This page lists dozens of word roots, prefixes, and suffixes that will help you understand new words. It’s great to memorize the definitions of new vocabulary words, but memorizing the word roots will help you when you come across a word you don’t know!
G Word Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes
GEN: BIRTH, CLASS, KIN
congenital: present from birth
engender: to give brith to a feeling or situation
generation: all people with births during the same years
heterogeneous: of different classes
homogeneous: of the same class
ingenious: gives birth to new ideas
progenitor: ancestral kin
progeny: descendant kin
GRAD, GRESS: STEP
centigrade: a step in Celsius temperature
congress: a meeting of politicians to take steps in law
degrade: to break down into steps chemically
digress: to step away from the main subject
egress: to step out of a place
gradation: a scale or series of successive steps
gradient: steps going up
gradual: taking slow steps
graduate: to successfully complete an academic step
ingress: the place where one steps into a place
progress: steps going forward
retrograde: stepping backwards
transgress: to step outside the moral grounds
GRAPH, GRAM: WRITTEN
bibliography: a written list of works used in a project
biography: story of someone’s life written by someone else
epigram: a short, witty written or oralpiece
epigraph: a written inscription on an object
grammar: rules of an oral or written language
epigram: a short, witty written or oral piece
GRAT: PLEASE, THANK
congratulate: to give pleasing wishes
grateful: feeling pleased and thankful
gratis: given for free to please another
gratitude: the quality of being thankful
gratuitous: given free of charge to please another
gratuity: money given to express thankfulness
ingrate: an unpleased person
GRAV, GRIEV: HEAVY
aggravate: to make a problem worse or heavier
grave: creates dead and heavy feelings
gravity: force attracting heavy and light objects to the earth
grieve: to suffer sad, heavy emotion
grievous: something very heavy and serious
GREG: CROWD, FLOCK
aggregate: a whole flock of things combined
congregate: to gather into a crowd or mass
egregious: shocking to the normal crowd
gregarious: living in flocks or communities
segregate: to divide into separate crowds
H Word Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes
HABIT, HIBIT: HAS, HAVE, HOLD
cohabit: to have shared home
habit: the regular tendency or practice one has
habitat: the home an organism has
inhibit: to hold someone or something back
HAP: CHANCE
haphazard: organized by chance and randomness
happen: to occur by chance
hapless: having things happen by chance
mishap: an unlucky, chance accident
HELIO, HELI: SUN
aphelion: the point in the orbit furthest from the sun
heliocentric: having the sun as the center
heliotrope: a tool with a mirror to reflect sunlight to survey land
helium: a chemical element that is common on the sun
perihelion: the point in the orbit closest to the sun
HETERO: OTHER
heterodox: having other beliefs than the norm
heterogeneous: made up of other substances
heterosexual: sexually attracted to people of the other sex
HOL: WHOLE
catholic: includes a whole group of things
holistic: providing medicine for the whole person
holocaust: destruction of a whole people or area
HOMO: SAME
homogeneous: of the same kind
homogenize: make everything the same
homonym: words with same spelling and different meanings
homosexual: attracted to people of the same sex
HOM: MAN
bonhomie: a cheerful, friendly man
homo sapiens: the species of man living today
homicide: to kill another man on purpose
HYDR: WATER
dehydration: excessive loss of body water
hydrant: an upright water pipe that has a hose nozzle
hydrate: to absorb water
HYPER: EXCESSIVE
hyperactive: excessively active
hyperbole: excessive claims not meant literally
hyperventilate: excessive breathing
HYPO: UNDER, TOO LITTLE
hypochondria: anxiety about being under healthy
hypodermic: relating to the area under the skin
hypothermia: far under healthy body temperature
hypothesis: an explanation made on too little information
hypothetical: a statement based on too little of reality
I Word Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes
IG: NOT
ignoble: not of noble character
ignominious: not dignified
ignorant: not having knowledge or awareness
IL: NOT
illicit: not allowed
illimitable: not having limits or an end
IL: IN, INTO
illustrate: to put drawings into a piece of work
IM: NOT
immaculate: not having any flaws or mistakes
immutable: not changing
impasse: not able to make progress
impassioned: not calm
impeccable: not having any faults
impecunious: not having money
impertinent: not showing respect
impervious: not allowing fluid to pass through
implacable: not able to be stopped
impotent: not able to take action
impregnable: not able to be captured or destroyed
improvident: not preparing for the future
IM: IN, INTO
imbue: to become soaked in an idea or emotion
immerse: to submerge in a liquid
implicate: to show someone is involved in a crime
IN: NOT
incessant: not pausing
incorrigible: not capable of being correct or reformed
indefatigable: not able to get tired or worn out
indelible: not able to be deleted
indubitable: not possible to doubt
inept: not having skill
inert: not having strength to move
inexorable: not able to stop or prevent
inextricable: not possible to untangle or escape from
infallible: not capable of making mistakes or being wrong
infamy: known for something not good
innumerable: so many they cannot be numbered
inoperable: not able to be operated on
insatiable: not able to satisfy
insentient: not able to feel or understand things
insipid: not having flavor or interest
insolvent: not able to pay debts owed
