Morphemes in “irresponsible”
“irresponsible” has 2 morphemes: in- + responsible.
ir
prefix
+
responsible
root
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are in- + responsible.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| in- (written ir) | derivational prefix | bound | not (form of in- before r) |
| responsible | free root | free | worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable |
How the word is built
responsible → irresponsible
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “responsible” 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 "irresponsible"?
"irresponsible" has two morphemes: in- + responsible.
How do you break "irresponsible" into morphemes?
in- + responsible. The root is "responsible"; in- is a derivational prefix.
What is the root word of "irresponsible"?
The root of "irresponsible" is "responsible", built up as responsible → irresponsible.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.