Three prefixes give a word a direction. ab- means “away” or “from”: someone absent is away. ad- means “to” or “toward”: to advance is to move toward. pro- means “forward” or “forth”: to proceed is to go forward.
Key idea
ab- (also abs-) = away, from. ad- = to, toward. pro- = forward, forth, and sometimes for.
ad- is a master of disguise. It changes its d to match the next letter: accede, affable, aggregate, alleviate, annihilate, apprehensive, arrogant, assert. A doubled letter after a first a is the clue.
The parts and their words
Words taken apart
| Word and meaning | Parts, and what they say |
|---|---|
| abstain to choose not to do or have something | abs- away + tain hold → “hold away from” |
| absolve to free from guilt or blame | ab- from + solv loosen + -e → “loosen from (set free)” |
| aberration a departure from what is normal or right | ab- away + err wander + -ation → “a wandering away” |
| adversary an opponent | ad- toward + vers turn + -ary → “one turned toward you (against you)” |
| alleviate to make pain or trouble easier to bear | al- to + lev light + -iate → “make light” |
| affluent wealthy | af- to + flu flow + -ent → “flowing to (riches flowing in)” |
| accede to agree to a request or demand | ac- to + ced go, yield → “yield to” |
| procrastinate to delay doing something one should do | pro- forward + crastin of tomorrow + -ate → “put forward to tomorrow” |
| propensity a natural tendency to behave a certain way | pro- forward + pens hang + -ity → “a hanging forward (a leaning)” |
Worked example: Use the parts
Dev always procrastinates: his report is due tomorrow and he has not started. What does procrastinate mean?
- Take it apart: pro- (forward) + crastin (of tomorrow, from Latin cras, tomorrow) + -ate.
- Literally: “to put forward to tomorrow.”
- The sentence fits: he keeps pushing the work to the next day.
Answer: To delay doing something one should do.
Meet the word
Common mistake
Missing ad- when it changes shape. ac-, af-, ag-, al-, an-, ap-, ar-, as- and at- are all ad-: accede (go to), affable (easy to speak to), alleviate (make light). Look for the doubled consonant.