Word Rooting Skill Builder Flashcards
This deck supports knowledge of the roots associated with high-frequency SAT vocabulary words and builds the skill to decipher unfamiliar words using this core knowledge.
Break down and define:
- breaking the word into units of meaning
- recognizing units of meaning
- connecting to other known words
example:
philology
Here is the format we will use for this deck:
- break word into pieces
phil / ology
- identify root prefixes and suffixes that affect meaning to decode the word’s definition
phil = love, ology = study of
the love of study (usually of language or literature)
- other words you might be able to connect to the root
Anglophile, pedophile, biology
Break down and define:
acuity
acu / ity
sharp / (noun)
sharpness of vision, hearing or mentality
acute, acumen
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abstract
abs / tract
away / drawn
apart from concrete existence
tractor, tractable, attractive, abstraction, intractable
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acrimony
acri / mony
bitter / (noun)
bitterness; resentfulness
acrid
Break down and define:
acronym
acro / nym
high / name
name taken from the first letter of a group of words describing it (NASA, radar (originally), NARAL)
acrophobia, acrobatic, synonym, anonymous
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deceptive
de / cept / ive
away / take / (adjective)
take (someone) away from truth
quality that misleads someone from what is true
interception, inception, perceive, concept
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progeny
pro / gen / y
forward / birth or race - people / (noun)
those born from you
your children
generation, congenital, genus
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circumspect
circum / spect
around / see
careful, seeing all around, cautious
speculative, spectators, spectacles, perspicacity
circumlocution, circumnavigate
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indict
in / dict
in / say
to charge with a crime
indictment, dictionary, dictate, dictator, edict
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supercilious
super / cil / ious
more / above / (adjective)
acts superior
superfluous, superlative, conciliation
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amorous
amor / ous
love / (adjective)
loving, erotic
amiable, amicable
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ambivalent
ambi / val / ent
both / strength / (adjective)
recognizing validity on both sides of an issue or argument
ambidextrous, ambition, ambiance, ambience, prevalent, covalent, valor, valid
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attenuate
at / tenu / ate
really / thin out / (verb)
thin out until weakened
tenuous, tenacious,tension
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inductile
in / duct / ile
not / lead, teach / (adjective)
inflexible, not easily led
induce, deduce, deduct, aqueduct
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amicable
amic / able
friend / able to be
able to be friends, friendly
amigo, amity
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subvert
sub / vert
under / turn
to undermine
convert, revert, divert, invert
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amphibious
amphi / bi / ous
two / life / (adjective)
living in two places (water, land)
amphitheater
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atypical
a / typ / ical
not / type, kind / (adjective)
unusual
stereotype, archetype, prototype
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loquacious
loqu / acious
speech, word / (adjective)
talkative, wordy
eloquent, colloquial, loquacity. soliloquy, ventriloquist
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androgenous
andro / gen / ous
male / kind, type / (adjective)
having characteristics that confuse sexual identity
android
This word probably first described women who appeared manly, but now refers to fashions, or behaviors that blur sexual identity.
Break down and define:
assent
as / sent
to / feel, sense
agree in feeling
sensation, dissent, sensitive, sensual, sensuous
Break down and define:
biannual
bi / annu / al
two / years / (adjective)
every two years
biathlete, bisexual, bicentenial
annual, anniversary
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ignominy
ig / nom / iny
not / name / (noun)
disgrace, bad reputation
nominate, synonym, noun, pronounce
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antebellum
ante / bellum
before / war
period before a war
bellicose, belligerent
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recluse
re / cluse
(intensifier) / shut
person who lives shut off from society
reclusive, cloister, closet
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anthropomorphic
anthro / po / morph / ic
human / change / (adjective)
human characteristics for non-human things
anthropology, metamorphic
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vociferous
voci / fer / ous
call (out) / carry / adjective
voice carrying, loud
vocal, advocate, vocabulary, ferry
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malefactor
male / fac / tor
bad / do / person
criminal, evil doer
maladroit, maladjusted, malevolent, malnourished
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aquifer
aqui / fer
water / carry
something that moves water
aquarium, aquatic
ferry, vociferous
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refraction
re / frac / tion
again / break / (noun)
turning or bending of light
fragment, fracture, fractals, fragile
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digress
di / gress
two / move
move off topic to another point
progress, regress
dialogue, diametric
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archetype
arche / type
bow / type
best example
archaeology, architecture, overarching
typical, typecast, typify, prototype
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aristocracy
aristo / cracy
best / government, rule
hereditary ruling class; nobility
antiaristocratic, varistor
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inconsequential
in / con /sequen / tial
not / with / follow / (adjective)
nothing follows, unimportant
sequence, non-sequitor
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arthropod
arthro / pod
joint / leg
animal with segmented joints
arthritis, arthroscopy
cephalopod, gastropod
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audible
aud / ible
hear, listen / able
able to be heard
auditory, auditorium, audiovisual
