Morphemes in “deactivation”
“deactivation” has 5 morphemes: de- + act + -ive + -ate + -ion.
de
prefix
+
act
root
+
iv
suffix
+
at
suffix
+
ion
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are de- + act + -ive + -ate + -ion.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| de- | derivational prefix | bound | reverse, remove, down |
| act | free root | free | a legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body |
| -ive (written iv) | derivational suffix | bound | tending to, having the nature of |
| -ate (written at) | derivational suffix | bound | to make, to cause, to act on; having |
| -ion | derivational suffix | bound | action, process or result of |
How the word is built
act → active → activate → deactivate → deactivation
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “act” is where the chain starts.
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Segmentation derived from MorphyNet (Batsuren, Bella & Giunchiglia, 2021; CC BY-SA 3.0, built from Wiktionary), with hand-written affix glosses and root meanings from WordNet. Reviewed for classroom use; tell us if you spot an error.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many morphemes are in "deactivation"?
"deactivation" has five morphemes: de- + act + -ive + -ate + -ion.
How do you break "deactivation" into morphemes?
de- + act + -ive + -ate + -ion. The root is "act"; de- is a derivational prefix, -ive is a derivational suffix, -ate is a derivational suffix, -ion is a derivational suffix.
What is the root word of "deactivation"?
The root of "deactivation" is "act", built up as act → active → activate → deactivate → deactivation.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.