Morphemes in “unawareness”

“unawareness” has 3 morphemes: un- + aware + -ness.

un prefix
+
aware root
+
ness suffix

Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are un- + aware + -ness.

Each morpheme explained

MorphemeTypeFree / boundMeaning
un- derivational prefix bound not, opposite of; reverse the action
aware free root free (sometimes followed by `of') having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception
-ness derivational suffix bound state or quality of being

How the word is built

aware unaware unawareness

Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “aware” is where the chain starts.

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Related words

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 "unawareness"?
"unawareness" has three morphemes: un- + aware + -ness.
How do you break "unawareness" into morphemes?
un- + aware + -ness. The root is "aware"; un- is a derivational prefix, -ness is a derivational suffix.
What is the root word of "unawareness"?
The root of "unawareness" is "aware", built up as aware → unaware → unawareness.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.