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ex-

1
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ex- ON THESAURUS.COM

a prefix meaning “out of,” “from,” and hence “utterly,” “thoroughly,” and sometimes meaning “not” or “without” or indicating a former title, status, etc.; freely used as an English formative: exstipulate; exterritorial; ex-president (former president); ex-member; ex-wife.

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RELATED WORDS

previous, past, sometime, old, once, early, preceding, earlier, late, prior, recent, departed, erstwhile, retiring, last, departing, latter, ancient, bygone, over

Nearby words

ex rights, ex silentio, ex store, ex voto, ex works, ex-, ex-directory, ex-im, ex-president, ex-service, ex-serviceman
Also e-1, ef-.

Origin of ex-

1
< Latin, combining form of ex, ē (preposition) out (of), from, beyond

Definition for ex- (2 of 3)

ex-

2

variant of exo-.

Definition for ex- (3 of 3)

ex-

3

a prefix identical in meaning with ex- 1, occurring before vowels in words of Greek origin: exarch; exegesis.
Also ec-.

Origin of ex-

3
< Gk combining form of ex, ek, out (of), from, beyond; see ec-, ex-1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for ex- (1 of 2)

ex-

1

prefix

out of; outside of; fromexclosure; exurbia
formerex-wife

Word Origin for ex-

from Latin, from ex (prep), identical in meaning and origin with Greek ex, ek; see ec-

British Dictionary definitions for ex- (2 of 2)

ex-

2

combining form

a variant of exo- exergonic
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

Word Origin and History for ex-

ex-

word-forming element, in English meaning mainly "out of, from," but also "upwards, completely, deprive of, without," and "former;" from Latin ex "out of, from within," from PIE *eghs "out" (cf. Gaulish ex-, Old Irish ess-, Old Church Slavonic izu, Russian iz). In some cases also from Greek cognate ex, ek. PIE *eghs had comparative form *eks-tero and superlative *eks-t(e)r-emo-.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Medicine definitions for ex-

ex-

pref.

Outside; out of; away from:excementosis.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.