Prefix · direction · away from
Means "away from" or "off": absent, abstract, abnormal, absorb, abuse, abandon, abrupt.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
Ab- comes from Latin "ab" (away from, off, from) and signals movement away, separation, or deviation from something: absent = away from (the place); abstract = drawn away from the concrete; abnormal = away from the normal; abrupt = broken off suddenly; absorb = suck in away from the surface. It appears mostly in formal, academic, and Latin-based vocabulary.
Do not confuse ab- (away from) with a- before Greek roots (which means "without/not"): absent uses ab- (away from), but amoral uses a- (without morals); abnormal uses ab- (away from the norm), but atypical uses a- (not typical). The distinction: ab- is Latin and directional; a- is Greek and negative.
Attaches to Latin roots to signal departure, separation, or deviation:
Pronunciation: /æb/ (stressed) or /əb/ (unstressed). The variant "abs-" appears before c and t: abstain, abstract, absolute, abscess. Spanish cognates are abundant: absent/ausente, absorb/absorber, abstract/abstracto, abnormal/anormal, abuse/abuso, abandon/abandonar.
ab-/æb/ /əb/
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"Ab-" (Latin "ab" = away from): absent = away from the place; abrupt = broken off away. "A-" before Greek roots (negation): amoral = without morals; atypical = not typical; asymmetry = without symmetry. They look similar but have different origins and meanings. Ab- is Latin and directional; a- is Greek and negative.
A trick to remember it
Ab- = away from. Spanish cognates: absent/ausente, abstract/abstracto, absorb/absorber, abuse/abuso, abandon/abandonar, abnormal/anormal, abrupt/abrupto. The Latin root "ab" is the same in both languages — recognise it and unlock a large academic vocabulary.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
What is the difference between "ab-" and "a-" before Greek roots?
The prefix ab- means "away from" or "off": absent, abstract, abnormal, absorb, abuse, abandon, abrupt. In Spanish it usually maps to ab-.
The prefix ab- is pronounced /æb/ /əb/. For example, "absent".
"sent" becomes "absent". It is a typical example of the ab- prefix.
un-, re-, pre-, dis-, over-, in-... every beginning you need to unlock thousands of English words at once.