muchambivalent (both feelings), ambidextrous (both hands), ambiguous (going both ways)
multiple (many-fold), multi-functional (many functions), multicultural (many cultures), multimedia (many media)
polygon (many angles), polygamous (many spouses), polyglot (many tongues → multilingual)
omnipotent (all-powerful), omnibus (for all), omnivore (eats all), omnipresent (present everywhere)
automatic (self-acting), automobile (self-moving), autobiography (self life-writing), autonomy (self-law)
Numbers
Counting prefixes: from one to a thousandsolo (one alone), soloist (one performer), solitary (alone), solitude (state of being one)
unique (one of a kind), universal (one for all), uniform (one form), unify (make one)
monologue (one speaking), monogamous (one spouse), monotone (one tone), monopoly (one seller)
bicycle (two wheels), bilingual (two languages), bifocal (two focuses), biennial (every two years)
duet (two performers), dual (having two parts), duplicate (make two copies)
triple (three times), triangle (three angles), tripod (three feet), trilogy (three works)
quadruplets (four babies), quadriplegic (four limbs paralyzed), quadrant (a fourth part)
octopus (eight feet), octogenarian (80-year-old), octagon (eight sides), October (originally 8th month)
decade (ten years), decimeter (tenth of a meter), decimal (based on ten), December (originally 10th month)
century (hundred years), centimeter (hundredth of a meter), percent (per hundred), centennial (hundredth anniversary)
millimeter (thousandth of a meter), millennium (thousand years), million (a great thousand)
semifinal (half-way to final), semisweet (half sweet), semitropical (half tropical), semicircle (half circle)
Opposites
Negation prefixes: against, not, and wrongantiwar (against war), anti-smoking (against smoking), antibiotic (against life → kills bacteria), antidote (given against poison)
contrast (stand against), contravention (going against), contradict (speak against), contrary (opposite to)
mistake (wrong take), misspell (spell wrong), misunderstand (understand wrong), mislead (lead wrong)
untrue (not true), unbelievable (not believable), unreliable (not reliable), unhappy (not happy)
dislike (not like), distrust (not trust), disbelieve (not believe), disconnect (take apart)
imperfect (not perfect), impossible (not possible), immortal (not mortal), impatient (not patient)
illegal (not legal), illegible (not legible), illegitimate (not legitimate), illogical (not logical)
incorrect (not correct), incompetent (not competent), invisible (not visible), inadequate (not adequate)
irregular (not regular), irresponsible (not responsible), irrelevant (not relevant), irrational (not rational)
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