hyper-

hy·per-
UK/ˈhaɪpə/US/ˈhaɪpəɹ/Canada[ˈhʌɪpɚ]Australia/ˈhɑɪpə/

prefix

over, above

“hyper- → hyperactive”

Similar
on-en-epi-super-supra-sur-trans-para-
Opposite
hypo-under-sub-infra-dys-
OriginAncient Greek ῠ̔περ- (hŭper-) ← Proto-Hellenic *hupér ← Proto-Indo-European *upér →
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Meanings

prefix
  1. Forms augmentative forms of the root word.
    1. over, above

      Synonyms: on-, en-, epi-, super-, supra-, sur-

    2. much, more than normal
    3. excessive

      hyper- → hyperactive

    4. intensely, extremely, exceptional
    5. big, huge, giant
  2. Used to create forms that are found beyond the root.
    1. beyond

      hyper- → hypersonic

      Synonyms: trans-, para-, ultra-, out-, extra-, preter-, over-, ultra-

    2. mathematicsexisting in more than three spatial dimensions

      hyper- → hyperspace

    3. computinglinked non-sequentially

      hyper- → hypertext

Synonyms & antonyms

prefixover, above

Similar
on-en-epi-super-supra-sur-

prefixbeyond

Similar
trans-para-ultra-out-extra-preter-over-ultra-ana-super-supra-ultra-uber-macro-arch-over-mega-maxi-giga--zilla
Opposite
hypo-

antonym(s) of “above”

Opposite
under-sub-infra-

antonym(s) of “excessive”

Opposite
dys-mal-
Also see
arch-en-epi-extra-giga-grandgreatmacro-mega-on-out-over-para-preter-super-supra-sur-trans-uber-ultra--zilla

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Hellenic*hupér
  4. Ancient Greekῠ̔πέρ (hŭpér)
  5. Ancient Greekῠ̔περ- (hŭper-)
  6. Englishhyper-

From Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér, “over”), from Proto-Indo-European *upér (“over, above”) (English over), from *upo (“under, below”) (whence English up). Doublet of over-, super-, sur-, and uber-.

More words from Ancient Greek, Proto-Indo-European

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan hiper-, hiper-
  • hiper-excessive
  • hiper-over, above, beyond
  • hiper-existing in more than three spatial dimensions
  • hiper-linked non-sequentially
Chinese Mandarin 高
  • 高 (gāo)over, above, beyond
Czech hyper-, nad-
  • hyper-excessive
  • nad-over, above, beyond
Finnish yli-, hyper-
  • yli-over, above, beyond
  • hyper-over, above, beyond
French hyper-
  • hyper-over, above, beyond
Greek υπερ-, υπερ-
  • υπερ- (yper-)excessive
  • υπερ- (yper-)over, above, beyond
  • υπερ- (yper-)existing in more than three spatial dimensions
  • υπερ- (yper-)linked non-sequentially
Icelandic yfir-
  • yfir-over, above, beyond
Indonesian hiper-
  • hiper-excessive
Irish hipear-
  • hipear-over, above, beyond
Italian iper-
  • iper-over, above, beyond
Japanese 超, 超
  • 超 (chō)excessive
  • 超 (chō)over, above, beyond
  • 超 (chō)existing in more than three spatial dimensions
Norwegian Bokmål hyper-, hyper-
  • hyper-excessive
  • hyper-over, above, beyond
Polish hiper-, nad-
  • hiper-excessive
  • nad-excessive
  • hiper-over, above, beyond
  • nad-over, above, beyond
  • ponad-over, above, beyond
  • hiper-existing in more than three spatial dimensions
  • nad-existing in more than three spatial dimensions
  • hiper-linked non-sequentially
Portuguese hiper-, hiper-
  • hiper-excessive
  • hiper-existing in more than three spatial dimensions
  • hiper-linked non-sequentially
Russian ги́пер-, сверх-
  • ги́пер- (gíper-)excessive
  • сверх- (sverx-)excessive
  • ги́пер- (gíper-)over, above, beyond
  • сверх- (sverx-)over, above, beyond
  • ги́пер- (gíper-)existing in more than three spatial dimensions
Spanish hiper-, hiper-
  • hiper-excessive
  • hiper-over, above, beyond
  • hiper-existing in more than three spatial dimensions
  • hiper-linked non-sequentially
Swedish hyper-, hyper-
  • hyper-excessive
  • hyper-over, above, beyond
Vietnamese siêu, qua
  • siêuover, above, beyond
  • quaover, above, beyond
  • quáover, above, beyond
Cite this entry
APA

hyper-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyper-

MLA

“hyper-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyper-. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hyper-,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyper-.

Source: hyper- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.