Prefixes that Change Meaning Lesson 6 Tools A B antecedents something that comes before, especially ancestors antipathy hatred; feelings against circumvent to get around consensus agreement on a course of action controversy public dispute decimate to destroy or kill a large portion of something demote to lower in grade or position disinterested not having selfish interest in euphemism a more pleasant term for something distasteful exorbitant excessive illegible not readable intermittant occurring from time to time; occasional malevolent cruel; evil precursor a form that precedes a current model prognosis opinion about the future state of something retrospect hindsight subordinate lower in rank synthesis the combination of many things into one transcend to go beyond trivial unimportant