Freshman Vocabulary Complete List
Bold = Roots
List #1
Phot/Phos: light
Phototropic – tending to grow or move towards light
Phosphorescent – giving off light without heat
Photogenic – attractive in pictures or photographs
Luc: light
Lucid – easy to understand; clear
Elucidate – to make clear by explaining
Translucent – allowing light to pass through
List #2
Spec/Spect: to look at
Circumspect – careful; mindful of rules and consequences
Prospect – that which is expected
Specter – a ghost or phantom
Vid/Vis: to see, to look
Invidious – hateful or spiteful
Providential – happening by good fortune
Improvise – to create without any forethought or preparation
List #3
Nunc/Nounc: to announce
Enunciate – to pronounce or articulate
Renounce – to reject by declaration
Pronouncement – a declaration of opinion; judgment
Voc/Vox: to call
Invoke – to call on for support
Provocative – causing disturbance or excitement
Revoke – to make invalid; deactivate
List #4
Fa: to speak
Ineffable – unutterable, indescribable
Infantile – childish; immature
Affable – easy to converse with; friendly
Dic/Dict: to say, to tell
Edict – an official order
Indict – to charge with a crime; accuse
Dictum – a formal or authoritative statement
List #5
Hib/Hab: to have, hold
Prohibit – to stop one from doing something; prevent
Inhibit – to get in the way of; hinder
Fus/Found: to pour out
Suffuse – to fill up from within; to spread throughout
Confound – to confuse and frustrate
Infuse – to inject; to fill something or someone with
List #6
Ten/Tain/Tin: to hold
Sustain – to support for an extended period of time
Abstain – to not do something; refrain
Tenacious – stubbornly
Retinue – a group that attends an important person
Ple: to fill
Replete –filled up with
Implement – to put into action; execute
Deplete – to use up; waste
List #7
Form: to form, to establish
Misinformation – untrue or wrong information
Reform – to bring back to rightness, order, or morality
Formative – occurring at the time of most influence
Apt/Ept
Inept – unskilled; clumsy
Adept – skilled; expert at
Aptitude – skill or suitability for
List #8
Pos/Pon: to put, place
Posit- to put forth; assert
Impose – to forcibly place upon
Disposition – attitude or mood
Fig: to shape
Figment – something invented or imaginary
Effigy – a figure constructed in mockery
Prefigure – to look like or predict a later thing or event
List #9
Lega: to appoint, to send on a mission, to charge with
Legacy – body of ideas, achievements, and morals; example
Delegate – to divide up, especially responsibilities
Act/Ag: to do, act
Agenda – plan of action
Proactive – seeking to solve a problem before it occurs
Exacting – demanding perfection; strict
List #10
Puls/Pel: to push
Repulsion – desire to avoid; disgust
Dispel – to scatter about, break up
Propel - to cause to move towards; push
Lat: brought, carried
Relative - dependent upon
Superlative – excellent; above all others
Dilate – to widen
List # 11
Cant/Chant: to sing, to call
Recant – to formally withdraw
Incantation – ritual chant; spell
Disenchanted – losing fondness for; disillusioned
Aud: to hear
Inaudible – so quiet as to be impossible to hear
Auditory – having to do with the sense of hearing
Audit – a thorough review
List #12
Son: to sound
Dissonance – unpleasant or unharmonious sound
Assonance – similarity of word sounds
Resonant – having an effect; powerful
Log: to speak, to reason
Analogous – comparable to; like
Dialogue – communication between two or more people
Prologue – a speech, passage, or event coming before the
main speech or event
List #13
Bell: war
Bellicose – warlike in nature
Antebellum – occurring before a war
Belligerence – warlike mood or attitude
Am: love, friend
Enamored – fond of; feeling love towards
Amiable – good-natured; cheerful
Amicable – not bitter or hostile; friendly
List #14
Agon: contest, struggle
Antagonize – to act hostile towards; provoke
Protagonist – the central character in a work of literature
Antagonist – one who is hostile towards; one who opposes
Phil: love
Philosophical – calm and wise; reasonable
Philanthropy – charitable donation to public causes
Bibliophile – one who loves books
List #15
Ped: foot
Impediment – something that gets in the way; obstacle
Expedient – practical; prudent
Pedestrian – lacking excitement; ordinary and dull
Ped: child
Pedant – one possessing abundant knowledge of minor, often
uninteresting, things
Pedagogue – a teacher, especially one who is dull and narrowminded
List #16
Vest: clothing
Travesty – a bad imitation of; a perversion of
