What Is a Word Root? (with Examples) - Grammar Monster

A word root is the base part of a word (i.e., less any prefixes and suffixes). Word roots are also called base words. This page has examples of word roots ... TopPages Home A-ZGlossary Punctuation A-ZConfusedWords CommonMistakes(orderedbyseriousness) TopTipGetagrammarcheckerforyourbrowser ESLVocabularyLists PartsofSpeechLists TestsandGames AwkwardPlurals SayingsandProverbs Twitter YouTube WordRoot searchoursitebyCraigShrives ThisPageIncludes... Printable&SendableTest WhyWordRootsAreImportant KeyPoints WhatIsaWordRoot?(withExamples) Awordrootisthebasepartofaword(i.e.,lessanyprefixesandsuffixes). Tochangethemeaningofaword,aprefixcanbeaddedtothefrontofthewordroot,orasuffixcanbeaddedtotheback.Quiteoften,aprefixandasuffixareaddedtoawordroottochangethemeaning.(Prefixesandsuffixesareknownasaffixes.) ExampleofWordRootswithPrefixesandSuffixes Intheseexamples,thewordrootsareinbold,andtheprefixesandsuffixesaren't. Wordroot:friend friends,friendly,unfriendly,friendship Wordroot:normal abnormal,normality,normalize,abnormality Wordroot:mature immature,maturity (Noticehowthe"e"isdroppedofftherootwordfor"maturity."Often,therearespellingrulestoconsider.) "WordRoot"or"BaseWord"? Beawarethattherearetwodifferentterminologiesfordissectingwords: Some(likeus)usetheseterms: Example:unfriendly "un"isaprefix. "friend"isthewordroot. "ly"isasuffix Someusetheseterms: Example:unfriendly "un"isprefix.(Aprefixisatypeofrootword.) "friend"isthebaseword.(Abasewordisatypeofrootword.) "ly"isasuffix.(Asuffixisatypeofrootword.) HereatGrammarMonster,weusetheversionontheleft(i.e."wordroot"),butbeawarethatyoumightencountertheversionontheright(i.e.,"baseword"and"rootwords"tomeanthebasewordandtheaffixes). PrintableandSendableTest AListofCommonPrefixes Hereisalistofcommonprefixeswithsomeexamples: PrefixMeaningExample a-,an-withoutamoral,atypical ante-beforeantecedent,antenatal anti-againstanti-establishment auto-selfautopilot co-withco-conspirator,co-pilot com-,con-withcompanion,contact de-offdelist,devalue dis-notdisappear en-putintoenclose,envelop ex-outof,formerextract,ex-governor extra-beyond,morethanextracurricular il-,im-,in-,ir-not,withoutillegal,impractical,inconsiderate,irresponsible in-intoinsert inter-betweeninternet,intersection, intra-betweenintranet,intravenous mono-onemonocle non-not,withoutnonentity,nonstarter, post-afterpost-mortem pre-,pro-before,forwardprecede,project sub-undersubmarine,substandard super-abovesupervisor,superhuman un-notundone,unfinished, uni-oneunicorn,unilaterally Readmoreaboutprefixes. AListofCommonSuffixes Hereisalistofcommonsuffixeswithsomeexamples: SuffixMeaningExample -able,-iblecanbedonecomfortable,passable -al,-ialhavingthecharacteristicsofpersonal -edpast-tenseverbs(weakverbs)danced,jumped -enmadeofgolden,wooden -ercomparativetidier,nicer -er,-oronewhoactor,narrator,worker -estsuperlativenicest,greatest -fulfullorfullofcupful,careful -ichavingcharacteristicsoflinguistic,sarcastic -ingverbform(presentparticipleandgerund)dancing,singing -ion,-tion,-ation,itionactorprocessattraction,attrition -ity,-tystateofhumility,infinity -ive,-ative,itiveadjectiveformofanounexpensive,plaintive -lesswithouttopless,fearless -lyadverbendingnicely,quickly -mentactionorprocessenjoyment,entrenchment -nessstateof,conditionofeagerness,kindness -ous,-eous,-iouspossessingthequalitiesoferroneous,joyous -s,-espluraltables,foxes -ycharacterizedbyfatty,happy,jumpy Readmoreaboutsuffixes. Theterm"wordroot"doesnotjustapplytonounsandcreatingnewnouns(e.g.,forming"player"from"play").Wordrootsalsoapplytoverbs,adverbs,andadjectives.Forexample: Wordroot:play Heplaysfootball. (Here,thesuffix"s"isaddedtothewordroottoensuretheverbfitsgrammatically.) Heplayedtennis. (Thesuffix"ed"formsthepasttense.) Hehadplayedbadly. (Thesuffix"ed"formsapastparticiple.) Heskippedplayfully. (Thesuffix"fully"formsanadverb.) Thisgameisnotplayable. (Thesuffix"able"formsanadjective.) WhyWordRootsAreImportant Herearefourgoodreasonstocareaboutwordroots. (Reason1)Userootwordstoincreaseyourvocabulary. Ifyou'relearningEnglish,youcanquicklyincreaseyourvocabularybylearningsomecommonwordrootsandthemostcommonprefixesandsuffixes. (Reason2)Useyourunderstandingofwordrootsandaffixestodecodethemeaningsoflongwords. Often,youcandecodethemeaningofawordbyidentifyingthewordrootandapplyingyourunderstandingofanyaffixes.Here'saneasyexamplewiththeword"disrespectfully": Disrespectfully"breaksdowntodis-respect-ful-ly.Thisgetsyoutosomethinglike"not-respect-fullof-adverb,"whichwouldleadtosomethinglike"doneinamannerthatisfullofnorespect."And,that'sagreatstartingpointfordecodingitsmeaning.) Herearesomeharderexamples: lonelinesslessness (Withthreesuffixes,thisistheconceptofnoloneliness.) semihemidemisemiquaver (Withfourprefixes,thisahundredtwenty-eighthnote.) (Reason3)Useanaffixtoreduceyourwordcount. Aword'smeaningischangedwhenanaffixisadded.Sometimes,youcanexploitthistoreduceyourwordcountandtocreateamoreflowingtext. Notaware>unaware Notsure>unsure tobakecakes>bakingcakes acomparisonofthedatashows>comparingthedatashows (Reason4)Breakdownlongwordstohelpwithspelling Theword"antidisestablishmentarianism"(a19th-centurypoliticalpositionthatsoughttheremovaloftheAnglicanChurch'sstatusasthestatechurchofEngland,IrelandandWales)isbestknownnotforwhatitrepresentsbutforitslength(28lettersand12syllables).Canyouspellit?No?Ibetyoucan.Ifyoubreakitdownintoitswordrootandaffixes,it'sprettysimple. Anti-dis-establ-ish-ment-arian-ism Thisiswell-usedtechniquetohelpwithspelling. KeyPoints Expandyourvocabularybytheaffixesandapplyingthemtowordroots. Useanaffixtocreateanewwordthatallowsyoutoreduceyourwordcount. Identifythewordrootandanyaffixesinawordtohelpwithspellingitanddecodingitsmeaning. HelpUsToImproveGrammarMonster Doyoudisagreewithsomethingonthispage? Didyouspotatypo? Nextlesson> SeeAlso Whatareprefixes? Whataresuffixes? Whatareaffixes? Usinghyphenswithprefixes Whataresyllables? Glossaryofgrammaticalterms PageURLsharecopy TechnicalHelp Downloadthelatestgrammar-checkerapp Grammarly'sappwillhelpwith: (1)Avoidingspellingerrors (2)Correctinggrammarerrors (3)Findingbetterwords (Thisfreebrowserextensionworkswithwebmail,socialmedia,andtextingappsaswellasonlineformsandMicrosoftOfficedocuments,likeWordandTeams.) downloadtheapp Nextlesson> home| aboutus| contactus| search| privacypolicy