Root Word: “grad, gress” = step
aggressive (adj): hostile; pushy; stepping into someone’s space with forceful energy
centigrade (adj): Celsius; temperature rating on the thermometer made up of 100
degree intervals or steps between the freezing and boiling points of water
degrade (v): to reduce someone’s worth or value; to make someone step down to a
lower position or rank; to move down a step in social status
digress (v): to stray away from the main topi; to step away from the topic and lose
clarity; to wander in thoughts or ideas
gradual (adj): a slow change; a step-by-step change
graduate (v): to move up a step in education (usually out of a school)
progress (v): to move a step in a positive direction; to improve; to move a step closer to
a goal
progression (n): a step-by-step sequence within a continuous series
regress (v); to go back; to move backward; to move a step back
upgrade (v): to move up a step or level; to improve in quality
Root Word: “pass, path, pat” = feeling, emotion, suffering
apathy (n): lack of interest or concern; lack of emotion or feeling
compassion (n): deep feeling or awareness of the suffering of another accompanied with the
desire to relieve the suffering
compatible (adj): able to get along; agreeable
dispassionate (adj): unaffected by emotion or bias
empathy (n): understanding of another person’s feelings or situation
passionate (adj): having or showing strong emotion
pathetic (adj): capable of making one feel sympathetic or compassionate
pathos (n): the feeling of pity or sympathy
patient (adj): able to wait; bearing pains or trials calmly and without complaint; calm
sympathetic (adj): expressing feelings of sorrow or pity for someone else
Root Word: “cred, fid” = believe, trust
affidavit (n): a written declaration made under oath that what is stated is true; a declaration you
can trust
bona fide (adj): true; genuine; authentic
confidant (n): a person who is trusted with secrets or private matters
confide (v): to tell in trust; to disclose private matters
confident (adj): self-assured; belief in oneself
credence (n): trustworthiness; belief; acceptance as true or valid
diffident (adj): shy and timid; reserved in manner; lacking self-confidence; not believing in
oneself
fidelity (n): faithfulness to obligations, duties, or observances
incredulous (adj): unwilling or unable to believe something; skeptical
miscreant (n): a disbeliever; an evildoer; a villain
Root Word: “flu, flux” = to flow
affluence (n): a plentiful supply; wealth; a great quantity that seems to keep flowing
confluence (n): a gathering, meeting, or flowing together at one point; a joining
effluence (n): something that flows out; outflow
fluctuate (v): to rise and fall irregularly; to vary; to flow up and down unpredictably
fluent (adj): able to flow smoothly; graceful
fluid (n): a substance whose molecules flow freely past one another; a liquid or gas
fluted (adj): a tall, narrow shape designed for a smooth flow of liquid
influential (adj): having the power to make things flow their way; the flow of power
influx (n): a flowing in of something in a large number or amount; a mass arrival
superfluous (adj): overflow; more than enough; an overabundance; more than required
Root Word: “aud, son, phon” = sound, to hear
assonance (n): the repetition of similar vowel sounds in the stressed syllables of successive
words
audible (adj): able to be heard
audio (n): the sound portion of a broadcast
auditorium (n): a large room that accommodates an audience, often for meetings or
performances
cacophony (n): harsh sounds; noisy or disturbing sounds
phonograph (n): a record player; a machine that reproduces sound
resonate (v): to vibrate or repeat in sound; to correspond harmoniously
sonar (n): echolocation; a system using transmitted and reflected underwater sound waves to
detect and locate submerged objects
sonnet (n); a poem with 14 lines that usually sounds like one of several conventional rhyme
schemes
unison (n): words or music produced by more than one person that sounds as if from one voice
Root Word: “ono, nym, onym” = word, name
acronym (n): an abbreviation formed by combining the initial letters in words or parts of a series
of words
anonymous (adj): not named or identified; done by someone unknown
antonym (n): a word that means the opposite of another word
eponym (n): a person for whom something, such as a city, building, or street, has been named
heteronym (n): one of two or more words that are spelled alike but have different meanings and
pronunciations, such as bass voice and bass, a fish
homonym (n): one of two or more words that are pronounced alike but have different spellings
and meanings, such as isle and aisle
onomatopoeia (n): the formation of words that imitate sounds associated with the objects or
actions to which they refer
oronym (n): a string of words that sounds the same as another string of words, such as gray
day and grade A
pseudonym (n): false name; a fictitious name
synonym (n): one of two or more words that have the same meaning