affix

plural affixes

1. human sciencesA bound morpheme added to a word’s stem, such as a prefix or suffix.

   A prefix is an affix that joins to the beginning of another word. Depending on the prefix, it can slightly or significantly alter the meaning of a word. For example, the English prefix “un-” changes a word into its opposite, as from “do” to “undo,” altering its meaning entirely.

   2020 March 14, Lindsay del Valle, “36 Spanish Prefixes That Will Increase Your Vocabulary Times 100!”, in Homeschool Spanish Academy, archived from the original on 15 Aug 2025

   Synonyms: afformative · Antonyms: nonaffix

2. uncommonThat which is affixed; an appendage.

   Synonyms: addition, supplement, accessory, accompaniment, addition, add-on, adjunct, annex

3. mathematicsThe complex number a+bi associated with the point in the Gauss plane with coordinates (a,b).
4. decorative artAny small feature, as a figure, a flower, or the like, added for ornament to a vessel or other utensil, to an architectural feature.

present singular third person affixes · participle present affixing · participle past affixed · past affixed

1. transitiveTo attach.

   to affix a stigma to a person

   3 more examples

   to affix ridicule or blame to somebody

   Should they [caterpillars] affix them to the leaves of a plant improper for their food […]

   1691, John Ray, The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation. […], London: […] Samuel Smith, […], →OCLC

   On a recent afternoon a work crew and crane were affixing the tall lettering to the side of the team’s new stadium, just off the autobahn in Sinsheim, a few miles from Hoffenheim.

   2009 January 22, Nicholas Kulish, “Soccer Titan Raises Profile of Tiny Village”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2022

   Synonyms: join, put together, unite, accouple, assemble, associate, attach, bewed

2. transitiveTo subjoin, annex, or add at the close or end; to append to.

   to affix a syllable to a word

   2 more examples

   to affix a seal to an instrument

   to affix one’s name to a writing

3. ditransitivewith on or uponTo fix or fasten figuratively.

   eyes affixed upon the ground

   1 more example

   Look thou no further, but affix thine eye/On that bright, shiny, round, still moving mass,/The house of blessed gods, which men call sky,/All sow'd with glist'ring stars more thick than grass...

   1596, Edmund Spenser, An Hymn of Heavenly Beauty