An-

prefix

prefix ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Prefix
  1. 1
    Alternative form of on-. alt-of, alternative, morpheme

    "ancome, aneal, anent"

  2. 2
    not; used to make words that have a sense opposite to the word (or stem) to which the prefix is attached. Used with stems that begin with vowels and "h". morpheme
  3. 3
    Alternative form of ana-. alt-of, alternative, morpheme
  4. 4
    Without, lacking. morpheme

    "anoxia (without oxygen), anandrous (without male parts)"

Synonyms

All synonyms
adysexfreeiil

Example

More examples

"anoxia (without oxygen), anandrous (without male parts)"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English an-, from Old English an-, on- (“on-”), from Proto-West Germanic *ana-, from Proto-Germanic *ana- (“on”). More at on.

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-). Doublet of un- and in- .

Etymology 3

From Ancient Greek ἀνα- (ana-), from ἀνά (aná, “on, up, above, throughout”). Doublet of on-.

More for "an-"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.