1. act (ag): drive (force), do
•Agitate: to do something that upsets or disturbs
•Agent: one who acts or does on behalf of someone else
•React: to do something in response to another action
•_____________________________________________
The basketball player’s agent negotiated a contract that
included a higher salary for the next five years.
2. andr: male
•Android: having characteristics of a male
•Philanderer: one who loves males
•__________________________________________
3. arthr: joint
•Arthropod: an animal with jointed limbs and a segmented
body
•Arthritis: a condition caused by inflammation of joints
•Arthropathy: the result of a disease in the joints
•___________________________________________
As a result of her arthritis, Janice had a difficult time doing
things that required extensive use of her hands.
4. biblio: book
•Bible: the holy book of Christianity
•Bibliography: a written record of a book used as a
source
•Bibliophile: a person who loves books
•____________________________________________
The students were required to include a bibliography page
in their research paper in order to indicate the sources they
used.
5. calli (kali): beautiful
•Calligraphy: a beautiful form of writing using different
slants and positions
•Calisthenics: exercises that develop beautiful muscular
tone and promote good physical condition
•Kaleidoscope: a tubular instrument that you look through
to see beautiful colors and changing images
•_____________________________________________
The young girl spent hours looking through the kaleidoscope,
oohing and aahing over the beautiful colors.
6. capit: head
•Capital: the headquarters of a state
•Decapitate: to cut off someone’s head
•Capitulum: small knob or head-shaped part as on the
end of a bone
•_________________________________________
Macduff decapitates Macbeth at the end of the play by
Shakespeare.
7. chron: time
•Chronic: something that continues for a long period of
time
•Chronological: in order of time
•Synchronize: to do something at the same time
•__________________________________________
The students organized the events of the war onto a
chronological timeline.
8. emia: blood condition
•Anemia: a disease that is a result of a lack of blood
•Toxemia: a condition that occurs as a result of poison in
the blood
•Leukemia: a fatal disease of the blood in which white
blood cells multiply uncontrollably
•____________________________________________
An abnormally high level of alcohol in the blood can cause
toxemia.
9. flu: flow
•Fluent: flowing smoothly and naturally
•Confluence: state or condition of flowing together
•Superfluous: having the characteristics of flowing above
or over
•__________________________________________
Traveling to different countries was very comfortable to her
because she was fluent in so many languages.
10. fus: pour
•Confuse: to mix up or pour together so that one can’t
tell one thing from another
•Effusive: that which pours out
•Profusion: state of pouring forth
•_________________________________________
The twins looked so much alike that everyone was confused
about who was who.
11. gno: know
•Agnostic: state of not knowing whether or not God
exists
•Ignorance: a state of not knowing
•Prognosis: a prediction of knowledge about the outcome
of something, usually a disease
•_______________________________________
Some men stay single for a long time because they are
ignorant about what women want.
12. greg: flock, gather
•Segregate: to gather with others that are alike, separate
from ones who are different
•Congregation: a gathering of people, usually for worship
•Gregarious: habitually gathering with other people,
sociable
•___________________________________________
In any school cafeteria, there is evidence of segregation among
students.
13. hem (hemo): blood
•Hemorrhage: excessive bleeding
•Hemophilia: condition of loving blood
•Hematology: study of blood
•________________________________________
The injury from the car accident caused Jamie to have a
hemorrhage in her brain.
14. ism: belief, doctrine
•Communism: a belief in a government in which goods
and production are commonly owned.
•Chauvinism: belief in the superiority of one’s own
group
•Egoism: belief that oneself is better than others
•__________________________________________
The Red Scare in the 1950s was caused by a fear of
communists in the United States.
15. jur: swear
•Juror: one who swears to judge a case fairly
•Perjury: a violation of a sworn oath to tell the truth
in a court of law
•Abjure: to recant your sworn testimony
•________________________________________
The twelve jurors were in charge of determining the
defendant’s guilt or innocence, based on evidence.
16. lat: side
•Lateral: relating to a side
•Unilateral: relating to one side
•Quadrilateral: related to four sides
•__________________________________________
A square and a rectangle are considered to be
quadrilaterals.
17. mania: craze, obsession
•Maniac: one who has an obsession
•Kleptomania: an obsession with stealing
•Pyromania: obsession with starting fires
•____________________________________
Even though he knew it was wrong, Jim felt compelled to
steal because of his kleptomania.
18. neuro: nerve, brain
•Neurology: the study of the brain
•Neuralgia: condition that results in pain in the nerves
or brain
•Neurectomy: procedure of cutting out a nerve
•___________________________________________
Bob always had an interest in the way the brain works,
Which led him into the field of neurology.
19. ped (pod): foot
•Pedal: a lever operated by the foot
•Pedestrian: one who travels on foot
•Podiatrist: one who cures the feet
•_____________________________________
In Chapel Hill, pedestrians always have the right of way.
20. rupt: break, burst
•Rupture: state of breaking or bursting
•Erupt: burst out
•Interrupt: break between or among
•____________________________________________
After the concert was over, the audience erupted in applause.
21. scrib (script): write
•Scribble: to write
•Circumscribe: to write around or to limit
•Post script: to write after
•__________________________________
She forgot to include something in her letter so she just
wrote a post script message.
22. terr: land, earth
•Terrain: related to the layout of the land
•Inter: bury into the earth
•Terricolous: dwelling in or on the earth
•________________________________________
The terrain of the mountain made the hike very difficult.
23. tors (tort): twist
•Torso: the middle part of the body that allows you to
twist
•Distort: to twist something away from its reality
•Tortuous: full of many twists and turns
•___________________________________________
The drive up the mountain was tortuous.
24. vers (vert): turn
•Reverse: turn back
•Convert: turn together into something different
•Versatile: the ability to turn or change for different uses
•___________________________________________
The jacket was reversible, which made it versatile for
all kinds of weather.
25. vor: eat
•Devour: eat down
•Carnivorous: characteristic of eating flesh
•Voracious: having a large appetite, eating a lot
•_______________________________________
Dustin has a voracious appetite, evident by the fact that
he eats all of the time.