English Negative Prefixes

 

Negative statements are the opposite of affirmative statements. In English, one way to make negative statements is with negative prefixes.

 

Here is a list of English negative prefixes: a-, dis-, il-, im-, in-, ir-, non-, un-.

 

For example, the prefix un- can be attached to the adjective happy to create the negative adjective unhappy.

 

affirmative

 

negative

 

 

negative prefix

 

negative adverb not

Tom is happy.

 

Tom is unhappy.

 

Tom is not happy.

 

Note there are two ways to make this statement negative. There is no difference in meaning between these two sentences.
 

Using negative prefixes

 

Words that take a- as a negative prefix always begin with a consonant.

 

affirmative

negative

political

apolitical

sexual

asexual

typical

atypical


Words that take dis- as a negative prefix may begin with a
vowel or a consonant.

 

affirmative

negative

agree

disagree

comfort

discomfort

mount

dismount

orient

disorient


Words that take il- as a negative prefix always begin with the letter l.

 

affirmative

negative

legal

illegal

legible

illegible

literate

illiterate

logical

illogical


Words that take im- as a negative prefix always begin with the letter m or p.

 

affirmative

negative

mobile

immobile

moral

immoral

perfect

imperfect

possible

impossible


Words that take in- as a negative prefix can begin with a vowel (except i and u) or a consonant.

 

affirmative

negative

accurate

inaccurate

eligible

ineligible

organic

inorganic

decent

indecent

sane

insane

 

Note: There are many words that begin with in- that are not words with a negative prefix, for example

 

incline

indulge

insist

invoke


Words that take ir- as a negative prefix always begin with the letter r.

 

affirmative

negative

rational

irrational

reconcilable

irreconcilable

regular

irregular

resistible

irresistible


Words that take non- as a negative prefix may begin with a vowel or a consonant.

 

affirmative

negative

conformist

nonconformist

essential

nonessential

fiction

nonfiction

sense

nonsense


Words that take un- as a negative prefix may begin with a vowel or consonant.

affirmative

negative

able

unable

interesting

uninteresting

usual

unusual

comfortable

uncomfortable

helpful

unhelpful

prepared

unprepared


Remember, not all words that appear to have a negative prefix are negative.

 

correct

 

incorrect

alike

 

not like

discuss

 

not cuss

universe

 

not iverse

illuminate

 

not luminate

important

 

not portant

involve

 

not volve

irrigate

 

not rigate

 

 

LISTS:

1. de-

deactivate, debug, decode, decompose, deconstruct, decontaminate, decrease, deflate, deform, defrost, demythologize, derail, devalue

Note that the prefix de- in Latin (and in words that originate in Latin) has other, contrary meanings as well as sometimes making words negative. It is often used as an intensifier, meaning completely (as in demand), as well as meaning from, down, or away. When used with an English verb to make a new word, it works as a negative.

2. dis-

disaffected, disagree, disagreement, disagreeable, dishonorable, disloyal, distasteful.

(‘Tasteful’ refers to something that shows good taste or judgment. Things which are pleasant to the taste buds are ‘tasty.’ ‘Distasteful’ refers to tasks that are unpleasant. Foods that lack flavor are tasteless. A lack of good taste in aesthetics can also be called tasteless.)

3. in- (or, for better sound, –im before b, m, or p; -il before l; & -ir before r):

illegal, illegible, illiterate, illogical, imbalance, immature, immaturity, immovable, impatient, imperfect, impolite, impossible, improper, inability, inaccessible, inadequate, incomplete, incorrect, independent, inevitable, informal, insane, instability, irrational, irregular, irrelevant, irreparable, irresistible, irresponsible, etc.

Exceptions in which ‘in-‘ does not negate, but intensifies: Inflammable has the same meaning as flammable-- something that burns easily. Their opposite is nonflammable. The same is true for habitable and inhabitable (the negative is uninhabitable). Valuable and invaluable also are synonyms— except that invaluable is even stronger. It means something is priceless: so valuable that a person would not want to give it up for any amount of money.

4. mis-

misanthropic, misconduct, misdiagnose, misinform, mislead, misleading, misplace, misspell, mistake, mistaken, mistrust, misunderstand.

5. non-

nonconformist, nonentity, nonexistent, nonintervention, nonmetallic, nonpartisan, nonresident, nonrestrictive, nonsense, nonsmoker, nonstop, etc.

Some words can be negated either with non- or with another negative. In those cases non- has a more neutral connotation. For example, “nonstandard” means not according to the usual standard, but “substandard” is below the standard: not good. “Nonreligious” means not religious, but irreligious means more actively opposed to religion.

6. un-

unable, unaffected (not affected at all; “disaffected” means affected badly), unafraid, unbelievable, uncertain, unclear, unemployed, unexpected, unfair, unforgettable, unfortunate, unhappy, unhelpful, uninformed, unkind, unknown, unnatural, unrealistic, unfriendly (in this case the –ly isn’t for an adverb; “friendly” & “unfriendly” are adjectives), unpleasant, unstable, untouched, unwilling, unwise, etc.