USING PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES 33
prefix mal- means bad, evil, or wrong can help you significantly narrow down your
choices in the following question:
➥ To malign means
a. to arrange.
b. to speak badly about.
c. to charm, enchant.
d. to cast an evil spell.With your knowledge of prefixes, you can eliminate choices a and c , leaving you
with a 50–50 chance of choosing the correct answer. If you recall any context in
which you have heard the word malign before, you may be able to choose the cor-
rect answer, b. To malign is to say evil, harmful, and often untrue things about
someone; to speak ill of.
HERE’S A HINT
NUMERICAL PREFIXES
Probably among the most easily recognized of the prefixes are the numerical pre-
fixes; that is, those that can tell something about the number represented by the
word. Take a look at some words that contain numerical prefixes: bipartisan(two
parties), triage(responding to the needs in order of priority, traditionally in three
orders of priority), and trilogy(a series of three plays). Among the most common
number related prefixes are:un-, mono-: one (unique, unity, monotonous, monopoly)
bi-: two (bigamy, bilateral, bicameral, bicycle)
tri-: three (trivial, trident, trinity, triple)
quad-, quar-: four (quadrant, quarter, quart, quartet)
deci-: ten (decade, decathlon, decimal, decibel)
cent-: hundred (century, centipede, centennial)
mil-: thousand (millipede, millennium, millimeter)Following is a list of the prefixes. For each prefix, we have provided two exam-
ples of words that use that prefix. With a few exceptions, these examples are not
test-prep words; rather, they are basic words that are probably already a part of your
vocabulary. This will help you remember the meaning of each prefix—and show
you just how well you already know them.