Ninth Grade Vocabulary

Unit 7

Latin Root:

Bellum “War”

BellicoseAdjective—warlike in nature

Sentence: The bellicose tribe was in the habit of fighting its neighbors.

Syn. CombativeAnt. peaceful

AntebellumAdjective—Occurring before a war

Sentence: War changed the country in many ways, but some things remained as they

were in the antebellum years.

BelligerenceNoun—Warlike in mood or attitude

Sentence: Despite the belligerence of the opposing team, the Hawks won the game by

two points.

Ant. peace

Latin Root:

Amor “LOVE”

EnamoredAdjective—Fond of; feeling love towardsSentence: At first I hated the novel, but

after reading it again, I became enamored of it.

Syn. Charmed Ant. repulsed

AmicableAdjective—Not bitter or hostile; friendly

Sentence: Rumors suggested that the girls were fighting, but they insisted they had an

amicable relationship.

AmiableAdjective—Good-natured; cheerful

Sentence: Bernard greeted me with an amiable smile as I entered the office.

Syn. Cordial Ant. disagreeable

Greek Root:

Agon “Contest; struggle”

AntagonizeVerb—To act hostile towards; provokeSentence: No matter how the bullies

antagonize Walter, he never gets angry.Syn. Oppose

Ant. Soothe

ProtagonistNoun—The central character in a literary

work.Sentence: Ralph is the protagonist in Lord

of the Flies.

AntagonistNoun—One who is hostile toward or

opposesSentence: Jack Merridew is the antagonist

of the Lord of the Flies.

Greek Root:

Phile “LOVE”

PhilosophicalAdjective—calm and wise; reasonableSentence: Cheryl’s friends thought she

would be devastated after the loss, but she was philosophical about it.

PhilanthropyNoun—charitable donation to public causesSentence: The farmer who gave his land to the city for a park was praised for his act of

philanthropy.

Ant. stinginess

BibliophileNoun—one who loves books

Sentence: Cameron, a self-described bibliophile, was running out of space for her

books.