anhydro-

Anhydro– is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “anhydride.” Anhydride is a term from chemistry that means “a compound formed by removing water from a more complex compound.” Anhydro– can also be used to mean “without water” more generally. It is used in scientific terms, especially in chemistry.

Anhydro– ultimately comes from Greek ánȳdros, meaning “waterless.” Ánȳdros comprises two elements: a-, which is a variant of an–, meaning “not” or “without,” and hýdōr, meaning “water.” To learn more, check out our Words That Use article on the combining form hydro–.

What are variants of anhydro-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, anhydro– becomes anhydr–, as in anhydremia. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article for anhydr-.

An example of a scientific term that features anhydro– is anhydrosugar, “a sugar with one or more molecule of water removed.”

The anhydro– part of the word means “anhydride,” as we have seen. The –sugar part of the word means, naturally, “sugar.” Anhydrosugar literally means “anhydride sugar.”

What are some words that use the combining form anhydro-?

• anhydrobiont
• anhydroborate
• anhydroglucose
• anhydrolase
• anhydrosulphate

What are some other forms that anhydro– may be commonly confused with?

• an-
• anthrac-
• anthraco-
• hydr-
• hydro-

The combining form –biont means “living in the environment specified.” With this in mind, what does anhydrobiont mean?