CHAPTER

More Latin Roots

Chapter 3 Review
Before beginning Chapter 4, let’s see how much you remember from the
previous chapter with this fill-in-the-blank exercise. You can check your
answers on this page.

1. To be anthropomorphic is to see a human ______________ (either

literally or metaphorically) in things that are not human.

2. My antipathies are the things I don’t ______________.

3. Jill didn’t ______________ about current events; she was entirely

apathetic.

4. Someone who ______________ comes in last could be called a

chronic loser.

5. A misanthropic person doesn’t make distinctions; he or she

______________ everyone.

6. Terry said the new novel was ______________: filled with pathos.

7. A philanthropist actively does things to ______________ other people.

8. The ______________ tenth graders didn’t mind being called

sophomoric; after all, they were sophomores!
Latin Roots, Part 2
The last time we talked about Latin roots was in Chapter 2, in our discussion of feeling
words. In this chapter we revisit Latin roots that show up in an abundance of English
words you may see on the SAT. As in the previous chapters, each root is accompanied
by its meaning, words that contain the root, and example sentences to show you those
words in context.

cred- belief; trust

Chances are your parents have credit cards. Why is it called a credit card? Very
simply, the bank (creditor) that issued your parents that card believes or trusts that the
money borrowed will be paid back eventually.
• In court cases, a credible witness is one whom the jury can believe.
• If you say, “That’s incredible!” what you are literally saying is that what you just
witnessed was so amazing that you can hardly believe that it is true.

Here are some more cred- words:

credence (n.)—believability; trustworthiness

credo (n.)—a belief or motto

credulous (adj.)—eager to believe; gullible

creed (n.)—a system of beliefs, especially religious

incredulous (adj.)—unwilling to believe

dict- speak; say

Dict- is another Latin root that shows up in so many words we can hardly list them all
here. But here we will cover the most important ones—the words you are most likely to
see on the SAT. Dict- pertains to speaking or saying. So, a dictionary is a list of words
you would say in a language.
• To dictate or make dictation is to speak or tell.
 • A dictator tells others what to do, especially in a forceful way.
• To contradict is to say the opposite of what another might say. (Contra- means
“against.”)
• A prediction is speaking about events before they actually happen. (Pre- means
“before.”)

Sometimes the t in dict- is not present. For instance, indicate means

“to show the way,” particularly by speaking.

These are words you may already know. Let’s take a look at some more challenging
uses of dict-. Fill in the blanks for the last two words; if you don’t know the answers,
look back to Chapter 1.

diction (n.)—word choice

dictum (n.)—a command

indict (v.) (pronounced in DITE)—to formally accuse; to say that someone

is guilty

malediction (n.)

benediction (n.)

nom- name
If you have ever studied Spanish or French, you may recognize nom-. Nombre in
Spanish means “name,” and nom has that same meaning in French.
• To nominate someone means to “name” or recommend that person for a
particular position.
• A misnomer is a false name, as in, “This Canadian bacon is made in Nebraska.”

Nom- can also masquerade as nym-.

• A pseudonym is a false name that an author uses, as in, “Samuel Clemen’s
pseudonym was Mark Twain.”

Here are some other nom- words:

 anonymous (adj.)—having an unknown or withheld name (a- means
“without.”)

autonomy (n.)—independence (literally, to “name” the “self” [auto-])

denominate (v.)—to give a name to; to designate

eponymous (adj.)—deriving from a similar name (e.g., Adele’s first CD

was titled Adele.)

ignominy (n.)—shame or humiliation (literally, being given a bad name)

nomenclature (n.)—a system of assigning names to things

nominal (adj.)—a small or insignificant amount (“in name only”)

nov- new
Have you ever played video games? (Some of you have played more than a nominal
number of them.) What’s a novice? You might know that a novice-level player is just a
beginner, someone who is “new” to the game. So, if someone says “That’s a novel
idea!” or “This is an innovative product,” it does not simply mean that the idea or
product is interesting or exciting; it means that the thing is new.

Let’s look at some more nov- words:

nouveau riche (n.; French)—one who has suddenly become rich

nova (n.)—a new star

novelty (n.)—something new and different

renovate (v.)—to make something new again; to repair

dign- worthy; deserving

The most common dign- word is dignity. To maintain your dignity is to uphold a
feeling of your own worthiness. A dignified person has a strong sense of self, while an
indignity is an action that is offensive to one’s sense of self-worth. What if you are
feeling indignant? It means something offends you and you are angry; it has offended
your dignity. The noun form of this word is indignation.

