Words Starting With AD

AD Words: The Prefix That Attaches to Everything

AD- is a Latin prefix meaning "to" or "toward," and it's been one of the most productive word-builders in English for centuries. ADAPT, ADHERE, ADJUST, ADMIRE, ADOPT, ADVANCE, ADVISE — these are words so familiar that most people don't even register the prefix. But here's what makes AD- sneaky: it changes its final letter to match the consonant that follows. AD- before C becomes ACC- (ACCEPT), before F becomes AFF- (AFFAIR), before G becomes AGG- (AGGRAVATE), before P becomes APP- (APPLY). Linguists call this "assimilation," and it means thousands of English words secretly contain the AD- prefix in disguise.

For crossword solvers, the standalone AD- words (where the prefix stays intact) are the most useful to know. ADAGE (a saying), ADAMANT (unyielding), ADAGIO (a slow musical tempo) — these show up in puzzles regularly. ADAGIO is a particular crossword favorite, usually clued through music or ballet. In Scrabble, AD is a valid two-letter word scoring 3 points (A=1, D=2), and it enables the kind of short parallel plays that competitive players rely on.

Strategy tip: When a crossword clue contains "toward" or "near" as part of the definition, think AD- first. ADJACENT (near), ADVENT (coming toward), ADVOCATE (speak toward/for) all follow this logic. For more prefix-driven word families, browse words starting with JE for a smaller but interesting set, or check words starting with C for those disguised ACC- words where AD- assimilated. The words ending in Y page is handy since many AD- words take -LY suffixes (ADMIRABLY, ADEPTLY, ADVERSELY).

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