Why Word-Parts Are a Safety Net
You cannot memorize every word the GRE might use. But a surprisingly small set of Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes appears inside hundreds of advanced English words — learning these building blocks lets you make an educated guess at an unfamiliar word's meaning during the actual test.
প্রতিটি শব্দ মুখস্থ করা সম্ভব নয়। কিন্তু অল্প কিছু গ্রিক ও ল্যাটিন root, prefix, suffix শত শত উন্নত ইংরেজি শব্দে ব্যবহৃত হয় — এগুলো জানলে পরীক্ষায় অপরিচিত শব্দের অর্থ অনুমান করা যায়।
The core method: break an unfamiliar word into its prefix, root, and suffix, translate each piece separately, then combine the pieces into a rough overall meaning.
মূল পদ্ধতি: অপরিচিত শব্দকে prefix, root, suffix-এ ভাগ করুন, প্রতিটির অর্থ বের করে একত্র করুন।
Common Roots
| Root | Meaning | Example Words |
|---|---|---|
| bene | good ভালো | benevolent, benefactor, benign |
| mal | bad খারাপ | malevolent, malicious, malaise |
| omni | all সব | omniscient, omnipotent, omnivore |
| poly | many অনেক | polyglot, polygamy, polymath |
| mono | one, single একক | monotonous, monolithic, monopoly |
| phil | love প্রেম | philosophy, bibliophile, philanthropy |
| phob | fear ভয় | xenophobia, claustrophobic |
| gen | birth, origin, kind উৎপত্তি | genesis, indigenous, homogeneous |
| chron | time সময় | chronology, chronic, synchronize |
| path | feeling, suffering অনুভূতি/দুঃখ | empathy, apathy, pathology |
| loqu / loc | speak কথা বলা | loquacious, eloquent, colloquial |
| scrib / script | write লেখা | proscribe, transcribe, manuscript |
| vor | eat খাওয়া | voracious, carnivore, devour |
| luc / lum | light আলো | lucid, elucidate, luminous |
| tac / tic | silent নীরব | taciturn, reticent (related), tacit |
| grad / gress | step, go পদক্ষেপ | gradual, digress, progress |
| ver | truth সত্য | verify, veracity, verdict |
| cred | believe বিশ্বাস করা | credible, incredulous, credence |
Common Prefixes
| Prefix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a- / an- | without, not ছাড়া | amoral, apathy, anomaly |
| ante- | before আগে | antecedent, antebellum |
| anti- | against বিরুদ্ধে | antipathy, antithesis |
| circum- | around চারপাশে | circumvent, circumspect |
| contra- | against, opposite বিপরীত | contradict, contravene |
| de- | down, away, negative নিচে/দূরে | deride, denigrate, decry |
| dis- | not, apart না/আলাদা | disparage, discord, dissent |
| hyper- | over, excessive অতিরিক্ত | hyperbole, hypercritical |
| hypo- | under, insufficient নিচে/অপ্রতুল | hypothesis, hypocrisy |
| inter- | between মধ্যে | interject, interlude |
| mis- | wrong, bad ভুল | misconstrue, misnomer |
| pre- | before আগে | precedent, presage |
| pro- | forward, in favor of সামনে/পক্ষে | propensity, prolific |
| super- | above, beyond উপরে | supersede, superfluous |
| un- / in- / non- | not না | unequivocal, incredulous, nonchalant |
Common Suffixes
| Suffix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -able / -ible | capable of সক্ষম | credible, malleable |
| -ous / -ious | full of, having the quality of পূর্ণ | garrulous, voracious |
| -ify / -fy | to make তৈরি করা | vilify, mollify |
| -ize | to make, to become পরিণত করা | ostracize, galvanize |
| -logy | study of অধ্যয়ন | chronology, etymology |
| -ism | belief, practice মতবাদ | skepticism, altruism |
| -less | without ছাড়া | guileless, artless |
| -ate | to make, having the quality of তৈরি করা | placate, obfuscate |
Decoding Words
Decode: malevolent
Decode: incredulous
Your Turn — Decode These Words
নিচের শব্দগুলো ভেঙে অর্থ অনুমান করুন।
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omni (all) + sci (know) + -ent → knowing everything.
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circum (around) + spect (look/watch) → looking around carefully; cautious.
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phil (love) + anthrop (humankind) + -y → love of humankind; charitable giving.
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di- (apart) + gress (go/step) → to step away from the main topic.
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hyper- (over, excessive) + critical → excessively critical; too quick to find fault.
Next guide: Confusable Words — pairs that look alike but mean very different things.
পরের গাইড: বিভ্রান্তিকর শব্দ।