insomnia: not able to sleep
interminable: not having an end
intemperate: not having self-control
intractable: not able to control or deal with
intrepid: not having fear
inviolable: not capable of being violated
IN: IN, INTO
inaugurate: admit someone into public office
incandescent: to provide light because of an inner heated filament
incarcerate: to lock someone in prison
incarnate: represented in human form
incense: sweet smelling substance used in religious ceremonies
inception: when something comes into being
incisive: expressing an idea in a clear way
indenture: to bind someone into employment legally
induct: to admit formally into a position or organization
infer: to read in-between the lines
infusion: something prepared by soaking leaves in liquid
ingratiate: to bring oneself into favor with someone
ingress: a place to enter into something
innate: originating in the mind
inquest: looking into an incident to find facts
inscribe: to write in something
insinuate: suggest in an indirect or unpleasant way
inter: to place in a grave or tomb
introvert: preoccupied with inward thoughts
invade: to enter into a region with large numbers
INTER: BETWEEN
intercede: to try to reconcile differences between people
intercept: the intersection between figures
interdiction: to come between an army and its supplies
interject: to put something between other things
interloper: to intrude between the affairs of others
intermediary: a person who acts as a link between people
intermittent: alternating between stopping and starting
interpolate: to insert something between fixed points
interpose: to insert between one thing or another
interregnum: the time between two rulers
interrogate: to have a forceful discussion between people
intersect: the shared point between two lines
intervene: to come between to alter a course of events
INTRA: WITHIN
intramural: taking place within a single school
intrastate: existing within the boundaries of a state
intravenous: existing within veins
intrinsic: due to causes or factors within a person
IR: NOT
irregular: not even or balanced in shape
IR: IN, INTO
irrigate: to add water into a field
irritate: to cause discomfort in the body or mind
J Word Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes
JECT: THROW
abject: something to throw away; worthless
eject: to force or throw out
interject: to abruptly throw something into a conversation
jettison: to throw out or overboard
trajectory: a flight path of something thrown
JOUR: DAY
adjourn: to suspend the meeting to a future day or time
journal: a daily record of news and events
sojourn: to stay somewhere for a couple days or so
JUD: JUDGES
adjudicate: to make a formal judgement about a matter
judge: a person who judges
judicious: showing good judgment
prejudice: preconceived judgement
JUNCT, JUG: JOIN
adjunct: a thing joined to something else, but not essential
conjugal: related to two people joining together in marriage
junction: a point where two or more things are joined
injunction: something stoping someone from joining in
subjugate: to force someone to join you as a slave
Q Word Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes
QUA: FOUR
quadrant: one of four sections of a circle
quadrilateral: a four-sided figure
quadruped: an animal that has four feet
quarantine: to isolate someone, originally for forty days
quarter: one of four equal parts of a whole
quaternary: fourth in order of rank
QUEST, QUER, QUIS, QUIR: QUESTION
inquest: when a judge questions something to get facts
inquisitive: having many questions
inquiry: the act of asking questions
querulous: to complain by questioning the choice of others
query: a question addressed to an official organization
quest: to search for something you have a question about
QUIET, QUIE: QUIET
acquiesce: to quietly. reluctantly accept something
disquiet: an anxious, not quiet, feeling
quiescent: quietly not moving
requiem: a service to remember the quiet souls of the dead
QUIN: FIVE
quintessence: fifth and purest level in an ancient philosophy
quintuplets: five children born at one time to one mother
R Word Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes
RADI, RAMI: BRANCH
eradicate: to remove branches with pest infestations or disease
radiant: to send out branches of light
radiate: to send out branches of heat
ramification: a branch of an organization or family
radius: a branch from the center to the outside of a sphere
RECT, REG: STRAIGHT
rectangle: a two-dimensional figure with four straight sides
rectify: to make something right and on the straight path rectitude: straight and righteous behavior
regular: having a straight-forward pattern
REG: KING
interregnum: the period between kings
regal: fit for a king
regent: person filling in for the king
RETRO: BACKWARD
retroactive: going backward in time and taking effect then
retrograde: directed or moving backward
retrospective: looking backward and dealing with those events
RID, RIS: LAUGH
deride: to laugh at someone in a mean way
derision: a state of being laughed at or ridiculed
ridiculous: crazy enough to make people laugh
ROG: ASK
abrogate: to ask about the legitimacy of a law by repealing it
arrogant: thinking you know everything and never asking questions
arrogate: to do something without asking
derogatory: asking why someone would do something by insulting them
interrogate: to ask questions of someone aggressively
RUD: ROUGH
erudite: not rough or crude because of education
rude: roughly made or done
rudimentary: being immature, rough, or crude
RUPT: BREAK
disrupt: to cause a break in something by creating a problem
interrupt: to cause a break in an activity
rupture: to break or burst suddenly
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