✍ Avtar Narayan
“Mastering Key Root Words: Boost Your English Skills and Excel in Exams.”
Understanding root words like “sub,” “tele,” and “anti” is very important for learning English. These roots help us understand many words we use every day. They also improve our vocabulary and reading skills. Knowing these root words can make it easier to understand new words and prepare for exams. By learning them, students can build a stronger command of English and do better in school and future job tests.
Noted: “Let’s look at each root word one by one and try to learn.”
- Ambi (meaning “both” or “on both sides”)
– Meaning: Used to describe something that works in two ways or on both sides.
– Examples:
- Ambidextrous: Able to use both hands equally well.
- Ambivalent: Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something.
- Ambiguity: Something that can be understood in more than one way.
- Ambiguous: Having more than one possible meaning.
- Ambit: The range or extent of something.
- Anti (meaning “against” or “opposite”)
– Meaning: Indicates opposition or being against something.
– Examples:
- Antisocial: Not wanting to be with other people.
- Antibiotic: A medicine that fights infections.
- Antidote: A medicine that counteracts poison.
- Antifreeze: A liquid that prevents freezing in engines.
- Antipathy: A strong feeling of dislike.
- Bi (meaning “two”)
– Meaning: Refers to something that involves or consists of two parts.
– Examples:
- Bicycle: A vehicle with two wheels.
- Bilingual: Able to speak two languages.
- Bipolar: Having two extreme poles or states.
- Biannual: Happening twice a year.
- Bipartisan: Supported by two political parties.
- Contra (meaning “against”)
– Meaning: Indicates opposition or being against something.
– Examples:
- Contradict: To say something that is opposite to what someone else has said.
- Contrary: Opposite in nature or character.
- Contraband: Goods that are illegal to trade.
- Contrast: The state of being strikingly different from something else.
- Counteract: To act against something to reduce its effect.
- De (meaning “down” or “away from”)
– Meaning: Indicates removal or reversal.
– Examples:
- Defrost: To remove frost or ice.
- Deactivate: To make something inactive.
- Detach: To separate or remove.
- Degrade: To lower in dignity or quality.
- Deform: To change something from its original shape.
- Ex (meaning “out of” or “from”)
– Meaning: Indicates moving out or away from something.
– Examples:
- Exhale: To breathe out.
- Exit: A way out.
- Expand: To make something larger.
- Exclude: To leave out.
- Examine: To look at closely.
- Hyper (meaning “over” or “beyond”)
– Meaning: Indicates an excessive or above-normal amount.
– Examples:
- Hyperactive: Extremely energetic or restless.
- Hypersensitive: Excessively sensitive.
- Hyperbole: Exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally.
- Hyperlink: A link that directs to another location online.
- Hyperthermia: Abnormally high body temperature.
- In- / Il- / Im- / Ir- (meaning “not” or “into”)
– Meaning: Used to indicate negation or something going into.
– Examples:
- Inactive (in-): Not active.
- Illegal (il-): Not allowed by law.
- Impossible (im-): Not possible.
- Irregular (ir-): Not regular.
- Invisible (in-): Not visible.
- Mis (meaning “wrong” or “badly”)
– Meaning: Indicates something done incorrectly or badly.
– Examples:
- Misunderstand: To understand something incorrectly.
- Misplace: To put something in the wrong place.
- Misbehave: To behave badly.
- Mislead: To guide someone in the wrong direction.
- Misprint: An error in printing.
- Micro (meaning “small”)
– Meaning: Refers to something very small.
– Examples:
- Microscope: An instrument used to see tiny things.
- Microorganism: A tiny living thing that can only be seen under a microscope.
- Microchip: A tiny computer chip.
- Microphone: A device used to make small sounds louder.
- Microwave: A small wave used in cooking.
- Mono (meaning “one” or “single”)
– Meaning: Indicates something that is one or single.
– Examples:
- Monologue: A long speech by one person.
- Monochrome: Having only one color.
- Monopoly: Control by one company or group.
- Monotheism: Belief in one god.
- Monocle: A single lens used to correct vision in one eye.
- Multi (meaning “many”)
– Meaning: Refers to something that involves many parts.
– Examples:
- Multicolored: Having many colours.
- Multipurpose: Having many uses.
- Multimedia: Using more than one form of media.
- Multinational: Involving many countries.
- Multitask: To do many tasks at the same time.
- Non (meaning “not”)
– Meaning: Indicates negation or absence.
– Examples:
- Nonfiction: Not fiction; based on facts.
- Nonsense: Words or ideas that make no sense.
- Nonstop: Without stopping.
