Word Stems
Words Stems II
Use it in a sentence
Use in a sentence II
Synonyms
Antonyms
100

diligent comes from dis- ("apart")

+ legere ("__________")

What is to pick out/select?

(dilegere mean to single out and highly value, & diligent meant attentive and careful)

100

denounce comes from de- ("down")

+ nuntiare ("to __________")

What is to proclaim/shout?

(the combination of "shout" and "down" suggests the direction down means disagreement, like a "downvote")

100

The scientist was very _______ in her work, carefully recording each step of the experiment so she wouldn’t miss any details.

What is diligent?

100

Out of ______ to her grandmother’s wishes, Mia chose to wear a modest dress to the family gathering, showing her respect for her grandmother’s values.

What is deference?

100

focused, hard-working, meticulous

what is diligent?

100

(opposite of)

to ignore, disregard, overlook

what is to deliberate?

200

deliberate comes from de- ("completely, totally")

+ librare ("to __________")

What is to balance/weigh?

(librare is related to libra, which means scales, and deliberare meant to "weigh in the mind" or consider carefully)

200

diffuse comes from dis- ("apart, in every direction")

+ fundere ("to __________")

What is to pour?

(fundere is related to "fountain," "funnel," and "fusion", and diffuse means to "pour apart" or spread out)

200

The newspaper had to apologize for printing a ________ article that falsely accused the coach of cheating, damaging his reputation unfairly.

What is defamatory?

200

The scent of flowers began to _______ through the garden, spreading so that the entire yard smelled wonderful.

What is diffuse?

200

courtesy, admiration, esteem

what is deference?

200

(opposite of)

confuse, distort, misrepresent

what is delineate?

300

delineate comes from de- ("completely, totally")

+ lineare ("__________")

What is to draw lines?

("delineare" means to sketch out a picture, and delineate means to describe or depict an idea accurately)

300

despondent comes from de- ("down, away from")

+ spondere ("to __________")

What is to promise/pledge?

(despondere meant "to give up, lose heart" and spondere is related to "sponsor" and "responsible"; despondent means sad and discouraged) 

300

After losing the championship game by just one point, the players felt _______, sitting quietly on the field with their heads down.

What is despondent?

300

Smoking can have _______ effects on your health, causing serious problems like lung disease and heart issues over time.

What is deleterious?

300

disparaging, unflattering, slanderous

what is defamatory?

300

(opposite of)

virtue, righteousness, goodness

what is depravity?

400

defamatory comes from dis- ("bad, ruinous")

+ fama ("__________")

What is rumor/story?

(fama is a rumor and where "fame" and "famous" come from, and to defame someone is to spread a bad rumor about them)

400

deference comes from de- ("down, away")

+ ferre ("to _________")

What is to carry?

(ferre is an important Latin stem meaning "to carry" and comes up in any word ending in '-ifer' or '-iferation', as well as "fertile" and "transfer"; defer means "carry down" and implies passing respect & responsibility 'down the line' to someone fit and able)

400

The council will _______ before making a decision about the new school rules, carefully considering all the different ideas.

What is deliberate?

400

The villain’s _______ shocked everyone; his actions were so evil and cruel that people couldn’t believe anyone would do such things.

What is depravity?

400

to scatter, dissipate, fan out

what is to diffuse?

400

(opposite of)

hopeful, encouraged, merry

what is despondent?

500

depravity comes from de- ("completely, totally")

+ pravus ("__________")

What is crooked?

(to "deprave" means to completely distort or disfigure, and figuratively means to pervert, seduce, or corrupt something; hence, the meaning of depravity is something of poor moral condition)

500

deleterious comes from dēlētēr which means __________

What is destroyer?

500

After learning about the unfair treatment of workers, many students decided to _______ the company publicly, saying it was wrong and should be stopped.

What is denounce?

500

The teacher asked us to _______ the main events of the story, listing each important part in the order they happened.

What is delineate?

500

damaging, harmful, detrimental

what is deleterious?

500

(opposite of)

to approve, endorse, praise

what is to denounce?

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