9th Grade
responsible
audible
 Ex: incontrovertible
convertible
 Def: describes something that is flexible
definitely true and that cannot be forcible
tangible
denied or disproved
agreeable
portable
No one could question the
bearable
incontrovertible eye witness proof
enjoyable
provided at the trial.
manageable
laughable

Ex: antagonist

Def: a person or thing that
competes with or goes against
another.

The character who is the “bad
guy” in a story is also known as
the antagonist.
agony

Ex: amorous

Def: someone or something
indicating affection or desire,
especially of a sexual nature.

The amorous couple held hands
and stole kisses when no one
was looking.
amateur (from
French word for
‘lover’
amiable
amicable
enamored (in
love)
amity
(friendship)



anniversary
annual
biennial (every
Def: a sum of money or an
investment that is paid at regular two years)
centennial (every
intervals
hundred years)
millennial
Mrs. Clark’s annuity paid her
perennial
$1,000 every year.
annuity
annals
Ex: annuity

Ex: antediluvian

Def: Someone or something from
before the time of the Great
Flood or ancient, elderly, or
passe

The dinosaur is an antediluvian
animal.
antebellum
antecedent

Ex: arboreal

Def: anything referring to trees
or something that is like a tree

Some animals are generally
arboreal in habit, hunting in the
trees and forest canopy.
arboretum
Arbor Day
arboraceous (full
of trees
arboriculture
arborvitae (“tree
of life”)



anarchy
archaeology
archaic
Def: the original pattern, or
architect
model, from which all other
archive
things of the same kind are
monarch
made; prototype
oligarchy (gov’t
The god represents the trickster by the few)
archetype, which can be found in patriarch
many mythologies.
Ex: archetype



astronomer
asteroid
Def: an event, often sudden, that astrologer
astronaut
causes great damage or
astral
devastation.
asterisk
Japan’s tsunami was a lifechanging disaster for so many
people.
Ex: disaster

Ex: commiserate

Def: to express or have
sympathy.

My best friend was there to
commiserate when my boyfriend
broke up with me.
animate
captivate
fabricate
hydrate
irrigate
saturate
tabulate
ventilate

Ex: autonomy

Def: independence in one's
thoughts or actions.

The new graduate experienced
true autonomy when she moved
into her new apartment in a
strange city.
autograph
automobile
autobiography
autocrat
automatic

Ex: bellicose

Def: someone or something
aggressive and eager or willing
to fight; warlike

The group of protesters became
more bellicose than diplomatic,
which offended people and did
not help their cause.
antebellum
belligerent
rebellion
benefit
benediction
beneficiary
 Def: doing good; resulting in a
benevolent
benefit
benign
 The American Cancer Society is a bonanza
bonbon
beneficent organization
bonhomie
dedicated to helping the fight
bon mot
against cancer.
bonus
bonny
bon vivant

Ex: beneficent

Ex: bibliophile

Def: a person who loves or
admires books

Mary was a bibliophile with an
impressive library of titles, all of
which she had read twice!
Bible
bibliography
bibliomania
bibliophobia
biblioklept (one
who steals
books)

Ex: biopsy

Def: the removal of living tissue
from the body for diagnostic
examination

A biopsy of the suspected tumor
is taken by using a fine needle.
biology
biography
autobiography
bionic
antibiotic
amphibian
(amphi = both)
microbe (micro =
small)
capital
capitalism
 Def: to surrender or give in to all captain
recapitulate
demands.
cabbage
(vegetable
 The principal capitulated to the
“head”)
reasonable requests from the
student body representatives.

Ex: capitulate



cent
century
centurion
Def: a 100th anniversary, or a
percent
celebration of a 100th
centipede
anniversary.
centigrade
(gradus =
The centennial celebration of the
degree)
founding of the city will include a
parade of vintage cars.
Ex: centennial
achromatic
(colorless)
chromatology
 Def: of color or having color or
chromatosis
colors; colorful
chromosome
polychrome
 The chromatic piece of art will
show nicely against a stark white Kodachrome
(color film)
wall.

Ex: chromatic

Ex: chronological

Def: arranged in the order it
happened; timeline

In his court testimony, the
detective chronologically
outlined the movements of the
suspect.
synchronize
chronometer
chronic
anachronism
chronicle



corporeal
corps (military
division
Def: fatness or stoutness of
organized as a
body; obesity
body)
incorporate
His corpulence made it difficult
corporation
for him to fit into an airliner seat.
corpse
corpuscle (small
part of body)
corpus delicti
Ex: corpulence

Ex: decimate

Def: to destroy or kill a large part
of something.