- Nontraditional: Not following traditional methods.
- Nonprofit: Not making a profit.
- Para (meaning “beside” or “beyond”)
– **Meaning**: Indicates something that is alongside or beyond something else.
– Examples:
- Paranormal: Beyond normal; not explainable by science.
- Parallel: Lines that run beside each other and never meet.
- Paraphrase: To restate something in your own words.
- Parasite: An organism that lives off another.
- Paralegal: A person who assists lawyers, working beside them.
- Pre (meaning “before”)
– Meaning: Refers to something that happens before something else.
– Examples:
- Preview: To see something before the main event.
- Prehistoric: Before recorded history.
- Preschool: School before primary education.
- Prepare: To make ready before something.
- Prepay: To pay before something is due.
- Pseudo (meaning “false” or “pretend”)
– Meaning: Indicates something that is not genuine or is a pretender.
– Examples:
- Pseudonym: A false name used by an author.
- Pseudo-science: Beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on the scientific method.
- Pseudocode: A simplified version of programming code used for planning.
- Pseudo-intellectual: Someone pretending to be intellectual.
- Pseudoclassical: Imitating classical style without being genuine.
- Re (meaning “again” or “back”)
– Meaning: Indicates repetition or returning to a previous state.
– Examples:
- Rewrite: To write something again.
- Revisit: To go to a place again.
- React: To respond to something.
- Return: To go back to a place.
- Rebuild: To build something again.
- Semi (meaning “half” or “partially”)
– Meaning: Refers to something that is halfway or partially something.
– Examples:
- Semicircle: Half of a circle.
- Sub- / Suc- / Suf- / Sug- / Sup- / Sus- (meaning “under” or “below”)
– Meaning: Indicates something that is under, below, or less than.
– Examples:
- Submarine: A vessel that operates underwater.
- Substitute: Someone or something that takes the place of another.
- Support: To bear the weight or hold up.
- Suggest: To propose an idea for consideration.
- Suspend: To hang something from above or temporarily stop something.
- Syn- / Sym- / Syl- / Sys- (meaning “together” or “with”)
– Meaning: Indicates something that is with or together with something else.
– Examples:
- Synthesis: Combining elements to form a whole.
- Sympathy: Feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune.
- Syllable: A unit of spoken language that forms part of a word.
- System: A set of connected things working together as a whole.
- Synchronize: To make things happen at the same time.
- Tele (meaning “distant” or “far off”)
– Meaning: Indicates something that operates over a distance.
– Examples:
- Telephone: A device for communicating over long distances.
- Television: A device for watching broadcasts from a distance.
- Telegraph: An old method of sending messages over long distances.
- Teleport: To move instantly from one place to another (often used in science fiction).
- Telephoto: A type of camera lens used to take pictures from a distance.
- Vice (meaning “in place of” or “bad habit”)
– Meaning: Indicates something that substitutes or a bad habit or moral fault.
Examples:
- Vice President: An official who acts in place of the president.
- Vice: A bad habit or moral flaw, such as smoking or gambling.
- Vice-Chairman: A person who assists the chairman and takes their place if necessary.
- Vice Versa: The other way around or in reverse.
- Vice Regal: Relating to a viceroy, who act in place of a monarch.
Multiple-Choice Exercise
- What does the root word “anti-” mean?
- Before
- Against
- Many
- Small
- Which word uses the root “sub-” to mean “under” or “below”?
-
- Substitute
- Sympathetic
- Telephoto
- Microphone
- What does the root word “bio-” mean?
- Time
- Life
- Distance
- Number
- Which of the following words uses the root “mono-” to mean “one”?
- Monologue
- Misplace
- Hyperactive
- Contradict
- What does the prefix “pre-” indicate?
- Not
- After
- Before
- Together
- What does the root word “pseudo-” mean?
- Real
- Small
- False
- New
- Which word means “many colours” and uses the root “multi-“?
- Multicolored
- Submarine
- Prehistoric
- Antisocial
- What does the prefix “hyper-” suggest?
- Normal
- Under
- Above normal
- Hidden
- Which of the following words uses the root “tele-” to mean “distant”?
- Teleport
- Monochrome
- Pseudonym
- Synthesize
- What does the prefix “mis-” indicate?
- Wrong or badly
- Together
- Under
- Many
Answers key
- Against
- Substitute
- Life
- Monologue
- Before
- False
- Multicolored
- Above normal
- Teleport
- Wrong or badly
(Author is an English Acharya in Bhrahampuri Adarsh Vidya Mandir Jodhpur and Sah-Sanyojak of English Speaking of Vidya Bharati Jodhpur Prant.)