A Simple Guide To Building a Vocabulary For TOEFL

Learning the basics of language is helpful in understanding what you read. Structural analysis means to break a word into pieces to find its definition.

Parts of a word include prefixes, suffixes, and root words. Knowing the meanings of these parts can help you understand the definition of a difficult word.

The main part of a word is known as the root. Prefixes are common letter combinations at the beginning of words. Suffixes are common letter combinations at the ends of words.

In pieces, a word looks like this: prefix + root word + suffix.

First, look at the individual definitions of the root word, prefix, and/or suffix. Then, see how they add to the root. You can use knowledge of a prefix’s and/or suffix’s definition to determine a close definition of the word. For example, if you don’t know the definition of uninspired you may be able to figure it out because you know that un- means ‘not.’ Thus, the full word means not inspired. Learning the common prefixes and suffixes can help you define difficult words.

Below is a list of common prefixes and their meanings:

Prefixes for Numbers

Prefix - Definition - Examples
Bi- Two bisect, biennial, bicycle
Mono- One, single monogamy, monologue, monopoly
Poly- Many polymorphous, polygamous, polygon
Semi- Half, partly semicircle, semicolon, semiannually
Uni- one uniform, unity, unanimous 

a- in, on, of, up, to abed, afoot 
ab- from, away, off abdicate, abjure 
ad- to, toward advance, adventure 
ante- before, previous antecedent, antedate 
anti- against, opposing antipathy, antidote 
cata- down, away, thorou catastrophe, cataclysm 
circum- around circumspect, circumference 
com- with, together, very commotion, complicate 
contra- against, opposing contradict, contravene 
de- from depart 
dia- through, across, apa diameter, diagnose 
dis- away, off, down, not dissent, disappear 
epi- upon epilogue ex- out extract, excerpt 
hypo- under, beneath hypodermic, hypothesis 
inter- among, between intercede, interrupt 
intra- within intramural, intrastate 
ob- against, opposing objection 
per- through perceive, permit 
peri- around periscope, perimeter 
post- after, following postpone, postscript 
pre- before, previous prevent, preclude 
pro- forward, in place of propel, pronoun 
retro- back, backward retrospect, retrograde 
sub- under, beneath subjugate, substitute 
super- above, extra supersede, supernumerar 
trans- across, beyond, ove transact, transport 
ultra- beyond, excessively ultramodern, ultrasonic

Prefixes for Time, Direction, and Space

Prefix - Definition
a- in, on, of, up, to abed, afoot 
ab- from, away, off abdicate, abjure 
ad- to, toward advance, adventure 
ante- before, previous antecedent, antedate 
anti- against, opposing antipathy, antidote 
cata- down, away, thorou catastrophe, cataclysm 
circum around circumspect, circumferen 
com- with, together, very commotion, complicate 
contra- against, opposing contradict, contravene 
de- from depart 
dia- through, across, apa diameter, diagnose 
dis- away, off, down, not dissent, disappear 
epi- upon epilogue 
ex- out extract, excerpt 
hypo- under, beneath hypodermic, hypothesis 
inter- among, between intercede, interrupt 
intra- within intramural, intrastate 
ob- against, opposing objection 
per- through perceive, permit 
peri- around periscope, perimeter 
post- after, following postpone, postscript 
pre- before, previous prevent, preclude 
pro- forward, in place of propel, pronoun 
retro- back, backward retrospect, retrograde 
sub- under, beneath subjugate, substitute 
super- above, extra supersede, supernumera 
trans- across, beyond, over transact, transport 
ultra- beyond, excessively ultramodern, ultrasonic

Negative Prefixes

Prefix - Definition - Examples 
a- without, lacking atheist, agnostic 
in- not, opposing incapable, ineligible 
non- not nonentity, nonsense 
un- not, reverse of unhappy, unlock

Extra Prefixes

Prefix - Definition - Examples belli- war, warlike bellicose 
bene- well, good benefit, benefactor 
equi- equal equivalent, equilibrium 
for- away, off, from forget, forswear 
fore- previous foretell, forefathers 
homo- same, equal homogenized, homonym 
hyper- excessive, over hypercritical, hypertension 
in- in, into intrude, invade 
magn- large magnitude, magnify 
mal- bad, poorly, not malfunction, malpractice 
mis- bad, poorly, not misspell, misfire 
mor- death mortality, mortuary 
neo- new Neolithic, neoconservative 
omni- all, everywhere omniscient, omnivore 
ortho- right, straight orthogonal, orthodox 
over- above overbearing, oversight 
pan- all, entire panorama, pandemonium 
para- beside, beyond parallel, paradox 
phil- love, like philosophy, philanthropic 
prim- first, early primitive, primary 
re- backward, again revoke, recur 
sym- with, together sympathy, symphony 
vis- to see visage, visible

Below is a list of common suffixes and their meanings:

Adjective Suffixes

Suffix - Definition - Examples
-able (-ible) capable of being tolerable, edible
-esque in the style of, like picturesque, grotesque
-ful filled with, marked by thankful, zestful
-ic make, cause terrific, beatific
-ish suggesting, like churlish, childish
-less lacking, without hopeless, countless
-ous marked by, given to religious, riotous

Noun Suffixes

Suffix - Definition - Examples
-acy state, condition accuracy, privacy
-ance act, condition, fact acceptance, vigilance
-ard one that does excessively drunkard, sluggard
-ation action, state, result occupation, starvation
-dom state, rank, condition serfdom, wisdom
-er (-or) office, action teacher, elevator, honor
-ess feminine waitress, duchess
-hood state, condition manhood, statehood
-ion action, result, state union, fusion
-ism act, manner, doctrine barbarism, socialism
-ist worker, follower monopolist, socialist
-ity (-ty) state, quality, condition acidity, civility, twenty
-ment result, action refreshment
-ness quality, state greatness, tallness
-ship position internship, statesmanship
-sion (-tion) state, result revision, expedition
-th act, state, quality warmth, width
-tude quality, state, result magnitude, fortitude

