Morphemes in “underdeveloped”
“underdeveloped” has 3 morphemes: under- + develop + -ed.
under
prefix
+
develop
root
+
ed
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are under- + develop + -ed.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| under- | derivational prefix | bound | too little; below |
| develop | free root | free | make something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation |
| -ed | inflectional suffix | bound | past tense / past participle |
How the word is built
develop → underdevelop → underdeveloped
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “develop” 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 "underdeveloped"?
"underdeveloped" has three morphemes: under- + develop + -ed.
How do you break "underdeveloped" into morphemes?
under- + develop + -ed. The root is "develop"; under- is a derivational prefix, -ed is a inflectional suffix.
What is the root word of "underdeveloped"?
The root of "underdeveloped" is "develop", built up as develop → underdevelop → underdeveloped.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.