In some words, dign- can masquerade as -dain.

deign (v.)—to do something that one considers beneath one’s dignity

dignify (v.)—to raise up the status of; to make worthy

disdain (n.)—a feeling of strong dislike or disapproval; (v.)—to scorn or

consider something beneath oneself (dis- + -dain)

ver- truth
When a jury in a court case is seeking a verdict, it is seeking the “truth” about the guilt
or innocence of the accused. As you learned earlier, -dict means “words,” so a verdict
is literally “true words.” To verify is to determine the truth about an issue.

Occasionally, roots can be quirky. To prevaricate is to tell a lie, even

though the word looks like it would mean to tell the truth (ver-)
beforehand (pre-).

aver (v.)—to confirm the truth of

veracity (n.)—truthfulness

verisimilitude (n.)—appearing to be true (literally, “similar to the truth”)

verity (n.)—truth

loc-, loq- word; speech

You might have noticed that this root looks a lot like log-. As you learned in Chapter 3,
log- pertains to words. You can think of loc- and loq- as log-’s close cousins. They
relate to words and speech, too:
• An eloquent speaker is well-spoken (sounds like “elegant”).
• Actors study elocution in order to speak well.
 • An interlocutor is simply one who takes part in a conversation. (The root inter-
often pertains to exchanges between people and things.)

culp- blame
Who’s the culprit? If your teacher asks that question, he is looking for someone to
blame. Words with the root culp- often revolve around guilt or blame.
• If you are culpable, you are guilty.
• If you are exculpated, you are literally taken “out” of the “blame,” or found to be
not guilty. “Mea culpa!” is a commonly used expression when someone is
admitting guilt for a particular action.

ami- love; friendship

If you have studied French or Spanish, you probably remember some ami- words such
as amor (love) or amiable (friendly). Here are some English words that look
suspiciously similar, and they all mean “loving” or “friendly.”

amenable (adj.)

amiable (adj.)

amicable (adj.)

amity (n.)

amorous (adj.)

luc-, lum- light

At some point in science class, you probably learned that a translucent material allows
only a certain amount of light to pass through it. Maybe you have heard of people
lighting off Chinese luminaries (floating lights) on holidays. Did you know that to
illustrate or illuminate an idea or image literally means to shine “light” on it?

Here are some other luc- and lum- words:

elucidate (v.)—to make clear (to shine “light” upon)

 lackluster (adj.)—lacking pizazz or inspiration (“lacking light”)

lucid (adj.)—clear or sane

luminescent (adj.)—filled with light

luminous (adj.)—radiant, as with light

tract- pull
Think about a tractor. What does it do? Perhaps a lot of things, but one thing it does
well is pull. Most tract- words do not refer to literally pulling an object, but rather more
abstract forms of pulling. Here are some examples:
• A tractable person is easily persuaded or mentally “pulled,” while an intractable
person is stubborn.
• To attract something is to “pull” it toward you, while something that detracts
from the situation tends to “pull away” from it.

pug-, pugn- fight, attack

In Chapters 5 and 6, we will have fun with mnemonics and explore how they can be an
effective study tool, but for now close your eyes and picture a pug dog in your mind.
Not the cute, cuddly kind, but a nasty pug: His teeth are bared, he’s straining at the
leash, and you are desperately in need of the Dog Whisperer. There. Now you will
remember pug-, the nastiest of our roots. Here are some common pug- words:

impugn (v.)—to attack or accuse

pugilist (n.)—a fighter or boxer

pugnacious (adj.)—eager to fight

repugnant (adj.)—distasteful (literally, the thing is “attacking” you)

temp- time
We all know the word temporary. A temporary situation is one that lasts for only a
short time. Many difficult words with temp- relate to the concept of time.
contemporaneous (adj.)—synonym of contemporary

contemporary (adj., n.)—belonging to the same time period (con + temp =

“with time”)

extemporaneous (adj.)—performed with little preparation (ex + temp =

“outside of time”)