Verb Suffixes

Suffix - Definition - Examples

-ate having, showing separate, desolate
-en cause to be, become deepen, strengthen
-fy make, cause to have glorify, fortify
-ize cause to be, treat with sterilize, mechanize

There is more to a word than the dictionary definition. The denotative meaning of a word is the actual meaning found in a dictionary. For example, a house and a home are places where people live. The connotative meaning is what comes to mind when you think of a word. For example, a house may be a simple, solid building. Yet, a home may be a comfortable, welcoming place where a family dwells. Most nonfiction is fact-based with no use of figurative language. So, you can assume that the writer will use denotative meanings. In fiction, drama, and poetry, the author may use the connotative meaning. Use context clues to know if the author is using the denotative or connotative meaning of a word.

Readers of all levels will find new words in passages. The best way to define a word in context is to think about the words that are around the unknown word. For example, nouns that you don’t know may be followed by examples that give a definition. Think about this example: Dave arrived at the party in hilarious garb: a leopard-print shirt, buckskin pants, and tennis shoes. If you didn’t know the meaning of ‘garb,’ you could read the examples (leopard-print shirt, buckskin pants, and tennis shoes) and know that garb means clothing. Examples will not always be this clear. Try another example: Parsley, lemon, and flowers were just a few of items he used as garnishes. The word garnishes is explained by parsley, lemon, and flowers. From this one sentence, you may infer that the items are used for decoration. Are they decorating a food plate or an ice table with meat? You would need the other sentences in the paragraph to know for sure.

Also, you can use contrasts to define an unfamiliar word in context. In many sentences, authors will not describe the unfamiliar word directly. Instead, they will describe the opposite of the unfamiliar word. So, you are given some information that will bring you closer to defining the word.

For example: Despite his intelligence, Hector’s bad posture made him look obtuse. Despite means that Hector’s posture is at odds with his intelligence. The author explains that Hector’s posture does not prove his intelligence. So, obtuse must mean unintelligent. Another example: Even with the horrible weather, we were beatific about our trip to Alaska. The weather is described as horrible. So, beatific must mean something positive.
Sometimes, there will be very few context clues to help you define an unknown word. When this happens, substitution is a helpful tool. First, try to think of some synonyms for the words. Then, use those synonyms in place of the unknown words. If the passage makes sense, then the substitution has given some information about the unknown word. For example: Frank’s admonition rang in her ears as she climbed the mountain. If you don’t know the definition of admonition, try some substitutions: vow, promise, advice, complaint, or compliment. These words hint that an admonition is some sort of message. Once in a while substitution can get you a precise definition.
Usually you can define an unfamiliar word by looking at the descriptive words in the context. For example: Fred dragged the recalcitrant boy, kicking and screaming, up the stairs. The words dragged, kicking, and screaming all hint that the boy hates going up the stairs. So, you may deduce that recalcitrant means something like unwilling or protesting. In this example, an unfamiliar adjective was identified. Contrasts do not always give detailed information about the unknown word. However, they do give you some clues to understand it.
Description is used more to define an unfamiliar noun than unfamiliar adjectives. For example: Don’s wrinkled frown and constantly shaking fist labeled him as a curmudgeon. Don is described as having a wrinkled frown and constantly shaking fist. This hints that a curmudgeon must be a grumpy, old man.
Many words have more than one definition. So you may not know how the word is being used in a sentence. For example, the verb cleave can mean join or separate. When you see this word, you need to pick the definition that makes the most sense. For example: The birds cleaved together as they flew from the oak tree. The use of the word together hints that cleave is being used to mean join. Another example: Hermione’s knife cleaved the bread cleanly. A knife cannot join bread together. So, the word must hint at separation. Learning the purpose of a word with many meanings needs the same tricks as defining an unknown word. Look for context clues and try substituting words.

To learn more from a passage, you need to understand how words connect to each other.

This is done with understanding synonyms (e.g., words that mean the same thing) and antonyms (e.g., the opposite meaning of a word). For example, dry and arid are synonyms. However, dry and wet are antonyms.

There are pairs of words in English that can be called synonyms, yet they have somewhat different definitions.

For example, friendly and collegial can be used to describe a warm, close relationship. So, you would be correct to call them synonyms. However, collegial (linked to colleague) is used for professional or academic relationships. Friendly is not linked to professional or academic relationships.

Words should not be called synonyms when their differences are too great. For example, hot and warm are not synonyms because their meanings are too different. How do you know when two words are synonyms? First, try to replace one word for the other word. Then, be sure that the meaning of the sentence has not changed. Replacing warm for hot in a sentence gives a different meaning. Warm and hot may seem close in meaning. Yet warm means that the temperature is normal, while hot means that the temperature is very high.
Antonyms are words with opposite meanings. Light and dark, up and down, right and left, good and bad are sets of antonyms. However, there is a difference between antonyms and pairs of words that are different. Black and gray are not antonyms, because black is not the opposite of gray. On the other hand, black and white are antonyms. Not every word has an antonym. For example, many nouns do not have an antonym. What would be the antonym of chair?

During your exam, the questions about antonyms are likely to be about adjectives.

Remember that adjectives are words that describe a noun. Some common adjectives include red, fast, skinny, and sweet. From these four adjectives, red is the one that does not have an antonym.