Morphemes in “overprotective”
“overprotective” has 3 morphemes: over- + protect + -ive.
over
prefix
+
protect
root
+
ive
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are over- + protect + -ive.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| over- | derivational prefix | bound | too much; above |
| protect | free root | free | shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage |
| -ive | derivational suffix | bound | tending to, having the nature of |
How the word is built
protect → protective → overprotective
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “protect” 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 "overprotective"?
"overprotective" has three morphemes: over- + protect + -ive.
How do you break "overprotective" into morphemes?
over- + protect + -ive. The root is "protect"; over- is a derivational prefix, -ive is a derivational suffix.
What is the root word of "overprotective"?
The root of "overprotective" is "protect", built up as protect → protective → overprotective.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.