If you want to improve your vocabulary in English, one of the best things you can do is to study the most common prefixes and suffixes for English words.  Knowing what they mean will not only help you to remember more words, but it will also give you the ability to guess the meanings of words that you haven’t seen before.

Today I am going to talk about the difference between two prefixes, “dis-” and “mis-.” Both of them are used to make negative words, but their meanings have some subtle differences.

The Meaning of “Dis-”

The prefix “dis-” has a Latin origin. “Dis-” became a productive prefix in English starting around the sixteenth century. It is normally attached to words of Latin origin, but you will occasionally find it used with Germanic words, too.

It has three possible meanings. The first meaning is “to deprive of (something).” It is used to change a noun into a transitive verb.  Here are some examples:

• dismast — to break off the mast or masts of (a sailing vessel).
  • Twenty-five minutes had sufficed for Yankee gunners to dismast a British frigate. (Some Stories of Old Ironsides by Holloway Halstead Frost)
• discolor — to change or lose color.
  • If you wash your jeans with bleach, it will discolor them.

The second meaning is “lacking a desirable quality.” It is used with adjectives, nouns, and transitive verbs.  Here are some examples:

• dishonest — a lack of honesty.
  • Beware of dishonest traders in tourist areas.
• disadvantage — a lack of an advantage.
  • The fact that he didn’t speak a foreign language put him at a distinct disadvantage.

The third meaning is “to reverse a state or process” or “to do the opposite action.” It is used with transitive verbs and with nouns derived from transitive verbs. Here are some examples:

• disconnect — to stop a connection.
  • Push the “End” button to disconnect from the online meeting.
• disengage — to separate; to reverse the state of being engaged.
  • Captain Jones decided to disengage the autopilot and fly the plane manually.

The Meaning of “Mis-”

The prefix “mis-” has an interesting history.  It was present in Old English. Words like “mislead” and “mistime” date from this period. In Old French, there was a prefix “mes-” that had a similar meaning. The two prefixes ended up merging. The modern meaning of “mis-” is “to do (something) wrongly or improperly.” It is used mainly with transitive verbs. You can see it used with some nouns and adjectives that are derived from verbs.  Here are some examples:

• mispronounce — to pronounce incorrectly.
  • If a word has an unusual spelling and is not commonly used, even native speakers might mispronounce it.
• misunderstand — to understand incorrectly.
  • If you don’t present your data clearly, your audience might misunderstand what you did.

Comparing “Dis-” and “Mis-”

To understand how using “dis-” or “mis-” changes the meaning of a word, let’s look at some pairs of words that use the two prefixes:

• displace versus misplace.
  • The first definition of “dis-” applies to “displace.” It means a person or thing is deprived of its place.  An example would be, “The hurricane displaced 2000 people.”
  • “Misplace” means to put someone or something in the wrong place.  An example would be, “I can’t find my glasses.  I must have misplaced them.”
• disinformation versus misinformation.
  • The second definition of “dis-” applies to “disinformation.” Disinformation is false information deliberately and often covertly spread to hide the truth. An example would be, “Carlson has been spreading lies and disinformation on Fox News for years, much to the delight of viewers who would rather have their beliefs confirmed than be presented with the truth.” (Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, April 24, 2023)
  • “Misinformation” is incorrect information. Unlike “disinformation,” “misinformation” does not have the implication that the information was deliberately wrong.  It was simply incorrect. An example would be, “Misinformation on COVID-19 is so pervasive that even some patients dying from the disease still say it’s a hoax.” (Zara Abrams, Monitor on Psychology, Vol. 52 No. 2, March 2021)
• disused versus misused.
  • The third definition of “dis-” applies to “disused.” Instead of being used, something is abandoned. An example would be, “A group of homeless people took shelter in a disused warehouse.”
  • “Misused” means to use something in the wrong way.  An example would be, “John misused his company’s money and ended up in jail.”

Conclusion

In summary, adding “mis-” to a word changes the meaning to “doing something wrongly or improperly.” Adding “dis-” to a word can change the meaning to one of three things. It can mean “to deprive of (something),” like “discolor.” It can also mean “to lack a desirable quality,” like “dishonest,” or it can mean, “the reverse or opposite of an action,” like “disconnect.”

References

Dixon, R. M. W. (2014) Making New Words: Morphological Derivation in English, Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press (pp. 98-101, 108-112).

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. S.v. “dismast.” Retrieved June 20, 2024, from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/dismast

Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster. S.v.“disinformation.”Retrieved June 20, 2024 from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disinformation

Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster. S.v. “disused.” Retrieved June 20, 2024 from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disused

Oxford Learner’s Dictionary S.v. “disadvantage.” Retrieved June 20, 2024 from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/disadvantage?q=disadvantage

Oxford Learner’s Dictionary S.v. “dishonest.” Retrieved June 20, 2024, from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/dishonest?q=dishonest

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