Prefixes (dis-, un-, non-)

Prefixes

(dis-, un-, non-)

Prefixes

A prefix is a word part added to the beginning of a base word. Prefixes change a word's meaning. Some prefixes have the same meaning.

dis-, un-, non-

• There are three prefixes that have similar meanings

• These prefixes can mean "the opposite of" or "not"

Examples

• happy - in a good mood

• un - "not" or "the opposite of"

• un + happy = unhappy = not in a good mood

Practice

Choose the real word that matches the definition.

Multiple Choice

not pleasant

• nonpleasant

• unpleasant

• displeasant

Multiple Choice

the opposite of honest

• nonhonest

• dishonest

Multiple Choice

to not stop

• nonstop

• distop

• unstop

Multiple Choice

the opposite of respect

• disrespect

• nonrespect

• unrespect

Multiple Choice

not toxic

• untoxic

• distoxic

• nontoxic

Multiple Choice

to not like

• unlike

• dislike

• nonlike

Multiple Choice

to not tie

• untie

• nontie

• distie

Multiple Choice

not fair

• nonfair

• disfair

• unfair

Multiple Choice

to not obey

• unobey

• disobey

• nonobey

Multiple Choice

the opposite of sense

• unsense

• dissense

• nonsense

Vocabulary Practice

Read each sentence. Choose the best word to fill in the bank.

Multiple Choice

After the baseball game, Daniel started to _____ his cleats because his feet were sore from the game.

• untie

• nontie

• distie

Multiple Choice

When Nia helped to clean the salsa studio, she made sure to choose something that was _____ so that the cleaner didn't damage the floor.

• untoxic

• distoxic

• nontoxic

Multiple Choice

Danni said that she was the queen of fashion, but Shelley knew that was _____ because she thought she had the best style.

• dissense

• nonsense

• unsense

Multiple Choice

Hana thought that her cat was showing a lot of _____ because it kept crawling on her face and meowing loudly when she tried to sleep.

• disrespect

• unrespect

• nonrespect

Multiple Choice

Gabriela thought her brother was being _____ when he said he didn't eat her chocolate cake because his face was covered in icing!

• nonhonest

• dishonest

Multiple Choice

Laila practiced her gymnastics _____ so that she could help her team win the competition.

• unstop

• nonstop

• disstop

Multiple Choice

Alexander thought it was _____ that Mr. Norton assigned 1000 pages of reading for homework! How was he going to sleep or eat?

• nonfair

• disfair

• unfair

Prefixes Review

A prefix is a word part added to the beginning of a base word. Prefixes change a word's meaning. Some prefixes have the same meaning.

dis-, un-, non-

• There are three prefixes that have similar meanings

• These prefixes can mean "the opposite of" or "not"