tempo (n.)—rate or pace of activity

temporal (adj.)—limited by time; temporary

temporize (v.)—to postpone a decision or waste time

Literary Vocab 101

Some other vocabulary you should know for the SAT are literary terms,
which occasionally show up on the Reading section. The most important
ones are listed below.
• analogy: a comparison between things that have similar features
⚬ The programmer drew an analogy between the human brain and
the computer.
• simile: a direct comparison of two things using the words like or as
⚬ My love is like a red, red rose.
• metaphor: a literally false statement meant to be taken as a
comparison between two things
⚬ Juliet is the sun.
• personification: a figure of speech in which human qualities are
attributed to an animal, object, or idea
⚬ The yellow fog rubs its back on the windowpanes.
• hyperbole: deliberate exaggeration
⚬ There are a million questions about literary terms on the SAT.
• verbal irony: the use of words to express the opposite of their literal
meaning
 ⚬ So you locked your keys in your car and then set off the alarm
pulling on the door handle? Brilliant!
• dramatic irony: when events turn out the opposite of the way those
involved expect
⚬ A man sells his watch to buy a comb for his wife, only to find that
she has sold her hair to a wigmaker in order to buy him a watch
chain.
• allusion: casual reference; an incidental mention of something
⚬ The president made no allusion to the war in his speech.
• rhetoric: the skilled use of language effectively, persuasively or
excessively
⚬ The preacher’s rhetoric convinced my grandmother to donate all
her savings to his church.
• characterize: to describe something by stating its main qualities
⚬ In his essay, he characterized the 1960s as a period of radical
change.
• dramatize: to express or represent vividly, emotionally, or strikingly, as
in a drama
⚬ My friend always dramatizes everything that happens to her as if
it were the worst thing ever.

Now try your hand at the practice exercises on the next page.
Chapter 4 Practice Exercises
Click here to download as a PDF.

Fill in the Blank

Choose the word that best completes the meaning of the sentence. Answers can be
found on this page.

1. Because Stan had been preoccupied during his dynamite juggling

demonstration, the jury felt that he was not ______________ for the destruction
of the property.
A) amorphous
B) nondescript
C) indiscreet
D) culpable

2. Sally was full of ______________ because Mr. Reeves, our English teacher,
filled the margins of her term paper with harsh remarks about her spelling,
grammar, and writing style.
A) omnipotence
B) volition
C) beneficence
D) malaise

3. Da-Shawn and Harry were fired from the stage crew because their constant
______________ during the play drowned out the actors and ruined the
performance.
A) vociferations
B) analogies
C) neologisms
D) synchronizations

4. The baby kittens were so ______________ that the nursery school children
were able to pick them up, carry them around by the scruffs of their necks, and
dress them up in doll clothes.
 A) antipathetic
B) chronic
C) placid
D) misanthropic

5. The applicant’s credentials were ______________, but I didn’t like the color of
his necktie so I didn’t hire him.
A) credible
B) anachronistic
C) analogous
D) anthropomorphic

6. Walter’s skin took on a ______________ cast after his exposure to the pool of
radioactive wastes.
A) sophomoric
B) pathological
C) luminous
D) philanthropic

7. The police spent seven months working on the crime case but were never able
to determine the identity of the ______________.
A) nominee
B) pseudonym
C) eponym
D) malefactor

8. The portions at the restaurant were so ______________ that immediately after
dessert we drove to another restaurant and ordered a second full meal.
A) novel
B) nominal
C) dignified
D) verisimilar

Odd Man Out

Each row below consists of four words, three of which are related in meaning. Choose
the word that does not fit. Answers can be found on this page.
 1. benevolent, beneficent, benign, beneficiary
2. maleficent, malicious, malcontent, malevolent
3. ambiguity, clarity, vagueness, equivocality
4. apathy, sympathy, empathy, kindness
5. insubordinate, willful, vociferous, intransigent
6. amoral, apolitical, amorous, atheistic
7. pathology, antipathy, misanthropy, misogyny
8. anthropocentric, analogous, anthropomorphic, anthropological
9. philanthropic, degenerate, magnanimous, generous
10. sophisticated, sophistic, sophomoric, foolish

Word Relationships
Decide whether each pair of words is roughly similar (S) in meaning, roughly opposite
(O) in meaning, or unrelated (U) to each other. Answers can be found on this page.

1. analogous dissimilar
2. monologue dialogue
3. malaise catalog
4. eulogy praise
5. neologism logic
6. prologue conclusion
7. chronological anachronism
8. chronic unusual
9. synchronized chronicled
10. credo creed

Literary Devices
Each passage below contains an example of a literary device. Read the passage and
answer the questions that follow. Answers can be found on this page.

The following passage is an excerpt from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain,
published in 1883.
1. The phrase “A broad expanse of the river was turned to blood” (lines 5–6) is an
example of
A) irony
B) anecdote
C) metaphor
D) hyperbole

2. The author’s use of quotes around “hard” in line 2 suggests that the author
believes the word to be
A) a contradiction
B) an exaggeration
C) an allusion
D) an understatement