Prefixes for Enhancement

  1. over-: excessive, above
    • Examples: overeat, overreact, overestimate
  2. super-: above, beyond
    • Examples: superhuman, superstar, superimpose
  3. ultra-: beyond, extreme
    • Examples: ultraviolet, ultramodern, ultralight
  4. hyper-: over, excessive
    • Examples: hyperactive, hypertension, hyperbole
  5. mega-: large, great
    • Examples: megaphone, megastar, megabyte
  6. maxi-: largest, most
    • Examples: maximize, maximum, maxillofacial


Prefixes for Reduction

  1. under-: insufficient, below
    • Examples: underestimate, underpaid, underdeveloped
  2. sub-: under, below, less than
    • Examples: submarine, subpar, subconscious
  3. infra-: beneath, below
    • Examples: infrastructure, infrared, infrasonic
  4. hypo-: under, below normal
    • Examples: hypoglycemia, hypothermia, hypothesis
  5. mini-: small, reduced
    • Examples: minimize, minivan, miniature


Additional Contextual PrefixesWhile these prefixes often overlap with other categories, their meanings in specific contexts relate to enhancement or reduction:

  1. macro-: large, great (enhancement)
    • Examples: macroeconomics, macroscopic
  2. micro-: small, tiny (reduction)
    • Examples: microscope, microorganism
  3. epi-: on, above, close to (enhancement in spatial sense)
    • Examples: epicenter, epidermis
  4. apo-: away from, reduce intensity (reduction)
    • Examples: apology, apocalypse
Prefix Vocabulary Exercise

Prefix Vocabulary Practice

Understanding Prefixes in Context

Click on the blanks to reveal the correct answers.

32. We need to ______ our team due to budget cuts (Down-size – reduce in size / verkleinern).
a) downgrade (herabstufen)
b) downsize (verkleinern)

33. The manager decided to ______ the task to the marketing team (Dele-gate – assign work / delegieren).
a) deduct (abziehen)
b) delegate (delegieren)

34. We're planning to ______ our software to the latest version (Up-grade – improve quality / aufrüsten).
a) upgrade (aufrüsten)
b) upsize (vergrößern)

35. The company decided to ______ the software to a cheaper version (Down-grade – reduce quality / herabstufen).
a) downgrade (herabstufen)
b) decrease (abnehmen)

36. It's time to ______ our marketing strategy for the next quarter (Re-evaluate – assess again / neu bewerten).
a) reevaluate (neu bewerten)
b) reorganize (umstrukturieren)

37. Would you like to ______ fries with that burger? (Up-sell – sell more / zusätzlich verkaufen).
a) upsize (vergrößern)
b) up-sell (zusätzlich verkaufen)

38. There has been a ______ in profits this quarter (De-crease – reduce / Abnahme).
a) decrease (Abnahme)
b) deduct (abziehen)

39. Let's ______ the package to your office tomorrow (De-liver – bring something / liefern).
a) deliver (liefern)
b) delegate (delegieren)

40. The new marketing campaign aims to ______ our brand image (Up-lift – raise higher / aufwerten).
a) uplift (aufwerten)
b) upgrade (aufrüsten)

41. The CEO announced plans to ______ resources to focus on high-priority projects (Re-allocate – distribute again / neu verteilen).
a) reallocate (neu verteilen)
b) reorganize (umstrukturieren)

42. Due to easing restrictions, we plan to ______ our stores next week (Re-open – open again / wieder eröffnen).
a) reopen (wieder eröffnen)
b) rebuild (wiederaufbauen)

Prefix Vocabulary Exercise

Sprachschule Münster