RD 115 Vocabulary
Vocabulary 3: Direction & Motion: Word Roots and Prefixes
1
This week’s Vocabulary Root Words have to do with direction & motion, like “turn” (vert) and
“re” (back). Remember that this sheet and the worksheets that go with it are all online at
http://www.marthabianco.com/RD115 !!
Root
Meaning
Examples
vert
turn
con
with
mis,
mit
send
re
back, again
dis
apart, away
ad
toward
ven
come
 Since a can mean from, avert means turn from, or avoid
o She averted her eyes from the horrible scene.
 Since sub means under, subvert means turn under, or overturn / undermine
o The revolutionaries wanted to subvert the government.
 Since di can mean away, divert means turn away or turn aside
o The copper pipe will divert the water flow.
 Something that is versatile can turn easily from one thing to another
o Her coat was versatile because she could wear it for work and for play.
 A vertebra is a bone in our back that allows us to turn
o Each vertebra needs a cushion to protect the spine.
 Since in can mean opposite, invert means to turn to an opposite form or
direction
o When she inverted the envelope, the contents fell out.
 Convert means to turn someone to following along with your beliefs
o The missionary wanted to convert the natives to Christianity.
 A mission is a special duty or errand that someone is sent on
o The agent was sent on a secret mission to recover the plans.
 A missile is a weapon that is sent out to a target.
o The rebel forces sent a missile into the enemy’s land.
 Sub means under, so submit is “send” (or put) yourself under someone else’s
power
o The old-fashioned man wanted his wife to submit to his desire.
 Since inter means between, something that is intermittent is “sent” forward and
back between times, that is, stopping and starting from time to time
o The warning alarm rang intermittently throughout the hour.
 e means out, so emit means to send out
o When heat is applied, the container will emit steam.
 An emissary is someone sent out by others to represent them.
o The president sent his emissary to meet with the rebels.
 Since re means back or again, then to remit something is to send it back
o Please remit your payment in the enclosed envelope.
 Remission means that something has been sent back to an earlier stage
o Her cancer finally went into remission.
 Revert means to turn back to a previous/original state.
o Once the mixture cools down, it will revert to a solid.
 Since mis means send, dismiss means to send away.
o The teacher will dismiss the class at 3:30.
 Since mit means send, admit means to send toward, or to allow in.
o This ticket will admit one into the movie.
 Since pre means before, prevent means to come before, or “guard” in advance
o This vaccination can prevent measles.
RD 115 Vocabulary
Vocabulary 3: Direction & Motion: Word Roots and Prefixes
2
This week’s Vocabulary Root Words have to do with direction & motion, like “turn” (vert) and
“re” (back). Remember that this sheet and the worksheets that go with it are all online at
http://www.marthabianco.com/RD115 !!
 Circumvent means to come, or get, around – often in a tricky manner (to avoid).
circum
around
o The teenagers tried to circumvent the rules and get into the game without
tickets.
 Clude means close, so seclude means to close away, close off.
o We will need to seclude the people already infected with the virus.
apart, away
se
 Greg means crowd or group, so segregate means to put one group away from
from
others
o The old Jim Crow laws segregated whites from blacks.
 Sequel means the one that follows, the next one
o We saw the sequel, but it wasn’t as good as the original.
sequ
following
 Since con means with, consequence means that which follows with something,
as a result
o As a consequence of her actions, she could not date for a week.
 Since meter means measure, the diameter is the measure across (a circle)
o The diameter of the cup holder was too small for him to put his cup in.
 Since agon means angle, diagonal means connecting two angles across from
through,
each other.
dia
across, apart,
o The street markings ran on a diagonal from one corner to the other.
thoroughly
 Since gnosis means knowledge, a diagnosis means a thorough knowledge of
something, like a disease.
o The doctor made a diagnosis of her condition based on all the symptoms.
 A prognosis means “forward knowledge,” or advance knowledge of how
pro
forward
something will turn out.
o The prognosis for his brain tumor is not good.
 A prologue are the words that come before something, such as at the
beginning of a book.
log
word, speech
o I suggest you read the prologue to get an idea what the story will be
about.
 Since ab means away, abduct means to lead or take away.
o The mother wanted to protect her child from being abducted by a
stranger.
 Se also means away, so seduce means a different kind of leading away.
o The evil master wanted to seduce the young wizard over to the dark side.
 Conduct means to lead with or go along with (as in conducive)
o He will conduct the orchestra in Beethoven’s Fifth.
duc
lead
o The silence of the library is conducive to studying.
 In means into, so induct means lead into, bring into, often against someone’s
will
o The new law inducted all males over 18 into the army.
 Induce means to lead or bring into with pressure or assistance
o Could I induce you to enjoy another brownie?
o The medication will induce labor to help speed up the birth,