Vocab. List 1: Prefixes

#1

1. antecedent- going before in time– Prefix: ante (before)

2. antipathy- revulsion, any object of strong dislike– Prefix: anti (against)

3. Circumvent- to go around; to catch in a trap; to gain superiority over; to prevent from happening– Prefix: circum/circ (around)

#2

4. consensus- agreement, especially in opinion– Prefix: con (with, together)

5. controversy- a discussion of a question in which opposing views clash– Prefix: contr (against)

6. decimate- to destroy or kill a large portion of something; to take or destroy a tenth part of something– Prefix: dec (ten)

#3

7. demote- to lower in grade or position– Prefix: de (down, away from)

8. disinterested- not motivated by personal interest or selfish motives– Prefix: dis (not, opposite of)

9. euphemism- the use of a word or phrase that is considered less distasteful or offensive than another– Prefix: eu (good, well)

#4

10. exorbitant- going beyond what is reasonable and proper– Prefix: ex (out of, away from)

11. illegible- not able to be read– Prefix: il (not, opposite)

12. intermittent- stopping and starting again at intervals– Prefix: inter (between)

#5

13. malevolent- having an evil disposition toward others– Prefix: mal (bad)

14. precursor- a forerunner, one who or that which comes before– Prefix: pre (before)

15. prognosis- a forecast; especially in medicine– Prefix: pro (before)

#6

16. retrospect- looking back on or thinking about things past– Prefix: retro (back, again)

17. subordinate- (1)inferior to or placed below another in rank, power, or importance. (2) a person or thing of lesser power or importance than another. (3) to treat as inferior or less important.– Prefix: sub (under)

#7

18. synthesis- putting two or more things together to form a whole– Prefix: syn, sym (with or together)

19. transcend- to go beyond the limits of; to overstep; to exceed– Prefix: trans (across)

20. trivial- of little worth or importance– Prefix: tri (three)

Vocab. List 2: Suffixes

#1

1. agrarian- having to do with agriculture or farming– Suffix: -ian (one who is or does)

2. antagonist- one that contends with or opposes another– Suffix: -ist (one who)

3. bigotry- unreasonable zeal in favor of a party, sect, or opinion– Suffix: -ry (state of)

#2

4. consummate- to complete, to carry to the utmost degree– Suffix: -ate (to make)

5. copious- abundant; plentiful; in great quantities– Suffix: -ious (having the quality of)

6. cryptic- hidden; secret; having a hidden or ambiguous meaning– Suffix: -ic (causing)

#3

7. deferment- the act of putting off or delaying; postponement– Suffix: -ment (quality of)

8. furtive- done in a stealthy manner; sly and underhanded– Suffix: -ive (having the nature of)

9. laudable- praiseworthy– Suffix: -able (capable of)

#4

10. geology- the study of the history of the earth and its life, especially as recorded in rocks– Suffix: -ology (study of)

11. minimize- to play down; to keep to a minimum– Suffix: -ize (to subject to an action)

12. mutation- the act or process of changing– Suffix: -tion (action of, state of)

#5

13. obsolescence- the state of being outdated– Suffix: -escence (state of)

14. parity- the state or condition of being the same in power, value or rank; equality– Suffix: -ity (state of being)

15. pragmatism- faith in the practical approach– Suffix: -ism (state or doctrine of)

#6

16. provocative- something that stirs up an action– Suffix: -ive (having the nature of)

17. puerile- childish, silly, immature– Suffix: -ile (pertaining to)

18. rectify- to make right; to correct– Suffix: -ify (to make)

#7

19. relentless- harsh; unmoved by pity; unstoppable– Suffix: -less (without)

20. venerate- to look upon with deep respect and reverence– Suffix: -ate (to make)

Vocab. List #3: Learning Roots

#1

1. agonize- to suffer intense pain, to struggle over something– Root: agon (struggle, contest)

2. audible- able to be heard– Root: aud (hear)

