Morphemes in “unbelievably”
“unbelievably” has 4 morphemes: un- + believe + -able + -ly.
un
prefix
+
believ
root
+
abl
suffix
+
y
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are un- + believe + -able + -ly.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| un- | derivational prefix | bound | not, opposite of; reverse the action |
| believe (written believ) | free root | free | accept as true; take to be true |
| -able (written abl) | derivational suffix | bound | capable of being; having the quality of |
| -ly (written y) | derivational suffix | bound | in the manner of; every (as in daily) |
How the word is built
believe → believable → unbelievable → unbelievably
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “believe” 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 "unbelievably"?
"unbelievably" has four morphemes: un- + believe + -able + -ly.
How do you break "unbelievably" into morphemes?
un- + believe + -able + -ly. The root is "believe"; un- is a derivational prefix, -able is a derivational suffix, -ly is a derivational suffix.
What is the root word of "unbelievably"?
The root of "unbelievably" is "believe", built up as believe → believable → unbelievable → unbelievably.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.