A large portion of the population
was decimated after the tsunami
struck the island.
December

Ex: diction

Def: manner of expression in
words; choice of words; wording

Poetic diction describes the
range of language used in
poems.
dictate
dictation
dictator
predict
benediction
contradict
verdict

Ex: dormant

Def: someone or something
inactive, sleeping or quiet.

The volcano is dormant and has
not erupted in years.
dormitory
intuit
tutor
 Def: knowledge obtained without tutorial
tuition
instruction; insight
intuitive
 John’s intuition told him to avoid
the dark alley at night.

Ex: intuition
exit
extinct
exaggerate
 Def: to be removed from or to
exclaim
leave one's homeland.
exclude
 The author became an expatriate exodus
and moved to Europe because he expedite
didn’t like the politics of his own expire
expulsion
country.
extinguish
extract
exile

Ex: expatriate

Ex: fraternize

Def: to associate in a brotherly
manner; be on friendly terms

The commander told the soldiers
that if they fraternized with the
enemy they would be severely
punished.
fraternal
fraternity
friar



geography
geology
Def: measured or viewed as from geologist
the center of the earth; having or geometry
George (farmer)
regarding the earth as a center.
Ex: geocentric
Since we reside on Earth, it
makes sense that we would have
a geocentric theory about the
solar system.

Ex: calligraphy

Def: a special, formal style of
handwriting

Since it was a formal occasion,
my mother told me to address
the wedding invitations in
calligraphy.
photograph
phonograph
telegraph
graph
lithograph
graphite
autograph
pictograph

Ex: inhospitable

Def: not offering hospitality; not
offering protection, shelter, etc.;
barren; forbidding

A lack of oxygen would make a
planet inhospitable to human
life.
hostess
hospital
hospitality
hostel
hospice



hydroplane
hydrophobia
hydrogen
Def: to remove water from (a
hydrophone
compound, substance, body
hydroelectric
tissues, etc.); dry
hydrology
Foods are dehydrated to preserve hydrate
them for future use.
Ex: dehydrate

Ex: technology

Def: scientific research put into
practical use.
The technology of computers is
improving all the time.
 The concept was so new that the
company did not understand the
digital technology well enough to
move forward.

logic
geology
astrology
biology
zoology
anthropology
psychology

Ex: lunatic

Def: a person who is either
actually crazy or who is acting
crazy and wild in his behavior.

I don’t like to shop at that store
because the owner always acts
like a lunatic around his
customers.
lunar
lunacy
clair de lune (fr.
moonlight)
lunarium
interlunar
lunambulist
(sleepwalking)



malady
malediction
Def: to fake sick or to exaggerate malefactor
an illness in order to skip school, dismal
work or some other undesirable malaria
malevolent
event.
malice
malign
Many students like to malinger
malapropism
by pretending to have a stomach malcontent
ache so that they can stay home maleficent
from school.
Ex: malinger



manufacture
manifest
Def: to move, arrange or control manicottti
manuscript
something in a skilled manner.
manumit (to
release from
The flower arranger manipulated
hand)
the roses so they would be more
manicure
prominent in the table
manacles
arrangement.
emancipation
Ex: manipulate

Ex: matrilineal

Def: designating or of descent,
kinship, or derivation through
the mother

She is my matrilineal cousin
because our mothers are sisters.
matriarch
maternal
maternity
matrix
matriculate
alma mater
matrimony

Ex: megalomania

Def: a mental disorder
characterized by delusions of
grandeur, power, etc.

Many people believe that
Napoleon suffered from
megalomania.
megaphone
megalith
megaton
megabyte
megatropolis

Ex: millennium

Def: a period of 1000 years or is
an anniversary of the passage of
1000 years.

In 2000, people around the
world celebrated the new
millennium in a variety of ways.
millimeter
millipede
milligram
million
millionaire
nominate
nomination
 Def: giving the wrong name for a nominal
nomenclature
person, thing or place.
nom de plume
 The Black Forest in Germany is a denomination
misnomer because it is actually a denominator
mountain range.

Ex: misnomer

Ex: omniscient

Def: seeing all or knowing all.

God is considered to be
omniscient.
omnipotent
omnipotence
omnipresent
omnivorous
omnibus
omnidirectional



panacea
pandemonium
panorama
Def: widespread, particularly a
disease that affects many people. pantheon
Ex: pandemic
The bird flu became a pandemic
when it sickened people over a
large geographic area.
patriarch
patriotism
 Def: a person who loves, defends patrician
and supports his or her country. patrimony
patron
paternal
 In this country, a person who
compatriot
fights for the United States is
considered a patriot.

