Pronunciation of the prefix “anti” in American English

From what I understand, the British pronunciation would be [anti] pretty much everywhere. But in American English I usually hear [antai], although it is mixed up with [anti] from time to time. antivirus [anti] and [antai] Is there any good rule/reason to use one versus the other? Answer The prefix “anti” is acceptably pronounced both … Read more

Prefix and Suffix issue

My question is simple, is there a known reason why the word “prefix” has only one “f” but the word “suffix” has two, “ff”? Answer These words are ‘borrowed’ from Latin, which routinely performed elision and assimilation on prefixes with a final consonant when the consonant was sufficiently similar to the initial consonant of the … Read more

How should I use the “in-“, “im-“, “il-“, and “ir-” prefixes?

Consider the following words: impossible; incorrect; impatient; illegal; irregular; The meaning of the prefixes is the same (negation the adverb), but they are still different prefixes. How do I know which one to use? In other words, for an arbitrary adjective, how do I choose between “in-“, “im-“, “il-“, and “ir-“? The relevant discussion at … Read more

What is the difference between “unacademic” and “nonacademic”?

Both the words mean “not academic,” but is there any difference between unacademic, and nonacademic? Is there any phrase where one of the words should be used instead of the other? Answer Non-academic is a simple neutral statement of allegiance. Non-academic experience is one you gain outside of school. Non-academic license for software is different … Read more