Morphemes in “unwillingness”
“unwillingness” has 4 morphemes: un- + will + -ing + -ness.
un
prefix
+
will
root
+
ing
suffix
+
ness
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are un- + will + -ing + -ness.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| un- | derivational prefix | bound | not, opposite of; reverse the action |
| will | free root | free | decree or ordain |
| -ing | inflectional suffix | bound | ongoing action (present participle) / gerund |
| -ness | derivational suffix | bound | state or quality of being |
How the word is built
will → willing → unwilling → unwillingness
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “will” is where the chain starts.
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Prefixes, roots and suffixes with glosses, free and in your browser.
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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 "unwillingness"?
"unwillingness" has four morphemes: un- + will + -ing + -ness.
How do you break "unwillingness" into morphemes?
un- + will + -ing + -ness. The root is "will"; un- is a derivational prefix, -ing is a inflectional suffix, -ness is a derivational suffix.
What is the root word of "unwillingness"?
The root of "unwillingness" is "will", built up as will → willing → unwilling → unwillingness.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.