Greek had its own pair for good and bad. eu- means “good” or “well,” and dys- means “bad” or “difficult.” You may know dysfunction (working badly). These parts are fewer than bene- and mal-, but the words they build show up often in reading.
Key idea
eu- = good, well. dys- = bad, difficult. Both are Greek and both come at the very start of a word.
Three eu- words are on the list. A euphemism is a mild word in place of a harsh one: eu- (good) + pheme (speech), “speaking well” of something unpleasant. A eulogy is “good words” (eu- + log, word), a speech of praise. Euphoric comes from a Greek word for “bearing well”: so happy you feel you could carry anything.
The parts and their words
Words taken apart
| Word and meaning | Parts, and what they say |
|---|---|
| euphemism a mild word used in place of a harsh or blunt one | eu- good + phem speech + -ism → “speaking well (of something harsh)” |
| eulogy a speech of praise, especially for someone who has died | eu- good + log word + -y → “good words” |
| euphoric intensely happy and excited | eu- well + phor bearing + -ic → “bearing well (feeling great)” |
| dystopia an imagined society where life is miserable | dys- bad + top place + -ia → “a bad place” |
| dysfunction a failure to work as it should | dys- badly + funct perform + -ion → “performing badly” |
Worked example: A good word for a hard thing
Pip calls his messy room “lived-in.” Why is that a euphemism?
- euphemism = eu- (good) + pheme (speech): speaking well of something.
- “Lived-in” is a gentle, pleasant way of saying “messy.”
- A euphemism swaps a blunt word for a softer one.
Answer: It is a mild, pleasant phrase used in place of a blunt one.
Meet the word
Common mistake
Mixing up eulogy and elegy. A eulogy (eu-, good) is a speech of praise, often given at a funeral. An elegy is a sad poem; it has no eu-. And eu- is a clue only at the start of a word: the e-u inside feud or neutral is not this part.
A word pair to know: a dystopia (dys-, bad + top, place) is an imagined society where life is miserable. Its opposite is a utopia, an imagined perfect society. That name was made from Greek words meaning “no place,” a hint that such a perfect place may not exist.