Vested – significant to one’s own profit or well-being
Vestment – clothing worn to symbolize religious or political
authority
Divest – to strip or remove a title or position of authority
Corpos/Corpu: body
Corporeal – having to do with the body
Corpulent – extremely large; obese
Incorporate – to bring together features, ideas, or elements
List #17
Uni: one
Uniform- the same all the way through; consistent
Unison – one voice
Unanimous – showing complete agreement
Mono: one
Monologue – a speech made by a single person
Monopolize – to use or take so as to prevent others from using
or taking
Monogamy – marriage to only one person at a time
Monolithic – exactly the same throughout; lacking any diversity
List #18
Homo: the same
Homonym – a word spelled exactly like another word, but
having a different meaning
Homogenized – forced to be exactly the same
Equi: equal, even
Equitable – fair, just
Equilibrium – balance; steadiness
Iniquity – injustice; wrong or wicked action or situation
List #19
Ben- well, good
Benevolent- kindly; favorable towards
Benefactor- a person who gives friendly aid
Benign- causing no harm
Cord- heart
Accord- sameness of opinion; agreement
Discord- lack of agreement; disharmony
Cordial- warmly friendly and polite
List #20
Anim- spirit
Animosity- anger or hostility
Equanimity- evenness of mind or spirit; calm
Magnanimous- generous in spirit
Mal- bad
Dismal- causing great sadness or pessimism
Malevolent- wishing harm towards; hostile
Malicious- intended to hurt or harm
List #21
Jur- to swear, to vow
Perjury- breaking of a legal oath
Abjure- to swear off; renounce
Conjure- to bring forth, especially through words
Domin- to rule, to dominate
Predominant- being most evident or apparent
Domineering- forcing others to obey
Indomitable- unbeatable; resilient
List # 22
Crat/crac- to rule
Aristocracy- group of the most wealthy and privileged
Theocracy- government by a religious leader or figure
Bureaucrat- a minor official
Leg- law
Legitimize- to give credit or recognition to
Privileged- available only to a special few; entitled to
something special
Legislative- having to do with the law
List #23
Rap- to snatch
Rapacious- seizing everything; greedy
Rapt- giving total attention to; captivated
Surreptitious- hidden or secret; done without notice
Cep- seize, take
Perceptible- able to be noticed or felt
Susceptible- able to be influenced
Precept- an idea important to a system or beliefs
List #24
Vor- to eat
Voracious- devouring everything
Omnivorous – feeding on both animals and plants
Herbivorous- eating only plants
Cad/cas- to fall
Decadent- overly luxurious and lacking moral discipline;
excessive
Cadence- rhythmic rise and fall
Casualty- something or someone injured, killed or eliminated
List #25
Flu- to flow
Affluent- wealthy and privileged; well-to-do
Superfluous- additional to what is necessary; extra
Mellifluous- sweetly flowing or sounding
Lev- light
Leaven- to make less heavy or serious
Levity- lack of seriousness; jolly or joking manner
Alleviate- to make less painful or dangerous
List #26
Laps- slip, slide
Elapse- to slip away; go by
Collapse- complete failure and ruin
Relapse- a falling back into an old illness or bad habit
Ced- to move along, to go
Recede- to move back or away from
Concession- something given up or yielded
Cede- to surrender
List #27
Sequi/sec- to follow
Inconsequential- having no effect or importance
Consecutive- following in order
Execution- the way something is done
Cur/cour- to run
Courier- one who carries and delivers
Incur- to bring about
Recurrent- happening repeatedly
List #28
Grad- to step
Gradualism- a policy which involves taking slow, measured
actions
Regress- to go back to a less mature or less positive state
Digress- to move away from the topic at hand; ramble
Ambl/ambul- to walk
Amble- to casually walk; stroll
Ambulatory- able to walk
Preamble- a passage or speech which introduces another
longer passage or speech
List #29
Junct- to join, yoke
Enjoin- to command; to urge; to forbid
Injunction- an order which legally prevents something
Rejoinder- an answer; a reply
Part- part
Impartial- having no bias or favor
Partisan- believing and acting on the ideas of a political party
or group
Impart- to give away; share
List #30
Clus/clud- to close
Inclusive- containing all; not keeping any out
Inconclusive- providing no clear answer or solution
Preclude- prevent from happening
Cis- to cut
Precise- accurate; definite
Indecisive- unable to make choices
Incision- a cut made in order to get inside something