acro : high point, topmost, extreme

1. acro : high point, topmost, extreme acrobat acrobatics acropolis Acropolis acrophobia • Ex: acronym • Def: a word formed from the first letter or first few letters of each word in a phrase or title. • The FBI is an acronym for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

2. ago/actum : to do, act, drive or perform act agent agile ambiguous navigate coagulate prodigal transact actor active • Ex: pragmatic • Def: practical or logical. • His pragmatic decision to close the play saved everyone time and money.

3. ana : up or back again analysis anatomy anagram analog analogy • Ex: anachronism • Def: a person or thing that is placed in a time where it does not fit. • It is an anachronism when in a movie about Egypt, the Pharaoh is seen wearing a wristwatch.

4. cede/ceed/cess : move or go ancestor cessation intercede precede recession • Ex: antecedent • Def: something that happened before • The car chase was an antecedent to the fiery crash at the end of the movie.

5. cred : believe accreditation credentials credo discredit credit • Ex: credulous • Def: someone who is too eager to believe things, often without thinking them through. • Would he find one person so credulous as to believe him?

6. cum, con : with, together accumulate acumen circumvent cumulous document combat commemorate community content confection • Ex: cumulative • Def: something that increases or gets bigger with more additions. • Her cumulative poor food choices resulted in an unhealthy weight gain in a short period of time.

7. di- : to Click to edit Master text styles • didactic

8. dox/dog : opinion, judgment orthodox doxology • Ex: Paradox • Def: something that seems contradictory or unbelievable, but may or may not be true • The paradox about war is that it often brings peace.

9. ducto/ductum : lead or attract aqueduct conduct deduct induct produce surplus viaduct reduce conductor • Ex: deductive • Def: related to using principles of logic to figure something out. • The answer lies in a crucial distinction between deductive and inductive reasoning.

10. eu- : good eulogy euphony euphoria evangelist eugenics • Ex: euphemism • Def: a polite, vague word or phrase that is used in place of word or phrase that might be considered offensive, harsh, unpleasant or inappropriate to say. • “Pushing up daisies” is a euphemism for “died.”

11. flu : flow effluent (outflow of water) fluctuate fluency influence influx • Ex: affluent • Def: someone who is wealthy with money, property or possessions. • The Smiths led an affluent life; they owned a mansion, expensive cars, and membership in an exclusive country club.

12. fract/frag : break, shatter fracture fragment fragile refract infraction • Ex: fractious • Def: someone who is bad tempered, or someone or something that is difficult to control. • The fractious group of angry protestors congregated on the steps of the senate building to begin a march downtown.

13. gen : birth congenital endogenous eugenics generate genitals genre indigenous miscegenation parthenogenesis progenitor progeny • Ex: genesis • Def: the beginning • The genesis of the project began with a conversation over dinner about the best way to fix infrastructure problems in the city.

14. grex/gregis : herd/crowd gregarious congregate congregation segregate aggregate • Ex: egregious • Def: extraordinary, but in a negative way. • My little sister is an egregious liar.

15. holos : whole, entire, complete whole hologram catholic (universal) holy holiday holocaust • Ex: holistic • Def: relating to the idea that things should be studied as a whole and not just as a sum of their parts. • Holistic health care focuses on the health of the entire body and mind and not just parts of the body.

16. hyper : over, above hyperactive hypercritical hyperextension hyperglycemia hyperventilate hypertrophy (excessive growth of body part) • Ex: hyperbole • Def: a description that is exaggerated for emphasis • When someone says he is as hungry as a horse, he is using hyperbole to communicate his needs.

17. hypo : under, below hypodermic hypothermia hypocritical hypothesis hypoallergenic • Ex: hypochondriac • Def: a person who always thinks something is wrong with him or who is abnormally worried about his health • Someone who visits the doctor for every ache and pain and is convinced each time that he has major illness.

