Negative prefixes

1. The most common negative prefixes in English are 'in-', 'un-', 'non-', 'de-', 'dis-', 'a-', 'anti-', 'im-', 'il-', and 'ir-'

The prefixes 'in-', 'im-', 'il-' and 'ir-' usually go with Latin-derived words

• intolerant, impossible, illegal, irrelevant

The 'un-' prefix is commonly used with words that end in '-ed' and '-able'

• unaccounted, unaffordable

The prefix 'non-' can be attached to virtually any noun, adjective, or adverb. When adding 'non-' to a word, no hyphen is needed unless the word is a noun.

• non-smoker, nonexistent, nondeadly

The prefixes 'de-' and 'dis-' are usually added to verbs to denote reversal of an action

• deaccelerate, discharge

The prefix 'a-' is added to adjectives ending in '-al'

• atypical

The preffix 'anti-' means 'against'

• antisocial