3. belligerent- warlike, hostile– Root: bell (war)

#2

4. chronic- constant, habitual– Root: chron (time)

5. demographic- statistical characteristics of human population, such as age or income– Root: dem (people)

6. fidelity- faithfulness– Root: fid (faith)

#3

7. fluctuate- to move up and down, constantly changing– Root: flux, flu (to flow)

8. genocide- the deliberate extermination of an entire group of people– Root: gen (race or kind)

9. incognito- disguised, unrecognizable– Root: cog, gno (to know)

#4

10. inducement- motive, leading to an action, incentive– Root: duc (lead)

11. interrogate- to question– Root: rog (to ask)

12. loquacious- talkative– Root: loq (speak)

#5

13. nominal- in name only, a small amount– Root: nom (name)

14. pathos- suffering; feeling of sympathy or pity– Root: path (feelings)

15. protracted- drawn out in time, prolonged– Root: tract (draw; pull)

#6

16. rejected- sent back, refused, discarded– Root: ject (to throw or send)

17. sophisticated- knowledgeable; refined, experienced, and aware– Root: soph (wisdom)

18. tenacious- unwilling to let go, stubborn– Root: ten (hold)

#7

19. verify- to establish as truth, confirm– Root: ver (truth)

20. vivacious- lively in manner– Root: viv (life)

Vocab. List #4: More Roots

#1

1. agoraphobic- fear of open or public spaces– Root: phobe (fear)

2. assimilate- to fit in– Root: simul (copy)

3. attribute- a special quality– Root: trib (to give)

#2

4. benevolent- kind, having goodwill– Root: ben (good)

5. biodegradable- able to be broken down by living things– Root: bio (life)

6. conspicuous- highly visible– Root: spic, spec (see)

#3

7. contradiction- the act or state of disagreeing– Root: contra (against)– Root: dict (say)

8. credence- belief, believability– Root: cred (believe)

9. evident- obvious– Root: vid (see)

#4

10. gregarious- sociable– Root: greg (crowd)

11. impediment- a barrier or hindrance– Root: ped, pod (foot)– Root: ped (child)

12. incisive- penetrating, clear cut– Root: cis, cid (to cut)

#5

13. inference- guess or surmise– Root: fer (bear or carry)

14. mediocre- of medium quality, neither good nor bad, average– Root: med (middle)

15. philanthropy- giving generously to worthy causes– Root: phil (love)

#6

16. precedent- a prior ruling or experience– Root: ced (go)

17. recapitulate- to review in detail – Root: cap (head)

18. remittance- payment, transmittal or money– Root: mit, mis (to send)

#7

19. tangential- touching slightly, relating to– Root: tang, tac, tig (touch)

20. urbane- polished, sophisticated– Root: urb (city)

Vocab. List 5: Foreign Language Terms Used in English

#1

1. aficionado- a person who likes, knows about and is devoted to a particular activity or thing

2. avant-garde- (1)a group of people who develop innovative and experimental concepts, especially in the arts. (2) relating to a group of people who develop innovative and experimental concepts, especially in the arts.

#2

3. blasé- apathetic to pleasure or excitement as a result of excessive indulgence in something

4. bourgeois- having the attributes and beliefs of the middle class, marked by materialistic concerns

5. cliché- a phrase or saying which has been overused and as a result has little significance or meaning

#3

6. debut- a first appearance7. élan- spirit, enthusiasm, or excitement8. entrepreneur- a person who takes on the

challenge and risk of starting his or her own business

#4

9. epitome- an exact example of something; someone or something that embodies the essence of a concept or type

10. fait accompli- something that is complete and seemingly irreversible

11. gauche- lacking social graces or sophistication

#5

12. imbroglio- a complicated or embarrassing situation due to a misunderstanding

13. ingénue- a young girl or woman, an actress playing such a role

14. laissez-faire- a doctrine opposing government control of economic matters except in a case of maintaining peace and the concept of property