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querulous
quer / ulous
ask / (adjective)
whining, complaining
query, inquire, inquisition, quiz
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augment
aug / ment
to increase (verb)
to supplement
augur, transmogrify, august
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sacrosanct
sacro / sanct
sacred / holy
to hold something in high, godly esteem
desecrate, sacreligious, sanctify, sanctimonious, sacerdotal
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autonomy
auto / nomy
self / name
the ability to do things by oneself
automatic, autocracy, automobile
nominative, anonymous, nominal, nominate
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bellicose
belli /cose
war / like
determination to create war or conflict
antebellum, belligerent
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antipathy
anti / pathy
against / feeling
hatred, deep dislike
sympathy, empathy
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benign
ben / ign
good / (adjective)
having a positive impact
benefactor, benificence, benefit
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circumscribe
circum / scribe
around / write
to draw a line of limitation
circumlocutory, circumnavigate proscribe, description
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disburse
dis / burse
remove, reversal / purse
to give out funds
bursar, bursitis
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condemn
con / demn
with / damnation
to sentence someone for a crime or an injunction
indemnify, condemnation
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demented
de / ment / ed
un / mind / (participle - adjective)
out of your mind
mentality, temperamental
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decimate
deci / mate
tenth / (verb)
to reduce to a tenth of the size, destroy
decibel, December, decade, decalogue
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demagogue
dema / gogue
people / leader
ruler who appeals to popular interests
democratic, demography
pedagogue
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condense
con / dense
with / thick
thicken
condensation, density
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dexterity
dexter / ity
skillful / (noun)
skillfulness
dexterous, ambidextrous
Break down and define:
edict
e / dict
/ word
declare, decree
dictator, diction, dictation
dictionary, diction
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docile
doc / ile
teach / (adjective)
teachable, tractable
docility
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domicile
domic / ile
house / (noun)
house, home
domestic
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dormant
dorm / ant
sleep / (adjective)
sleeping, hiberating, inactive
dormitory, dorm
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dubious
dub / ious
doubt / (adjective)
doubtful, suspect
indubitably
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obdurate
obdur / ate
harden / (adjective)
hard-hearted, intractable, unyieldingly stubborn
obduracy, endure, durable
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subjugate
sub / jug / ate
under / yoke / (verb)
force someone under control, enslave
subterfuge, conjugal
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juncture
junct / ure
join / (noun)
point in time, place where situation meets decision
junction, conjunction, adjunct
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jurisdiction
juris / dict / ion
law / speech / (noun)
power or authority of law, physical limits of the reach of legal authority
jury, dictionary, dictate
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florid
flor / id
flower / (adjective)
relating to flowers
floral, florist
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equivocal
equi / vocal
equal / speak
can be defended on either side of argument, debatable
equinimical, equidistant, vocabulary,advocate
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aberration
ab / err / ation
from / mistake / (noun)
coming from error, not intended, not normal
err, errant, erroneous, error
Break down and define:
bibliophile
biblio / phile
book / love
a lover of books / book collector
bibliography, Francophile, Anglophile
Break down and define:
telekinesis
tele / kine / sis
across / motion / (noun)
motion cause by the power of the mind
television, telephone, kinetic
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euphoric
eu / phor / ic
well, good / bear / (adjective)
a quality of intense happiness
euphonium, euphenism, anaphoric
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fatuous
fatu / ous
fool / (adjective)
silly, foolish
infatuate
Break down and define:
cardiovascular
cardio / vascul / ar
heart / veins / (adjective)
having to do with arteries and heart
cardiogram, vasculitis
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gestate
gest / ate
carry, bear / (verb)
to grow in the womb
gestation, gestative, gestational
Break down and define:
relapse
re / lapse
again, / fall back
fall back into a former state, to regress after a period of improvement
lapse
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latitude
lati / tude
wide / (noun)
wideness, distant across, freedom from restrictions
latitudinal
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fallacy
fallac / y
trick / (noun)
a wrong idea, misconception
fallacious
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felicity
felic / ity
happy / (noun)
happiness
felicitous
felicitous
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elaborate
e / labor / ate
out / work / (verb)
to work (something) out, go into detail
laborious, laboratory, labor
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laxity
lax / ity
loose / (noun)
lacking firmness, strictness, slack
relax, relaxation
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regress
re / gress
back / walk
to go backward, to get worse
digress, progress
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deliberate
de / liber / ate
from / scale / (verb)
to weigh (consider) carefully
liberality
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grandiose
grand / iose
large / (adjective)
characterized by large scope or intent; pretending large scope or importance
grandeloquence, grandeur, grand
Break down and define:
immutable
im / mut / able
not / change / able to
not capable of changing
mutation, mutant
Break down and define:
dermal
derm / al
skin / (adjective)
having to do with skin
dermatology, dermatitis