ultra-

ultra-

See also: ultra and ultrà

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ultrā (“beyond”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʌltɹə/

Prefix

ultra-

1. Greater than normal quantity or importance, as in ultrasecret.
2. Beyond, on the far side of, as in ultraviolet.
3. Beyond, outside of, as in ultrasonic.
4. Excessively, to an extreme, as in ultramicroscopic, ultra-careful.
   • 2013 May 17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly‎, volume 188, number 23, page 19:

     In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […]  The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra-wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised.

5. (augmentative) intensely, extremely, or exceptional

Usage notes

• Productive in all senses. The hyphen is included when the use is relatively unfamiliar, as in ultra-careful.

Synonyms

• (beyond): trans-, para-, hyper-, out-, extra-, preter-
• (on the far side of): trans-
• (excessively): over-, hyper-, ana-
• (augmentative): super-, supra-, hyper-, uber-, macro-, arch-, over-, mega-, maxi-, giga-, -zilla, grand

Antonyms

• infra-

Derived terms

• ultra-scalable

English terms prefixed with ultra-

Translations

greater than normal quantity or importance

Bulgarian: свръх (bg) (svrǎh) Finnish: huippu- (fi), erikois-, ultra- (fi) Greek: υπερ- (el) (yper-) Japanese: 超 (ja) (ちょう, chō) Malay: ultra- (ms) Russian: сверх- (ru) (sverx-) Scottish Gaelic: os-

beyond, on the far side of

Bulgarian: крайно (bg) (krajno) Czech: ultra- Finnish: yli- (fi), ultra- (fi) Japanese: 超 (ja) (ちょう, chō) Russian: ультра- (ru) (ulʹtra-) Scottish Gaelic: os-

beyond, outside of

Bulgarian: извънредно (bg) (izvǎnredno) Finnish: yli- (fi), ultra- (fi) Japanese: 超 (ja) (ちょう, chō) Russian: сверх- (ru) (sverx-) Scottish Gaelic: os-

excessively, to an extreme

Finnish: yli- (fi), ultra- (fi) Japanese: 超 (ja) (ちょう, chō) Russian: ультра- (ru) (ulʹtra-), сверх- (ru) (sverx-) Scottish Gaelic: os-

Anagrams

• lutar

---

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈultra]

Prefix

ultra-

1. ultra-

   ‎ultra- + ‎fialový → ‎ultrafialový

Derived terms

Czech terms prefixed with ultra-

Further reading

• ultra- in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• ultra- in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• ultra- in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017

---

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ultrā (“beyond”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ultra-/, [ˈultˢʁ̥ɑˈ-], [ˈultˢʁ̥ɑˌ-]

Prefix

ultra-

1. ultra- (beyond, on the far side of; beyond, outside of)
   • ultralyd, ultraviolet
2. (informal) ultra- (greater than normal quantity or importance, excessively, to an extreme)
   • ultralet, ultrakort, ultramoderne, ultratynd

---

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ultrā (“beyond”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʏl.traː/

• Audio

  (file)

Prefix

ultra-

1. ultra- (beyond, on the far side of; beyond, outside of)

---

Finnish

Etymology

Internationalism (see English ultra-), ultimately from Latin ultrā.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈultrɑ-/, [ˈult̪rɑ-]

Prefix

ultra-

1. ultra-

Derived terms

Finnish terms prefixed with ultra-

---

French

Prefix

ultra-

1. ultra-

Derived terms

French terms prefixed with ultra-

---

German

Etymology

From Latin ultrā.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʊltʁa/

• Audio

  (file)

Prefix

ultra-

1. ultra-

Usage notes

• In political buzzwords (like ultrakonservativ), this suffix is derogatory.

Derived terms

German terms prefixed with ultra-

• ultraradikal
• ultrareaktionär

---

Italian

Etymology

From Latin ultrā (“beyond”).

Prefix

ultra-

1. ultra-

Derived terms

Italian terms prefixed with ultra-

---

Norwegian Bokmål

Prefix

ultra-

1. ultra- (as for English)

Derived terms

Norwegian Bokmål terms prefixed with ultra-

References

• “ultra-” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

---

Norwegian Nynorsk

Prefix

ultra-

1. ultra- (as for English)

Derived terms

Norwegian Nynorsk terms prefixed with ultra-

References

• “ultra-” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

---

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin ultrā.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /uw.tɾa/ [uʊ̯.tɾa]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ul.tɾɐ/ [uɫ.tɾɐ]

Prefix

ultra-

1. ultra-

Derived terms

Portuguese terms prefixed with ultra-

---

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin ultrā.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ultɾa/ [ul̪.t̪ɾa]
• Syllabification: ul‧tra-

Prefix

ultra-

1. ultra-

Derived terms

Spanish terms prefixed with ultra-

Further reading

• “ultra-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014