3rd Grade spelling
3rd Grade Words With the Prefix Dis
Spelling words starting with the prefix dis, meaning not or the opposite of, like disagree, dislike, disappear and discount. Play hangman or print a list.
Read the spelling list
The pattern: Dis means not or the opposite of: disagree, dislike. Each word is dis plus a real base word.
The prefix dis often means not or the opposite of. To dislike is not to like, to disagree is not to agree, and to disappear is the opposite of to appear. It can also mean apart or away, as in discard or dismiss. Like un, dis is added to a whole base word without any spelling change, but unlike un, the prefix leads to a lot of double s words when the base word starts with s.
This list contains words that begin with dis and have a real base word after it: dislike, disagree, disappear, discount, discover, disorder, displayed, disgrace and discomfort. Some of these show the prefix at its clearest, while others, such as discover and discharge, have meanings that students may not connect to the base word right away. Dissent and dispose are included because the pieces are sent and pose, though the meaning has shifted. Third grade is a good time to start looking inside longer words for the pieces.
30 entries. Our solver needed 0.6 wrong guesses on average: 25 easy, 5 medium and 0 hard. The toughest is discount (2 misses), the quickest discovered (0).
- discovered Easy · 0
- discover Easy · 0
- discount Medium · 2
- disorder Easy · 0
- displayed Medium · 2
- disorders Easy · 0
- disagree Easy · 0
- disappear Easy · 0
- displays Easy · 1
- disclosure Easy · 0
- discharge Easy · 0
- dislike Easy · 1
- disclose Easy · 1
- disclosed Easy · 0
- displaced Easy · 1
- discounts Medium · 2
- discharged Easy · 0
- disgrace Easy · 1
- displaying Medium · 2
- disappears Easy · 0
- disappoint Easy · 1
- disregard Easy · 0
- discomfort Easy · 1
- disrespect Easy · 0
- discovers Easy · 0
- discounted Easy · 1
- discourage Easy · 0
- dissent Easy · 0
- disposed Easy · 0
- dispose Medium · 2
Words worth a closer look
- disappearOne s and two p's in the middle: dis plus appear. Students often reverse the doubled letters.
- dissentDis plus sent gives two s's in a row. The doubled letter comes from joining the pieces.
- discoverDis plus cover, to uncover. A good example of the meaning making sense in a roundabout way.
- disclosureDis, close, ure. The s in close changes to a z sound in the verb, but the spelling stays.
- disgraceDis plus grace. Meaning the loss of grace or honor, and a clear case of the opposite meaning.
Teaching it
Ask students to separate the prefix with a slash: dis/agree, dis/appear, dis/like. Then ask what the word means without the prefix and with it. A common spelling error is dropping the second s when joining dis and a base starting with s, writing disent for dissent, or adding an extra s in disappear, which has only one s in the middle and two p's.
A fun check is word subtraction: remove dis from each word and say whether what is left is still a word. Disagree leaves agree, discover leaves cover, and dislike leaves like. In hangman, tell players the base word and let them add the prefix, which gives them a handle on longer words that would otherwise take many guesses.
Print a 3rd Grade Words With the Prefix Dis worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
- 3rd Grade Words With the Prefix UnSpelling words that start with the prefix un, meaning not, like unhappy, unfair, unsafe and unlucky. Play hangman or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Words With the Prefix ReSpelling words that start with the prefix re, usually meaning again, like rebuild, restart, replace and remove. Play hangman or print a worksheet.
- 3rd Grade Words Ending in Ful and LessSpelling words ending in ful and less, like helpful, hopeful, careless and homeless. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Words Ending in LySpelling words ending in ly, like quickly, slowly, finally and friendly. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Words Ending in NessSpelling words ending in ness, like kindness, sadness, darkness and happiness. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Double Consonant WordsSpelling words with a doubled consonant in the middle, like rabbit, happy, little and funny. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet.