definitions

de-

a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin (decide); also used to indicate privation, removal, and separation (dehumidify), negation (demerit; derange), descent (degrade; deduce), reversal (detract), intensity (decompound).Compare di-2, dis-1.

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Nearby words

de vries, de wet, de wint, de witt, de', de-, de-acquisition, de-anglicization, de-baathification, de-emphasis, de-emphasize

Origin of de-

Middle English < Latin dē-, prefixal use of dē (preposition) from, away from, of, out of; in some words, < French < Latin dē- or dis- dis-1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for de-

de-

prefix forming verbs and verbal derivatives

removal of or from something specifieddeforest; dethrone
reversal of somethingdecode; decompose; desegregate
departure fromdecamp

Word Origin for de-

from Latin, from dē (prep) from, away from, out of, etc. In compound words of Latin origin, de- also means away, away from (decease); down (degrade); reversal (detect); removal (defoliate); and is used intensively (devote) and pejoratively (detest)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for de-

de-

pref.

Do or make the opposite of; reverse:decomposition.
Remove or remove from:deoxygenation.
Reduce; degrade:decholesterolization.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.