#6

15. malaise- the vague feeling of illness16. naïve- innocent, simple, lacking knowledge

of the world17. non sequitur- a statement that has no

connection to the previous statement or idea

#7

18. rendezvous- a meeting place19. vendetta- a grudge or feud characterized by

acts of retaliation20. vignette- a short descriptive written piece

Vocab. List #6: Business Terms

#1

1. arbitrage- the buying of “paper”—stocks, bonds, and securities—to resell for a quick profit

2. arbitration- the process by which disputes are settled by a third party

3. beneficiary- one who will benefit from something

#2

4. capital- accumulated wealth, used to gain more wealth

5. collusion- a secret agreement for a deceitful or fraudulent purpose, conspiracy

6. consortium- a joining of two or more businesses for a specific purpose

#3

7. deduction- the subtraction of a cost from income

8. discrimination- the act of making distinctions, the act of distinguishing between one group of people and another and treating people differently as a result, prejudiced actions or treatment

#4

9. entitlement- special privilege or benefit allowed to a group of people

10. equity- fairness or evenness of treatment, or the value of property after all claims have been made against it

11. exempt- excused from some rule or job

#5

12. fiscal- pertaining to money or finance13. franchise- a business that is owned by a

parent company but run by independent operators under rules set out by the parent company

14. harassment- the act of harassing someone, annoy or irritate persistently

#6

15. jargon- the specialized vocabulary of an industry or interest group

16. nepotism- the employment or promotion of friends and family members

17. perquisite- a privilege or bonus given in addition to regular salary

#7

18. prospectus- a published report of a business and its plans for a program or offering

19. subsidy- a grant of money for a particular purpose

20. tenure- the state or period of holding a particular position, or a guarantee of employment to teachers who have met particular standards

Vocab. List 7: Technology Terms

#1

1. application- a software program that lets you complete a task on your computer, such as word processing, listening to music, or viewing a Web page

2. bandwidth- the amount of information that one can send through a connection, usually measured in bits per second

#2

3. bitmap- the representation in rows and columns of dots of an image in computer memory

4. cache- a high-speed storage mechanism that allows a computer to store frequently accessed information locally

#3

5. cookie- a message given to a Web browser by a Web server that is stored in the browser and sent back to the server every time the browser contacts the server for a Web page

6. cursor- a symbol, usually a blinking line that shows where the next letter will be typed on a computer screen

#4

7. database- information stored and organized so that a computer can quickly retrieve selected pieces of information

8. download- the process of copying a document or file from an online source to your own computer

9. encryption- the translation of information into a secret code

#5

10. Ethernet- a common method of enabling computers in the same Local Area Network to communicate with each other

11. firewall- a system that prevents unauthorized access to and from a private network

12. information technology (IT)- the broad subject of anything concerning processing or managing information, especially in a large company

#6

13. keyword- a word that specifies a particular record, file; in programming a specific command

14. motherboard- the main circuit board of a computer

15. network- a group of two or more computers linked together

#7

16. plug-in: a piece of hardware or software that adds a specific feature to a larger, already existing system

17. search engine- a program that searches documents, websites, and databases for a keyword and then provides a list of those documents

#8

18. server- a computer on a network that manages network resources

19. upload- the opposite of download; to transmit documents from your computer to an online source

20. workstation- a type of computer that has enough power to run applications used in work environments

Vocab. List 8: Legal Terms

#1

1. abrogate- to abolish by authoritative action2. adjudicate- to act as a judge, to settle

judicially3. appellate- having the power to review

judgment of another court4. affidavit- a sworn statement in writing made

under oath

#2

5. bequest- the act of bequeathing, the act of leaving someone/something in a will, something that is bequeathed

6. contraband- illegal or prohibited exporting or importing of goods

7. deposition- testimony under oath, taken down in writing

#3

8. exhume- to remove from a grave; to bring back from neglect or obscurity

9. extradite- to surrender an alleged criminal to the state or country in which he or she can be tried

