Question

Form the antonyms of the following words by adding prefixes-
a) Fertility
b) Possibility

Answer 1

Hint: An antonym or opposite refers to a word that is contrary in meaning to another word. Example- Tall is an antonym of short. ‘Fertility’ refers to the quality of being fertile, while ‘possibility’ refers to something that is possible or probable.

Complete answer:

Prefix refers to a word or a letter that is positioned at the beginning of another word. Example- Im+ balanced= Imbalanced.
Example- We will add ‘un’ to happy to form ‘unhappy’. Unhappy is the opposite of happy. So, here we have added a prefix to happy to modify its meaning.
Fertility- It refers to the prolificacy of being fertile.
Example- The gardener poured chemicals to improve the fertility of the ground. Here, we can understand that the gardener poured chemicals in the ground to make it more fertile.
We can add the prefix ‘in’ to ‘fertility’ to form ‘infertility’. We have added a prefix to fertility to adapt its meaning.
Infertility refers to the quality of being infertile.
Example- The plant died due to the infertility of the ground. Here, we can understand that the plan died, because the ground was infertile.
Hence, the antonym of fertility is ‘infertility’.
Possibility- It refers to the likelihood or the chance of something to occur.
Example- There is a possibility that college will be canceled if it rains hard enough. Here, we can understand that it is possible or probable for the college to get canceled if it rains hard enough.
We can add the prefix ‘im’ to ‘possibility’ to form ‘impossibility’. We have added a prefix to the possibility to change its meaning.
Impossibility refers to something that is impossible.
Example- The manager believes that world peace is an impossibility. Here, we can understand that the manager believes it is impossible to attain world peace.
Hence, the antonym of possibility is ‘impossibility’.

Note: Do not get confused between prefixes and suffixes, because prefixes are added at the beginning of a word, while suffixes are added at the end of a word.