How many morphemes are in the word 'disinterested'?

How many morphemes are in the word 'disinterested'?

• A. 2
• B. 3
• C. 4
• D. 5

Answer: (B)

Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning in a word. In disinterested, you can break it into dis- + interest + -ed. The prefix dis- adds a negative or opposite sense, the base form is interest, and the suffix -ed turns the base into an adjective describing a state. So the word is built from three meaningful parts: dis-, interest, and -ed. A common point of confusion is treating inter- as a separate prefix here, but in this word it’s not a standalone morpheme; the relevant root is interest plus the past/action suffix -ed, with dis- attaching to that whole combination. Therefore, there are three morphemes.