[de-] prefix [ME, fr. OF de-, des-, partly fr. L de- from, down, away (fr. de, prep.) and partly fr. L dis-; L de akin to OIr di from, OE to to--more at to, dis-] 1 a: do the opposite of "devitalize" "deactivate" b: reverse of "de-emphasis"
2. a: remove (a specified thing) from "delouse" "dehydrogenate" b: remove from (a specified thing) "dethrone"
3: reduce "devalue"
4: something derived from (a specified thing) "decompound": derived from something (of a specified nature) "denominative"
5: get off of (a specified thing) "detrain"
6: having a molecule characterized by the removal of one or more atoms (of a specified element) "deoxy-"