Definition & Meaning of "affix"in English

to affix

VERB

to attach or fasten something to another object or surface

Grammatical Information

Composition

derived

Action verb

Regular

Present tense

affix

3rd person singular

affixes

Present participle

affixing

Past simple

affixed

Past participle

affixed

Examples

She affixes a stamp to each envelope before mailing the letters.

add to the very end

attach or become attached to a stem word

Affix

NOUN

(grammar) a letter or group of letters added to the end or beginning of a word to change its meaning

Grammatical Information

Animacy status

Abstract

Composition

Simple

Countable

singular

not gender specific

Plural form

affixes

What is an "affix"?

An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a base word or root to modify its meaning or create a new word. Affixes can be added to the beginning of a word, known as a prefix, or to the end, known as a suffix. There are also infixes, which are inserted within a word, and circumfixes, which are added around a word. For example, in the word "unhappiness", the prefix "un-" and the suffix "-ness" are both affixes that alter the meaning of the root word "happy". Affixes are essential for word formation and help expand vocabulary in many languages.

Examples