WordSmartRoots Flashcards
A
-without
Amoral – neither moral nor immoral
Atypical - not typical
Atheist –one who does not believe in God
Atrophy- wasting away, deterioration
AB/ABS
(off, away from, apart, down)
Abnormal- deviating from normal
Abhor – to hate, detest
Abominate – to detest
Abduct - to take by force
Abstruse – hard to understand
Abstract – considered apart from normal existence
Ac/acr
–bitter, sharp
Acute – sharp, severe
Acerbic –sour or astringent in taste
Acrid – unpleasantly sharp or bitter
Acidic – something that is sour
Acrimony- bitter animosity
ACT/AG
(to do, to drive, to force, to lead)
act
agent
agile
agitate
AD/AL
(to, toward, near)
adapt
adjacent
addict
admire
address
AL/ALI/ALTER
(other, another)
alternative
alias
alibi
alien
alter
ego
alienation
altruist
altercation
allegory
Am,ami-
love
amiable - friendly, pleasant, lovable
amicable – characterized by friendliness
amity - friendly and peaceful relations
amorous - showing romantic love
enamored – inflamed with love,captivated
AMB
(to go, to walk)
ambitious amble preamble ambulance ambulatory perambulator circumambulate
AMB/AMPH
(around)
amphitheater ambit ambience ambient
AMB/AMPH (both, more than one)
ambiguous amphibian ambivalent ambidextrous
Ambi
–both
ambidextrous -able to use both hands equally
ambiguous - having more than one meaning
ambivalence - conflicting or opposite feelings
toward a person or thing
ANIM
(life, mind, soul, spirit)
unanimous animosity equanimity magnanimous pusillanimous
ANNU/ENNI
(year)
annual anniversary biannual biennial centennial annuity perennial annals millennium
ANTE
(before)
ante anterior antecedent antedate antebellum antediluvian
ANTHRO/ANDR
(man, hu man)
anthropology android misanthrope philanthropy anthropomorphic philander androgynous anthropocentric
ANTI
antidote antiseptic antipathy antipodal
Anti-
Against, opposite
Antibody - a substance that destroys micro-
Organisms
Antidote – a remedy to neutralize poison or disease
Antiseptic - preventing infection
Antipathy - hatred
Antisocial - opposing social norm
APO
(away)
apology apostle apocalypse apogee apocryphal apotheosis apostasy apoplexy
APT/EPT
(skill, fitness, abil i ty)
adapt aptitude apt inept adept
Arch-
chief/important
Archbishop - the highest ranking bishop
Archenemy - chief or worst enemy
Matriarch - a female who rules a group
Monarch - a king or queen
ARCH/ARCHI
(chief, prin ci pal)
architect archenemy archetype archipelago
ARCHY (ruler)
monarchy matriarchy patriarchy anarchy hierarchy oligarchy
ART
(skill, craft)
art artificial artifice artisan artifact artful artless
AUC/AUG/AUX
(to in crease)
auction auxiliary augment august
AUTO
(self)
automatic autopsy autocrat autonomy
Av-
bird
Aviary - a large enclosure for birds
Aviatrix - a female airplane pilot
Aviation - the art of designing or operating aircraft
BE
(to be, to have a certain qual i ty)
belittle belated bemoan befriend bewilder begrudge bequeath bespeak belie beguile beset bemuse bereft
BEL/BELL
(war)
rebel belligerent bellicose antebellum
Belli
war
bellicose – warlike in manner or temperament
belligerent - hostile, ready to fight
rebel - person who opposes and fights
BEN/BON
(good)
benefit beneficiary beneficent benefactor benign benevolent benediction bonus bon vivant bona fide
Bene-
Good (NOTE: Opposite : “Mal”)
benefactor - person who gives money to a cause;
beneficial - producing a good effect;
benevolent - showing kindness or goodwill
benediction -blessing
BI
(twice, doubly)
binoculars biannual biennial bigamy bilateral bilingual bipartisan
BRI/BREV
(brief, short)
brief abbreviate abridge brevity
CAD/CID
(to fall, to happen by chance)
accident coincidence decadent cascade recidivism cadence
CAND
(to burn)
candle incandescent candor
CANT/CENT/CHANT
(to sing)
chant enchant accent recant incantation incentive
CAP/CIP/CAPIT/CIPIT
(head, head long)
capital cape captain disciple principle principal precipice precipitate precipitous capitulate capitalism precipitation caption recapitulate
CAP/CIP/CEPT
(to take, to get)
capture anticipate intercept susceptible emancipate recipient incipient percipient precept
CARD/CORD/COUR
(heart)
cardiac courage encourage concord discord accord concordance cordial
CARN
(flesh)
carnivorous carnival carnal carnage reincarnation incarnation
CAST/CHAST
(cut)
caste castigate chastise chaste
CAUST
