Language ยท 1
What does the prefix 'un-' typically mean?
Answer
not
The prefix 'un-' means 'not' and reverses the meaning of a word, making it negative or opposite. This Germanic prefix is one of the oldest in English and appears in thousands of common words like 'unhappy,' 'unable,' and 'unkind,' where it transforms adjectives and verbs into their negations. Understanding 'un-' is fundamental to English morphology and word formation.
๐ก Did you know?
The prefix 'un-' appears in over 1,000 English words and is Germanic in origin, dating back centuries.
Other options people guess
- one
- under
- again
Topics
- prefix
- morphology
- grammar
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