English

1. be- = completely; intensely

    befit(v.)[very formal] to be suitable for someone or something

    EX. She dressed as befitted the daughter of a millionaire.

    besiege(v.) to gather round a person or place in a way that threatens or annoys them

    EX. The company's offices were besieged by hundreds of people who had holidays planned.

    bereaved(adj.) a bereaved person is someone whose close friend or family member has recently died

2. pre- = before

    previous(adj.) a previous event, period, or thing happened or existed before the one you are talking about

    EX. Neighbours said they had seen the man in the area on two previous ocassions.

    EX. The previous owners of the house had hired an expensive interior decoractor.

    predecessor[`prɛdɪ͵sɛsɚ](n.) the person who had a job or official position before someone else

    EX. Algood seems to have learned nothing from the faults of his predecessors.

    precedent[`prɛsədənt](n.) an action or event in the past that is used as an example or reason for a present action or event   +for

    EX. There are good precedents for this sort of cooperation between organizations.

    set/ establish/ create a precedent

    EX. Arab states condemned the plan, regarding it as setting a dangerous precedent.

    without precedent

    EX. This is disturbing news and totally without precedent.

3. contra- = against

    contradict(v.) to say that the opposite of what someone has said is true

    EX. He didn't dare contradict his parents.

    (v.) if one statement, piece of evidence, story etc contradicts another, they disagree and cannot both be true

    EX. Her account of the accident contradicts that of the other driver.

    contrary(adj.) completely different or opposed to something else  +to

    EX. The introduction of such a tax would be contrary to out policy.

    contrast(n.) a noticeble difference between people or things  +between

    EX. the contrast between her life before the accident and now

    (n.) something that is different from something else in a very noticeble way   +to

    EX. The little village was a total contrast to San Francisco.

    by/ in contrast    used when you are comparing two things or people and saying that the second one is very different from the first

    EX. The technology sector is doing badly. Old economy stocks, by contrast, are performing well again.

4. debts(n.) an amount of money that you owe

    liability(n.) the amount of money that a company owes