(to burn)
caustic holocaust
CED/CEED/CESS (to go, to yield, to stop)
exceed precede recess concede cede access predecessor precedent antecedent recede abscess cessation incessant
CENTR
(center)
central concentrate eccentric concentric centrifuge egocentric
CERN/CERT/CRET/CRIM/CRIT (to separate, to judge, to distin guish, to decide)
concern critic secret crime discrete ascertain certitude hypocrite discriminate criterion discern recrimination
CHRON
(time)
synchronize chronicle chronology chronic chronological anachronism chronometer
Cide, cise
kill
homicide - murder
incisor - a sharp tooth for cutting food
insecticide - a chemical used to kill insects
regicide – killing of a king
patricide – murdering one’s father
matricide – murdering one’s mother
fratricide – murdering one’s bother
CIRCU
(around, on all sides)
circumference circumstances circuit circumspect circumvent circumnavigate circumambulate circumlocution circumscribe circuitous
Circum-
around, about
circumnavigate - to sail around;
circumscribe - to draw around, to restrict
circumspect - looking around, prudent
circumlocution - roundabout talk, beating
around the bush
circumambulate- to walk about or around
CIS
(to cut)
scissors precise exorcise excise incision incisive concise
CIT
(to set in motion)
excite incite solicit solicitous
CLA/CLO/CLU
(shut, close)
closet enclose conclude claustrophobia disclose exclusive recluse preclude seclude cloister foreclose closure
CLAIM/CLAM (to shout, to cry out)
exclaim proclaim acclaim clamor disclaim reclaim declaim
CLI
(to lean toward)
decline recline climax proclivity disinclination
CO/COL/COM/CON (with, to geth er)
connect confide concede coerce cohesive cohort confederate collaborate compatible coherent comply conjugal connubial congenial convivial coalesce coalition contrite conciliate conclave commensurate
Cog-
to know
Cognizant- fully informed, conscious
cognition - process of acquiring knowledge
incognito - disguised so no one knows you
recognize - to discover that one knows
cogitate - to think carefully about
Col,com,con
together/jointly
collaborate - to work together
collision - smashing together
colloquial - words formed by everyday interaction
commemorate - to memorize together
commune - living together while owning things in common
concomitant- accompanying
concur - to agree with someone
CRAT/CRACY
(to gov ern)
bureaucracy democracy aristocracy theocracy plutocracy autocracy
CRE/CRESC/CRET
(to grow)
creation increase crescendo increment accretion accrue
CRED
(to believe, to trust)
incredible credibility credentials credit creed credo credence credulity incredulous
Cred-
believe
credence - belief that something is true or valid
credulous - believing things too easily, gullible
incredible - unbelievable
incredulous - skeptical, disbelieving
CRYP
(hidden)
crypt cryptic apocryphal cryptography
CUB/CUMB
(to lie down)
cubicle succumb incubate incumbent recumbent
CULP
(blame)
culprit culpable exculpate inculpate mea culpa
CUR/COUR
(running, a course)
occur recur current curriculum courier cursive excursion concur concurrent incur incursion discourse discursive precursor recourse cursory
DE
(away, off, down, completely, reversal)
descend detract decipher deface defile defraud deplete denounce decry defer defame delineate deferential
DEM
(people)
democracy epidemic endemic demagogue demographics pandemic
Dol
suffer, pain
Condolence – expression of sympathy
Indolence – a state of being lazy or slothful
Doleful – sorrowful, mournful
Dolorous – full of pain or sorrow
Dys
abnormal, bad
dyspepsia - abnormal indigestion
dystopia - an imaginary place of total misery
dyslexia - impairment of the ability to handle words
dysfunctional – poorly functional
Eu
good, well
euphemism - replacing an offensive word with
an inoffensive one
euphony - having a pleasant sound
euphoria - feeling of well-being
eulogy - speech in praise of someone
eugenics - the study of hereditary improvement
of a race
Extra
outside, beyond
extraordinary - beyond ordinary
extraterrestrial - outside the Earth
extrovert - an outgoing person
extradite – to hand over an accused to the
state where crime was committed
Gen/o/e/genesis-
birth, production, formation
genealogy - the study of the history of a family
generation - all the people born at approx the same
genetic -relating to heredity encoded in the genes.
