Getting back to the first answer...

Part of Speech prefix
Definition 1. up or upward.
Example anabatic.
Definition 2. back or backward.
Example anachronism ; anapest.
Definition 3. again.
Example anabiosis.
Definition 4. similar to.
Example analogous.


Metabolism can be separated into anabolism and catabolism, in which catabolism means the tearing-down or destructive body processes and anabolism is the building-up or synthesizing ones. Closest perhaps to Definition One but not quite the same thing.

Most steroids - prednisone, dexamethasone, etc. - have the tendency to cause tissue breakdown, but there is a separate category used to promote growth (and abused to build up muscles) called - you guessed it - "anabolic steroids."

Think of a cat clawing at the sofa and ripping it apart to remember which one is which, ana- or cata-.