18. laboro : work labor laboratory elaborate collaborate labor of love labor union Labour Party Labor Day • Ex: laborious • Def: describes something that requires a lot of work and that is often tedious or difficult • Researching and writing a term paper is sometimes a laborious task.

19. luc/lum/lus : light elucidate illuminate illustrious lackluster lumen Lucifer luminescence luminous luster pellucid (clear) translucent • Ex: lucid • Def: easily understood or clear thinking • The main points are lucid, straightforward, and well worth listening to.

20. mand/mend : order command commendation mandatory recommendation • Ex: mandate • Def: a command to do something • Most teachers mandate that homework be turned in on time.

21. mis/mit : send or transmit emissary intermission intermittent remiss remit emit mittimus (warrant) • Ex: missive • Def: a long letter, especially one written in a formal or official capacity • The woes I recounted to you in my last missive have been soothed by a letter from the Lady Marion.

22. miso : hate misogyny • Ex: misanthrope • Def: Someone who dislikes and distrusts people • Grumpy, old Mr. Spencer was a misanthrope who didn’t like anybody and avoided human contact whenever possible.

23. monos : singular, one monarch monk monastery monogram monologue monopoly monotone • Ex: monastic • Def: characteristic of monks or nuns or their way of life: ascetic, austere • They came from several countries and have taken lifelong monastic vows to keep them focused on their faith.

24. mons/montis : mountain mountain mountainous mount mound insurmountable amount promontory paramount • Ex: monolith • Def: a large upright stone column or monument, or a large building without character, or a large, imposing corporation

25. mort : death immortal morbid morgue mortgage mortician mortification mortuary post mortem rigor mortis • Ex: moribund • Def: someone or something that is near death or that is lacking in life and vitality. • Recently, our economy has been moribund, with high unemployment and little job creation.

26. nov/neo : new novel novice novelty nouveau riche nova supernova neonatal innovate neophyte renovate • Ex: novitiate • Def: the period or state of being a novice (new at something); quarters assigned to religious novices. • He finished school in Dublin and then entered the novitiate of the Holy Fathers, also in Dublin.

27. ob : to, toward, in front of, against object obnoxious obfuscate obstinate obstreperous obdurate • Ex: obsequious • Def: showing too much willingness to serve someone or something • Obsequious service is expected at a nice restaurant, because the diner is paying for it.

28. ordo/ordinis : row, order order orderly ordinary ordinance extraordinary subordinate inordinate insubordination • Ex: ordinal • Def: expressing order or succession, specif. of a number in a series; an order of animals or plants • All ordinal numbers carry a suffix: -nd, -rd, -st, or –th. (first = 1st)

29. orthos : straight, correct orthography orthodontist orthopedist orthotics • Ex: orthodox • Def: someone or something that strictly adheres to religious beliefs or the conventional, normal way of doing things; normal accepted standards. • Traditionalists, as the name implies, tend to stick to orthodox religions.

30. para : beside, along with parable parachute parenthesis paragraph parallel parasol paramedic paralegal • Ex: paradox • Def: something that seems contradictory or unbelievable, but may or may not be true. • It is a paradox that we must sometimes go to war in order to have peace.

31. pathos : feeling pathetic pathology apathy antipathy sympathy telepathy • Ex: empathy • Def: the ability to understand the thoughts, feelings, or emotions of someone else • When my best friend told me she was getting married, I became as excited as she was, and we shed tears of joy together.

32. pax/pacis : peace peace appease pacific pay payment taxpayer • Ex: pacifist • Def: one who opposes the use of force under any circumstances; refusal to participate in war or reasons of conscience. • During the 60s, Jane Fonda was a pacifist who did not think we should be in the Vietnam War.

33. pen/pend : hang, weigh pensive suspend suspense suspenders suspension expensive expend append appendage pending pendulum • Ex: penitent • Def: feeling or showing remorse for something • Ashley was penitent after she broke her mother’s favorite vase.