Congenital – existing from birth
Ger-
old age
geriatrics - medicine pertaining to the elderly
gerontocracy - the rule of the elders
gerontology - the science of aging.
Grand
- big, huge
grandeur – the quality of being grand/magnificient
grandiose- pretentiously grand
aggrandize- to make something appear bigger or
greater
grandiloquent –pompous or bombastic
Grat-
pleasing
gratify - to please someone
grateful - feeling thankful
gratuity - a tip, token of appreciation
ingratiate – to bring oneself into the favor of
another by deliberate efforts
Loq/loc
speak
Grandiloquent – pompous or inflated in language
eloquent - speaking beautifully and forcefully loquacio loquacious -very talkative
circumlocution –roundabout talk
elocution - art of clear & expressive speaking
Mal/Male
bad, ill ,evil
malfunction – not functioning properly
malevolence-ill will
malicious - showing strong ill will
malediction- a curse
malign – to speak ill about someone
maladroit – clumsy, tactless
Meta
change, after, beyond, between
metaphysics - study of nature and reality
metamorphosis - a complete change of form
metastasis - the transmission of disease to other parts of the body.
Mor/Mort-
death
mortal - certain to die
Morbid – gruesome, grisly
Morose - gloomy
moribund – dying, decaying
immortal - living forever, unable to die
Morph-
shape
metamorphosis - complete change of form
morphology – the branch of biology that deals with
the structure & form of organisms
amorphous - without distinct shape or form
Nat
born
innate - included since birth
nascent – starting to develop
natal - relating to birth
natural - gotten at birth, not afterward
Ob/op
in the way, against
object - to be against something
obscure - hard to understand
obstruct- hinder
obfuscate- confuse, darken
obtuse –not sharp, dull
obstreperous –noisly defiant. Unruly
Omni
all
omnipotent - with all the power
omniscient - knowing all things
omnipresent- present everywhere
omnivorous -eating all foods
Pan
all, any, everyone
panacea - a cure for all diseases or problems
panorama - an all-around view
pantheism - the worship of all gods
pandemic - affecting all
Path
feeling, emotion
empathy- identification with & understanding of
another’s feelings
apathy - a lack of feeling or interest
sympathy-harmony or agreement, sharing
someone’s feelings
antipathy- a feeling of great dislike
Phil
love
philanthropist - one who loves humanity
philology - the love of words
philosophy - the love of wisdom
philatelist – one who loves or collects stamps
bibliophile – a lover of books
Purge
clean
Purge - remove anything undesirable
purgatory - according to Roman Catholics a place
where souls must clean themselves of sin
expurgate - remove objectionable passages from
a publication
Sci
to know
conscience - sense of knowing right from wrong
conscious - knowing what is happening
omniscient - knowing everything
prescient - ability to perceive events before they
occure
Sol
alone
desolate - lonely, dismal, gloomy
solitary - done alone, by yourself
soliloquy – the act of speaking to oneself
Somn
sleep
insomnia - inability to fall asleep
somniloquy - talking in one’s sleep
somnolent - feeling sleepy
Somnambulist- sleep walker
Theo
God
monotheism - belief in one god
polytheism - worshiping more than one God
theology - the study of religion, god, etc
theocracy- Form of govt where religion is the
guiding principle
Tract
pull
attract - to pull nearer
distract - to drag attention away from
something
Intractable- stubborn
Trans-
across, beyond, through
transcontinental - across the continent
transfer - to move from one place to another
transport - to carry something across a space
intransigent- Uncompromising
Vac
empty
evacuate - to empty a dangerous place
vacant - empty, not occupied
vacation - a time without work
vacuous - lacking intelligence
Ver
truth
veracious - truthful, honest
veracity - the truth;
verify - to make sure that something is true
veritable
aver
asseverate
Viv
life
Vivid- lively
revival - the act of bringing back to life
vital - pertaining to live
vivacious - high-spirited and full of life
convivial- sociable
