Morphemes in “irreplaceable”
“irreplaceable” has 4 morphemes: in- + re- + place + -able.
ir
prefix
+
re
prefix
+
place
root
+
able
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are in- + re- + place + -able.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| in- (written ir) | derivational prefix | bound | not (form of in- before r) |
| re- | derivational prefix | bound | again, back |
| place | free root | free | a point located with respect to surface features of some region |
| -able | derivational suffix | bound | capable of being; having the quality of |
How the word is built
place → replace → replaceable → irreplaceable
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “place” 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 "irreplaceable"?
"irreplaceable" has four morphemes: in- + re- + place + -able.
How do you break "irreplaceable" into morphemes?
in- + re- + place + -able. The root is "place"; in- is a derivational prefix, re- is a derivational prefix, -able is a derivational suffix.
What is the root word of "irreplaceable"?
The root of "irreplaceable" is "place", built up as place → replace → replaceable → irreplaceable.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.