Vocabulary Basics: Word Families - Page 1 (A-F)
This section of EnhanceMyVocabulary.com is all about learning new vocabulary by studying groups of words that share common roots
In each set you'll find (1.) a list of fairly familiar words that embody the root and (2.) a list of less familiar words that embody it.
A
Ag, act, ig (carry on, do, drive)
1. agent, agitate, agile, act, actor, actuate, exact, enact, reaction, counteract, transact, mitigate,
navigate, prodigal, assay, essay;
2. agenda, pedagogue, synagogue,
actuary, redact, castigate, litigation, exigency, ambiguous, variegated, cogent, cogitate.
Anim (life, breath)
1. Animosity, unanimous, magnanimity;
2. animate, animadvert, equanimity.
Annu (year)
1. Annual, annuity, anniversary, perennial, centennial, solemn;
2. superannuate, biennial, millennium.
Audi (hear)
1. Audit, auditor, auditorium, audience, inaudible, obey;
2. aurist, auricular, auscultation.
Auto (self)
1. Automatic, automobile, autocrat, autobiography;
2. autograph, autonomy.
B
Burn, brun, brand (burn)
(1 and 2 combined) burn, burnish, brunette, brunt, bruin, brand, brandish, brandy, brown.
C
Cad, cas, cid (fall)
1. cadence, decadent, case, casual, casualty, occasion, accident, incident, mischance, cheat;
2. casuistry, coincide, occidental, deciduous.
Cede, ceed, cess (go)
1. cede, recede, secede, concede, intercede, procedure, precedent, succeed, exceed, success, recess,
concession, procession, intercession, abscess, ancestor, cease, decease;
2. antecedent, precedence, cessation, accessory, predecessor.
Ceive, ceit, cept, cip, cap(t) (take)
1. receive, deceive, perceive, deceit, conceit, receipt, reception, perception, inception,
conception, interception, accept, except, precept, municipal, participate,
anticipate, capable, capture, captivate, case (chest, covering), casement,
incase, cash, cashier, chase, catch, prince, forceps, occupy;
2. receptacle, recipient, incipient, precipitate, accipiter, capacious, incapacitate.
Cant (song, sing)
1. Cant, descant, incantation, chant, enchant, chanticleer, accent, incentive;
2. canto, canticle, cantata, recant, chantry, chanson, precentor.
Cent (one hundred)
1. Cent, per cent, century, centennial;
2. centenary, centime, centurion, centimeter, centigrade.
Chron (time)
1. Chronic, chronological, chronicle;
2. chronometer, synchronize, anachronism.
Corp (body)
1. Corps, corpse, corporal, corpulent, corporation, incorporate;
2. corpus, habeas corpus, corporeal, corpuscle, Corpus Christi.
Cred (believe)
(1 and 2 combined)
Creed, credulous, credential, credit, accredit, discredit, incredible.
Cresc (grow, increase)
1. Crescent, increase, decrease, concrete, recruit, accrue, crew;
2. crescendo, excrescence, accretion, increment.
Cura (care)
1. Cure, secure, procure, sinecure, curious, inaccurate;
2. curate, curator.
Cide, cis(e) (cut, kill)
1. decide, suicide, homicide, concise, precise, decisive, incision, scissors, chisel, cement;
2. patricide, fratricide, infanticide, regicide, germicide, excision, circumcision, incisors, cesura.
D
Dic, dict (speak, say)
1. dedicate, vindicate, indication, predicament, predict, addict, verdict, indict, dictionary, dictation,
jurisdiction, vindictive, contradiction, benediction, ditto, condition;
2. abdicate, adjudicate, juridical, diction, dictum, dictator, dictaphone, dictograph, edict, interdict,
valedictory, malediction, ditty, indite, ipse dixit, on dit.
dign (worthy)
(1 and 2 combined)
Indignity, indignation, undignified, condign, deign, dainty.
Duce, duct (lead)
1. induce, reduce, traduce, seduce, introduce, reproduce, education, deduct, product, production, reduction, conduct, conductor, abduct, subdue;
2. educe, adduce, superinduce, conducive, ducat, duct, ductile, induction, aqueduct, viaduct, conduit, duke, duchy.
Dura (hard)
1. Durable, endure, during, duration, obdurate;
2. durance, duress, indurate, perdurable.
E
Error (wander)
1. error, erroneous, erratic, errand;
2. errata, knight errant, arrant knave, aberration.
F
Fact, fic(e), fy, fect, feat, feit (make, do)
1. fact, factory, faction, manufacture, satisfaction, suffice, sacrifice, office, difficult,
pacific, terrific, significant, fortification, magnificent, artificial,
beneficial, verify, simplify, stupefy, certify, dignify, glorify, falsify,
beautify, justify, infect, perfect, effect, affection, defective, feat,
defeat, feature, feasible, forfeit, surfeit, counterfeit, affair, fashion;
2. factor, factotum, malefaction, benefaction, putrefaction, facile,
facsimile, faculty, certificate, edifice, efficacy, prolific, deficient,
proficient, artifice, artificer, beneficiary, versification, unification,
exemplification, deify, petrify, rectify, amplify, fructify, liquefy,
disaffect, refection, comfit, pontiff, ipso facto, de facto, ex post
facto, au fait, fait accompli.
Fer (bear, carry)
1. transfer, prefer, proffer, suffer, confer, offer, referee, deference, inference, indifferent, ferry, fertile;
2. referendum, Lucifer, circumference, vociferate, auriferous, coniferous, pestiferous.
Fide (trust, believe, have faith)
1. fidelity, confide, confident, diffident, infidel, perfidious, bona fide, defiance, affiance;
2. fiduciary, affidavit, fiance, auto da fe.
Fin (end)
1. Finite, infinite, define, definite, confine, final, in fine, unfinished;
2. definitive, infinitesimal.
Flex (bend)
1. Flexibility, inflexible, deflect, inflection, reflection, reflex;
2. circumflex, genuflection.
Fluo (water)
1. Fluent, affluent, influence, influenza, superfluous, fluid, influx, flush (rush of water), fluctuate;
2. confluent, mellifluous, flux, reflux, effluvium, flume.
Fort (strong)
1. Fort, forte, effort, comfort, fortitude, fortify, fortress;
2. aqua fortis, pianoforte.
Fract (break, broken)
1. Fraction, infraction, fracture, fragility, fragment, suffrage, frail, infringe;
2. diffract, refractory, frangible.
Fug (flee)
(1 and 2 combined)
Fugitive, fugue, refuge, subterfuge, centrifugal.
Fun (rope)
1. Refund, confound, foundry, confuse, suffuse, profuse, refuse, diffuse;
2. fusion, effusion, transfuse.
Go to the next page of Word Families, G-P or skip ahead to the last page of Word Families, R-V.
Return to EnhanceMyVocabulary.com's Vocabulary Basics & Parts of Speech page.
Editor's note: This section of EnhanceMyVocabulary.com is excerpted and adapted from Project Gutenberg's The Century Vocabulary Builder by Creever and Bachelor.
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