Word.ws English Dictionary

en-

/ɛn-/

en- prefix: in, into.

Prefix

en-

  1. in, into
    • embathe, enquire, enlist
    Synonyms:
    in-, intra-, em-, im-, end-, endo-, ento-
  2. on, onto
    • embark, enplane, enthrone
    Synonyms:
    on-, epi-, super-, supra-, sur-, hyper-
  3. covered by
    • enclothe, embalm, enseam
  4. to become
    • enslave, embetter, engloom
  5. provide with
    • empower
  6. an intensifier
    • entangle, enwisen, enhance

Synonyms of en-

3 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

Forms of en-

alternative formem-
alternative formel-

Origin of en-

From Middle English en- (“en-, in-”). Originally from Old French en- (also an-), from Latin in- (“in, into”) and Frankish *in-, *int-, *anda-; but also from an alteration of in-, from Middle English in-, from Old English in- (“in, into”), from Proto-Germanic *in (“in”). Both the Latin and the Germanic forms are from Proto-Indo-European *en (“in, into”). Intensive use of Old French en-, an- is due to confluence with Frankish *an- and *in- (intensive prefixes), related to Old English on- and in- (intensive prefixes). More at in-, on-.

Words formed from en-

Phrases with en-

Questions about en-

What does en- mean?
En- means in, into.
What part of speech is en-?
En- is a prefix.
How do you pronounce en-?
En- is pronounced /ɛn-/.

Words near en- in the dictionary

  1. en vogue
  2. En'boodhoo
  3. En'boodhoofinolhu
  4. En'boodhoofushi
  5. En'bulufushi
  6. en-
  7. en- -en
  8. en-Can
  9. en-caul
  10. en-dash
  11. en-masse

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: en- (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “en-.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/en-. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.