Academic Vocabulary
If you write a few sentences about a story highlighting only the main events, you are doing this.
What is summarizing (or summarize)?
Opal notices that the local library smells like old paper and bears, which feels very strange and unusual to her. This word describes that unusual feeling.
What is peculiar?
Flashlights in a dark cave make the walls shine brightly. This word describes something that gives off bright light.
What is luminous?
If you take the base word wrap and add a prefix to mean "to undo the wrapping," you create this word.
What is unwrap (using un-)?
A plaque erected in front of a building to honor soldiers helps people hold onto their thoughts of the past. It uses this root meaning "mind" or "memory".
What is mem (or min)?
A student points out that Story A is set in a bustling city while Story B takes place in a quiet forest. The student is performing this task.
What is contrasting (or contrast)?
When Gloria Dump tells Opal about her past mistakes, Opal feels a quiet, gentle sadness about the hard times people face. She is experiencing this emotion.
What is melancholy?
A firefighter charges directly into a burning house without hesitation to save a family. This adjective describes their fearless bravery.
What is dauntless?
To describe doing your homework a second time because your dog ate the first copy, you attach this prefix to write.
What is re- (making rewrite)?
A stadium floodlight that lights up a field during a night game uses a word built on this root meaning "light".
What is lum?
You read a story and look at how the author used short, choppy sentences to make the main character seem scared. When you look closely at how the story was built, you are doing this.
What is analyzing (or analyze)?
Two friends both want to play different games at recess, so they agree to spend half the time on the swings and half playing basketball. They reached this kind of agreement.
What is compromise?
A soccer team breaks a league rule by bringing an ineligible player, forcing them to give up their win. They had to do this to the match.
What is forfeit?
If you want to view a movie teaser before the actual movie comes out, you watch a word formed with this prefix.
What is pre- (making preview)?
When a doctor diagnoses a disease or when you feel deep sorrow for someone else's suffering, you are using a word built on this root.
What is path?
After reading two different book reviews, you decide which book is better to read for your class project based on their rating and reasons. You are doing this.
What is evaluating (or evaluate)?
When a dog runs away, its owner searches the neighborhood in a wild, anxious, and frantic hurry. This word describes their desperate state.
What is frantic?
After winning the championship game, the captain was overflowing with pride and happiness. This word describes being filled to the top.
What is brimming?
When you read directions incorrectly and do the wrong steps, you experienced a word formed with this prefix attached to understand.
What is mis- (making misunderstand)?
The dark pigment in human skin and hair that absorbs UV light gets its name from this root meaning "black" or "dark".
What is melan?
You use secret clues hidden in a mystery book to figure out exactly who stole the treasure before the book reveals it. You did this to solve the mystery.
What is determining (or determine)?
Someone who cannot stop telling exaggerated tall tales every single day, even when they get caught, exhibits this type of behavior.
What is pathological?
Everyone in class wanted the special golden trophy, making it the most highly prized item in the room. This word describes such a sought-after prize.
What is coveted?
To turn the action verb express into a noun referring to the look on someone's face, you add this suffix.
What is -sion (making expression)?
Ancient organic matter buried under layers of rock that turns into crude oil (petroleum) gets its name from this root meaning "rock" or "stone".
What is petr (or petro)?