34. per : through, throughout perpetual perforated peremptory permeate persevere perceive percolate permeate perpendicular persist perspective pervasive impervious • Ex: perennial • Def: a person or thing that exists or is active for a whole year or a long time; everlasting; perpetual • Some plants are perennials and bloom again every spring.

35. peri : around perimeter periscope perigee period peripheral periodic periodontal peristalsis • Ex: peripatetic • Def: not staying in one place • Her peripatetic lifestyle did not allow her to make good friends easily.

36. phob : fear agoraphobia claustrophobia hydrophobia • Ex: phobia • Def: an irrational, extreme fear • A phobia or extreme fear of spiders is called arachnephobia

37. plus : more, many plural plus plurality E Pluribus Unum surplus • Ex: nonplussed • Def: a condition of perplexity in which one is unable to go, speak, or act further • The statement that he was a chi hua hua in human form left her nonplussed.

38. pon/positum : put, place pose post postage position deposit repose depose impose component • Ex: expository • Def: something intended to explain or describe. • She explained how she conducted the experiment in an expository essay.

39. pung/punc : point, dot compunction punctual pungent expunge • Ex: punctilious • Def: describes someone that is careful with all the details of behavior. • Her punctilious attention to detail always guaranteed a successful party.

40. rideo/risum : laugh ridiculous ridicule risible deride • Ex: derision • Def: contempt or ridicule • The derision of the boy’s classmates made him cry.

41. sacr/sanct : holy sacred sacrosanct sanction consecrate desecrate • Ex: sanctuary • Def: a place of refuge or rest, a place where you can feel at peace, or the holiest part of a temple or a church. • The sanctuary is quiet now, but soon it will be filled with devoted worshipers.

42. sanus : health sane sanity insane sanitarium sanitary sanitation • Ex: sanguine • Def: someone or something the color of blood or a reddish color. • Her sanguine temperament was disclosed by the deep color of her cheeks.

43. sci/scitum : know science scientific conscience prescience conscious omniscient • Ex: conscientious • Def: acting in a way that is very thorough and careful. • In order for his experiment to be successful, he was conscientious about measuring the right amount of liquid into the test tube.

44. simil/simul : like facsimile similitude simulate simulative • Ex: assimilate • Def: to become like others, or help another person to adapt to a new environment. • It is often difficult for people from other countries to assimilate into a new one.

45. spec/spic : to look at inspect spectator spectacle spectacles perspective speculate spectrum • Ex: perspicacious • Def: being perceptive with clear vision and good judgment. • He was a perspicacious CEO who realized early on that his company needed to move in a new direction.

46. sta/sti/sist : stand firm, steady ecstasy circumstance consistency obstacle resistance stamina stanchion static stationary stature status substitute thermostat • Ex: staid • Def: describes someone who is steady, sedate and distinguished • The staid, old professor was set in his ways and would not switch to the new grading scale.

47. stru/struct : build construct construction construe structure • Ex: misconstrue • Def: to interpret something in the wrong way or to understand someone's actions or intentions differently than intended. • She misconstrued something her boyfriend said and broke up with him.

48. tempus/tempor : time temporal temporary temporize extemporaneous contemporaries tempo tense • Ex: contemporary • Def: existing at the same time or of the present time period. • Henry David Thoreau was a contemporary of Ralph Waldo Emerson because they lived in the same time period. • Taylor Swift is a contemporary of Justin Beiber.

49. theo : god theology monotheism polytheism atheist Pantheon enthusiasm Dorothy Theodore • Ex: theocracy • Def: a government or country that is ruled by someone who has religious authority or divine right. • The Vatican is an example of a theocracy.

50. tor/tort : twist, turn distort extortion retort tornado torque • Ex: contortionist • Def: a person, such as a circus acrobat, who can contort his or her body into unnatural positions • To be a performer with Cirque du Soleil you must be a contortionist.