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Re- words? To hyphen or not to hyphen? - Teresa

Posted: Oct 25, 2010

Some "re" words seem to be pretty well used, such as "readmission" not "re-admission" or "replaced" not "re-placed" but how do you tell when to add the hyphen? I've come across "reexploration" and it doesn't seem right without the hyphen, but I can't find any references that support it either with the hyphen or without.

this is what I have been taught - orthogirl

[ In Reply To ..]
Whenever you have two of the same letter, like re-exploration you always use the hyphen, otherwise, the hyphen is not necessary.

no hyphen - .

[ In Reply To ..]
All prefixes are meant to be affixed to the word:
Reexplore, reexamine, reestablish, reentry. None of these requires the hyphen, but it would not be wrong to use the hyphen, either.

Use hyphens when the meaning becomes unclear.

For example, when the doc says the patient is going to
"re-present" next week, I always use the hyphen lest it be read as "represent".`

Agree, but... - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Words like re-place and replace are different. You can re-place a book back on its shelf. BUT, you can replace the book with another book. There are a few words like that, so that's how I decide those.

per BOS-3 - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
6.5.8 Prefixes and Suffixes

Do not use a hyphen after common prefixes except when they precede a proper noun, a capitalized word, or an abbreviation: ante-, anti-, bi-, co-, contra-, counter-, de-, extra-, infra-, intra-, micro-, mid-, non-, over-, peri-, pre-, post-, pro-, pseudo-, re-, semi-, sub-, super-, supra-, trans-, tri-, ultra-, un-, and under-.

EXAMPLE

antimicrobial
posttraumatic
overproduction
comorbidity
preoperative
perimenopausal

Use a hyphen after a prefix when the unhyphenated word would have a different meaning.

EXAMPLE

re-creation, recreation
re-treat, retreat
un-ionized, unionized

Use a hyphen after a prefix or before a suffix to avoid an unusual or awkward combination of letters, as in repetitive vowels or three of the same consonants sequentially.

EXAMPLE

anti-inflammatory
bell-like
de-emphasize

Note: Be careful to check a reputable dictionary or resource when using words like those above. Again, as language evolves, many of these words drop their hyphenation. A number of industry resources already cite antiinflammatory without hyphenation, though the hyphenated form is still acceptable.

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