What if you could learn 10 word beginnings and endings and instantly recognise hundreds of new words? That's exactly what prefixes and suffixes do. They're the closest thing to cheat codes in word games — and once you know them, you'll start spotting plays you never noticed before.
The 5 Most Powerful Prefixes
- RE- (again): redo, replay, rewind, rewrite, rebuild
- UN- (not): undo, unfair, unlock, unseen, untie
- PRE- (before): preview, predict, prepare, preheat, prefix
- DIS- (opposite): disagree, disconnect, disappear, dislike
- OVER- (excess): overdo, overeat, overlap, overlook, overjoy
The 5 Most Powerful Suffixes
- -ING: playing, running, walking, talking, writing
- -ED: played, walked, talked, jumped, helped
- -ER: player, walker, talker, jumper, helper
- -EST: biggest, fastest, strongest, brightest
- -LY: quickly, slowly, happily, easily, loudly
When you see a jumble like "LAYINGP", mentally set aside "ING" and you're left with "LAYP" — suddenly "PLAYING" is obvious. This technique works for every suffix and prefix. Practise with our Anagram Generator to see how many words you can unlock from a single root.