Prefix · opposing / contrary response
Signals an opposing or responsive action: counterattack, counterpart, counterfeit, counterproductive.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
Counter- comes from Latin "contra" (against) through Old French "contre" and signals an action that responds to or opposes another: counterattack = an attack in response to another attack; counterpart = the equivalent on the opposing side; counterproductive = producing the opposite effect to what was intended; counterclockwise = in the direction opposite to clock hands; counterfeit = made to pass as real when it is not.
Counter- and contra- share the same Latin root and mean the same thing, but are used in different contexts: contra- tends to appear in more technical and formal terms (contradict, contraband, contraception); counter- tends to be used in terms of action and response (counterattack, counterpart, counterculture, countersign). In modern English, counter- is the more productive of the two.
Attaches to nouns and verbs, usually with a hyphen. Spanish equivalent is "contra-":
Pronunciation: /ˈkaʊntər/. Spanish equivalent is "contra-": counterattack = contraataque, counterpart = contraparte, counterfeit = falsificación. Hyphen is common in modern English compounds.
counter-/ˈkaʊntər/
Tap the button to hear how the prefix sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
"Counterfeit" implies fraudulent intent. A "copy" or "replica" can be a legitimate reproduction. A "counterfeit" is illegal because it pretends to be the original: counterfeit money, counterfeit goods with fake brand marks. The key element is the intent to deceive.
"Counterproductive" does not mean "useless" or "ineffective." It means the action produces the opposite effect: if you try to calm a situation and your intervention makes it worse, your intervention was counterproductive. The action has an effect — but the wrong one.
A trick to remember it
Counter- = "contra-" in Spanish: counterattack = contraataque, counterpart = contraparte, counterfeit = falsificado, counterproductive = that produces the opposite effect. Counter- (English) and contra- (Spanish and technical) share the same Latin root. Counter- is more common in everyday English action words.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"Banning the book proved ___ — it boosted sales and generated far more public interest than ever before."
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
What is the precise difference between "counterfeit" and "copy"?
The prefix counter- signals an opposing or responsive action: counterattack, counterpart, counterfeit, counterproductive. In Spanish it usually maps to contra-.
The prefix counter- is pronounced /ˈkaʊntər/. For example, "counterattack".
"attack" becomes "counterattack". It is a typical example of the counter- prefix.
un-, re-, pre-, dis-, over-, in-... every beginning you need to unlock thousands of English words at once.