Ex: patriot

Ex: pedestrian

Def: something dull, boring or
lacking inspiration or
excitement; a person who is
walking along a road

There was nothing distinguished
about the painting, which was
considered rather pedestrian by
most art critics.
pedal
biped
impede
pedestal
pedicure
pedometer
podiatry
podium
Quadruped
centipede

Ex: philanthropy

Def: the act of doing charitable
work or an activity designed to
improve human welfare.

My mother enjoyed philanthropy
and volunteered at a battered
women’s shelter once a week.
bibliophile
audiophile
Philadelphia
philanderer
philatelist
philharmonic
philology
philosophy

cacophony

Def: sounds that are loud, and
irritating and out of tune.

The band that was warming up
produced an annoying
cacophony of sound because
they really weren’t very good.
phonograph
telephone
phonogram
euphony
symphony
megaphone
microphone
phoneme
phonics
phonetic

Ex: photosynthesis

Def: the biological synthesis of
chemical compounds in the
presence of light

Green plants are able to make
their own food in a process is
called photosynthesis
photography
photograph
photon
symphony
telephoto
photometer
photophobia
photokinesis

Ex: metropolis

Def: a large or main city.

Manhattan, New York is an
example of a metropolis.
political
police
polite
policy
metropolitan

Ex: portfolio

Def: a flat case used for carrying
loose sheets of paper or a
combination of investments or
samples of completed works.

The artist took several excellent
drawings from his portfolio to
show the gallery owner.
export
import
deportment
portable
portage
portmanteau
porter
transport
important
report
support
deport

Ex: precocious

Def: developed or matured to a
point beyond that which is
normal for the age: a precocious
child

Shirley Temple was a precocious
child actress who won many
awards for her talents.
predict
preamble
precaution
precursor
prefer
pregnant (time
before birth)
prejudice
preview
premature
premonition
preschool



proceed
profess
Def: someone who is in favor of procrastinate
something or who advocates for professional
profile
a cause.
problem
project
Although she owns many guns,
she is a proponent of gun-control prologue
pronoun
laws.
prohibit
promontory
prospect
Ex: proponent

Ex: skeptical

Def: someone who has doubts,
questions or is not easily
convinced of something.

The police detective was
skeptical about the story the
suspect told on the night of the
robbery.
scope
microscope
telescope
periscope
kaleidoscope

Ex: soliloquy

Def: a speech in a drama in which a
character tells the audience how he
feels by talking to himself.

The characters in Shakespeare’s
plays often have dramatic
soliloquies, allowing the
audience to know what they are
thinking.
solo
soloist
solitary
sole
solitude
solitaire

Ex: sorority

Def: a social club for females,
typically at a college or
university, where the girls call
each other "sisters," and do
activities together.

My cousin’s sorority sister came
for a visit during summer
vacation.
Soroptimist
sororal
sororial

Ex: symbiotic

Def: a similar relationship of
mutual interdependence

There is a symbiotic relationship
between man and machines.
sympathy
symphony
synthesis
photosynthesis
synonym
synagogue
synchronize
symptom
synchronous
syndicate
syndrome
synergy
synthetic

Ex: telepathy

Def: communication between
minds.

My mother said my sister and I
have telepathy because it often
seems as though we can read
each other’s mind.
television
telephone
telegraph
telephoto
telescope
telethon
teleport

Ex: synthesis

Def: combining a number of
different parts or ideas to come
up with a new idea or theory.

In order to write a synthesis
essay, you will need to combine
the information from several
books.
thesis
theme
parenthesis
synthetic
synthesizer

Ex: unconscionable

Def: not guided or restrained by
conscience; unscrupulous
unreasonable, excessive, or
immoderate


Her lack of concern over the
injuries of her own child is
unconscionable.
unhappy
unsatisfied
unheard
uncaring
undone
untutored
unless
unnecessary
unwanted
unfair
unkempt
unsavory
unrelenting

Ex: urbane

Def: someone polished, suave or
sophisticated.

She is usually urbane and
relaxed, but the meeting has her
a bit frazzled.
urban
suburb
suburbanite
urbanity



verb
proverb
verbal
Def: common language spoken
verbiage
by average citizens of a
verbose
particular place
verbatim
Mark Twain used several styles of verbalize
vernacular to depict people from
different parts of the country.
Ex: vernacular
television
videophone
video
 Def: something that makes
another thing evident; indication; advise
invisible
sign
videographer
 something that tends to prove;
ground for belief

Ex: evidence

Scraped-clean dishes were
evidence that the family had
enjoyed their dinner.