{"id":2844,"date":"2016-02-19T09:03:55","date_gmt":"2016-02-19T17:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?p=2844"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:44:10","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T21:44:10","slug":"prefixes-de-dis-and-inter-on-the-toefl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/prefixes-de-dis-and-inter-on-the-toefl\/","title":{"rendered":"Prefixes de-, dis-, and inter- on the TOEFL"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a recent post<\/a>, we looked at the meanings of the English prefixes de-, dis-, and inter-. These prefixes are very important on the TOEFL, because they can help you guess at the meanings of unfamiliar academic words.<\/p>\n

In this post, we\u2019ll review the meanings of these three prefixes. For each prefix, we\u2019ll also look at examples of these prefixes, with tips on how to use prefixes to as clues to the definitions of TOEFL vocabulary words.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

de-<\/strong> to get rid of something or reduce it to a smaller quantity<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Discarded fruits and vegetables can quickly decompose<\/strong>, and thus add nutrients back to the soil.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    You can know that de- means to lose something or a portion of something, so you may be able to guess that decompose<\/strong> means \u201cto lose composition.\u201d The fruits and vegetables must be rotting, then.<\/em><\/p>\n

      \n
    • When candle wax is heated but not burned, the wax loses its solid structure and deforms<\/strong> because of the heat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      And here, you can correctly guess that deform<\/strong> means to lose one\u2019s form or to have one\u2019s form grow smaller. So the wax is losing its shape and becoming fluid as it melts.<\/em><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      dis<\/strong>– the opposite of<\/h2>\n
        \n
      • When don’t actively decide where they will release seeds so that new plants can grow. Instead, plant seeds are randomly dispersed<\/strong> by some other agent other than the plants, like the wind.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        This one\u2019s a little tricky. But you can use your prefix knowledge to guess that plants change from one state to an opposite state. And with wind doing the dispersing<\/strong>, you can specifically guess that plants go from being all in one place to an opposite state\u2014being spread around.<\/em><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Construction cranes can quickly be set up and are just as easily dismantled <\/strong>and removed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          If a big, tall machine that is used to lift heavy construction material is removed, it\u2019s probably also taken apart. So the prefix dis-<\/strong> hints at the meaning of dismantled<\/strong> in this passage. Assembled construction cranes are put in a state opposite of assembled\u2014they are taken apart.<\/em><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          inter-<\/strong> meeting or making contact<\/h2>\n
            \n
          • Interbedded<\/strong> with the rock sediment were thick, dark layers of iron deposits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            \u201cBedded\u201d means \u201claid down.<\/em>\u201d So if you understand the meaning of inter-<\/strong>, you can easily understand that the rock sediments and iron are laid down together.<\/em><\/p>\n

              \n
            • Researchers recently hypothesized that one of the reasons dolphins swim next to each other (and not towards each other) is to avoid interference<\/strong> from each other\u2019s sonar sounds and clicks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              \u201cFerence\u201d isn\u2019t really a word on its own. But with the prefix inter-<\/strong> before it, it\u2019s pretty clear that interference <\/strong>refers to sonar sounds bouncing off of each other.<\/em><\/p>\n

               <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              In a recent post (<LINK TO MAGOOSH COMICS: PREFIXES, DE-, DIS-, AND INTER-), we looked at the meanings of the English prefixes de-, dis-, and inter-. These prefixes are very important on the TOEFL, because they can help you guess at the meanings of unfamiliar academic words. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13617],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13630],"class_list":["post-2844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reading"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPrefixes de-, dis-, and inter- on the TOEFL - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/prefixes-de-dis-and-inter-on-the-toefl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prefixes de-, dis-, and inter- on the TOEFL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a recent post (<LINK TO MAGOOSH COMICS: PREFIXES, DE-, DIS-, AND INTER-), we looked at the meanings of the English prefixes de-, dis-, and inter-. 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Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS and MA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew"],"knowsAbout":["TOEFL","IELTS","TOEIC","PET","FCE","BULATS","Eiken","SAT","ACT","GRE","GMAT"],"knowsLanguage":["English","Italian"],"jobTitle":"Content Creator","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/davidr\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13630,"user_id":80,"is_guest":0,"slug":"davidr","display_name":"David Recine","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Recine","first_name":"David","description":"David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT.\r\n\r\nDavid has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. His work at Magoosh has been cited in<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C50&q=Recine+magoosh&btnG=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> many scholarly articles<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/minds.wisconsin.edu\/handle\/1793\/65479\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> his Master's Thesis<\/a> is featured on the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.readingwithpictures.org\/2013\/09\/research-highlight-teaching-english-language-learners-with-comics\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Reading with Pictures<\/a> website, and he's presented at the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.witesol.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/2014-WITESOL-Program-FINAL-10-28-14.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> WITESOL (link to PDF)<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/interoff\/docs\/nafsaregionv_2014conference\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> NAFSA<\/a> conferences. David has taught K-12 ESL in South Korea as well as undergraduate English and MBA-level business English at American universities. He has also trained English teachers in America, Italy, and Peru.\r\n\r\nCome join David and the Magoosh team on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew\"> Youtube<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning\"> Facebook<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/magooshenglish\/?hl=en\"> Instagram<\/a>, or connect with him via<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/\"> LinkedIn<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2844\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2844"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}