Morphemes in “deforestation”
“deforestation” has 3 morphemes: de- + forest + -ation.
de
prefix
+
forest
root
+
ation
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are de- + forest + -ation.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| de- | derivational prefix | bound | reverse, remove, down |
| forest | free root | free | the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area |
| -ation | derivational suffix | bound | action, process or result of |
How the word is built
forest → deforest → deforestation
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “forest” 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 "deforestation"?
"deforestation" has three morphemes: de- + forest + -ation.
How do you break "deforestation" into morphemes?
de- + forest + -ation. The root is "forest"; de- is a derivational prefix, -ation is a derivational suffix.
What is the root word of "deforestation"?
The root of "deforestation" is "forest", built up as forest → deforest → deforestation.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.