USING PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES 35
mal-: bad, abnormal, evil, wrong
malfunction (to fail to function properly), malpractice (wrongdoing, especially
improper or negligent treatment of a patient by a physician)mis-: bad, wrong, ill; opposite or lack of
misbehave (to behave badly), misspell (to spell incorrectly)multi-: many, multiple
multimedia (the combined use of several media), multiple (having several or
many parts or elements)neo-: new, recent, a new form of
neonatal (of or relating to a newborn child), neologism (a new word or phrase)non-: not
nonfiction (the genre of literature that includes all types of books other than fic-
tion), nonsmoker (someone who does not smoke)poly-: many, much
polygamy (the system of having more than one wife at a time), polysyllabic (hav-
ing three or more syllables)pre-: before
precaution (something done in advance to avoid risk), predict (to forecast, make
known in advance)re-: back, again
rebuild (to build again after destruction), replace (to put back in its former posi-
tion; to take the place of)sub-: under, beneath, below
subdue (to overcome, bring under control), submarine (a ship that can operate
under water)super-: above, over, exceeding
superb (grand, magnificent, of unusually high quality, excellent), superman (a
man with powers exceeding ordinary human capacity)