10. intestate- one who dies without a will

#4

11. ipso facto- by the very fact or act, an inevitable act

12. larceny- the unlawful taking of someone else’s property with the intention of not giving it back

13. lien- a charge against real or personal property for the satisfaction of a debt or duty originally arising from the law

#5

14. litigious- contentious situation, prone to litigation

15. jurisprudence- a system of laws, the science of philosophy of the law

16. malfeasance- wrongdoing or misconduct especially by a public official

17. perjury- lying or intentionally omitting information under oath

#6

18. plagiarism- the act of passing of someone else’s work as your own

19. sanction- authoritative permission or approval that makes a course of action valid, a law or decree

20. tort- wrongdoing for which damages can be claimed; an unintentional violation of someone’s rights, which can result in civil action but not criminal proceedings

Vocab. List 9: Terms Relating to Language and Literature

#1

1. anecdote- a short account of an interesting or humorous incident

2. anthropomorphism- attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena

3. archetype- an original model or type after which other similar things are patterned; an ideal example of a type

#2

4. aphorism- a brief statement of a truth or opinion; a saying or an adage

5. construe- to explain the meaning of; interpret; to analyze the grammatical structure of a sentence

6. deduce- to reach a conclusion of reasoning; to infer from a general principle; to trace the origin of

#3

7. epigram- a short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation; a concise, clever, often paradoxical statement or saying

8. etymology- the origin and historical development of a word’s forms, meanings and usages

9. infer- to conclude or reason from evidence, premises, or circumstance; to hint or imply

#4

10. irony- the use of words to express something different from, and often opposite to, their literal meaning; a literary style employing such contrasts for witty effect; incongruity between what might be expected and what actally occurs

11. onomatopoeia- the formation or use of words such that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions to which they refer

#5

12. personification- a person or thing typifying a certain quality or idea; an embodiment or exemplification; a figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form

#6

13. perspective- a mental view or outlook; a point of view; the ability to perceive things in their actual interrelations or comparative importance

14. protagonist- the main character in a drama or other literary work

15. prose- ordinary speech or writing, without metrical structure (as in poetry)

#7

16. pun- play on words17. rhetoric- the art or study of using language

effectively and persuasively18. satire- a literary work in which human vice or

folly is attacked through irony and wit

#8

19. soliloquy- a dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener

20. trite- lacking power to evoke interest through overuse or repetition

Vocab. List 10: Short Words That Mean A Lot

#1

1. acme- the highest point, as of achievement or development

2. awry- in a position that is turned or twisted toward one side or away from the correct course; askew

3. bane- fatal injury or ruin; a cause of harm, ruin, or death; a source of persistent annoyance or exasperation

#2

4. cite- to quote as an authority or example5. crux- the basic or central point or feature; a

puzzling or apparently insoluble problem6. dire- warning of, or having dreadful or terrible

consequences; urgent; desperate7. dupe- an easily deceived person

#3

8. eke- to supplement or get with great effort; to make last by practicing strict economy

9. elite- a group or class of persons or a member of such a group or class, enjoying superior intellectual, social, or economic status; the best or most skilled members of a group

10. gibe- to make taunting, heckling, or jeering remarks

#4

11. maim- to disable or disfigure; to make imperfect or defective; impair

12. mete- to distribute by or as if by measure; allot

13. moot- a hypothetical case argued as an exercise; a case no longer of actual significance

#5

14. oust- to eject from a position or place; force out

15. purge- to free from impurities; purify; to rid of sin, guilt, or defilement; to clear a person of a charge; to get rid of people considered undesirable

#6

16. roil- to make a liquid muddy or cloudy by stirring up sediment; to displease or disturb; vex

17. sham- something false or empty that is said to be genuine; one who assumes a false character; an impostor

18. staid- characterized by sedate dignity and propriety; sober, fixed; permanent

#7

19. veer- to turn aside from a course, direction, or purpose; swerve

20. vie- to strive for superiority; compete, rival