Hyphenation and Nonhyphenation Rules
I’m often asked what the rules are regarding when and what to hyphenate. Here are two easy rules of thumb to use when writing:
Rule 1: ALL pre-, post-, semi-, multi-, non-, and anti- words are NOT hyphenated.
EXCEPTIONS:
- all pre-e words (as, pre-engineered) and pre-owned
- all semi-i words (as, semi-indirect) and semi-antique
- all multi-i words (as, multi-indented) and multi-ply (confused with multiply)
- non-oil, non-euclidean, no-nonsense (adjective), non-U, and no-no (noun)
- all anti-i words (as, anti-inflammatory), anti-art, anti-utopia, and anti-utopian
- post-Kantian and post-obit
ALL words involving a proper noun MUST BE hyphenated (as, pre-Columbian, post-Stalin, semi-Impressionist, multi-European, non-American, and anti-Albanian)
Rule 2: ALL sub-, super-, ultra-, un-, under-, counter-, hyper-, hypo-, inter-, intra-, mega-, micro-, mini-, mis-, over-, para- are NOT hyphenated.
EXCEPTIONS: intra-arterial, para-aminobenzoic, para-aminosalicylic
When the prefix “ex-” denotes former, hyphenate (as, ex-child actor, ex-husband, ex-wife, ex-president)
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