SAT Core Roots

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Part 1 (Charge Roots: Good and Bad) and Part 2 (Meaning Roots) from the SAT Core Roots reference sheet.

bene-, bon-

Good, well (e.g., benevolent, benefactor, benign)

eu-

Good, pleasant (e.g., euphoric, eulogy, euphemism)

phil-

Love, fondness for (e.g., philanthropy, bibliophile)

grat-, grac-

Pleasing, thankful (e.g., gratitude, gracious, ingratiate)

salu-, salv-

Health, safety (e.g., salubrious, salutary, salvage)

magn-, maj-

Great, large (e.g., magnanimous, magnitude, magnate)

laud-

Praise (e.g., laudable, laudatory, applaud)

vener-

Respect, honor (e.g., venerate, venerable)

am-, amic-

Love, friend (e.g., amicable, amiable, enamored)

ver-

True (e.g., veracity, aver, verisimilitude)

prob-

Prove, test; good (e.g., probity, approbation)

val-, vail-

Strength, worth (e.g., valor, prevail, convalesce)

mal-, male-

Bad, evil, wrong (e.g., malevolent, malign, malady)

mis-

Wrong, badly, hate (e.g., misanthrope, misconstrue)

dys-

Bad, faulty (e.g., dysfunctional, dystopia)

caco-

Harsh, bad (e.g., cacophony, cacophonous)

noc-, nox-

Harm, hurt (e.g., noxious, obnoxious, innocuous)

nefar-

Wicked (e.g., nefarious)

anti-

Against, opposite (e.g., antipathy, antagonist, antithesis)

contra-

Against (e.g., contradict, controversy)

ob-, op-

Against, in the way (e.g., obstruct, obstinate, obtuse)

de-

Down, away, remove (e.g., denigrate, deride, degrade)

dis-

Apart, not, away (e.g., disparage, dissent, disdain)

a-, an-

Without, lacking (e.g., apathy, anomaly, atrophy)

vil-

Cheap, low, worthless (e.g., vilify, revile)

pugn-

Fight (e.g., pugnacious, repugnant, impugn)

err-

Wander, stray (e.g., erroneous, aberrant, errant)

bell-

War (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, antebellum)

dict-, dic-

Say, speak (e.g., edict, indict, dictum, contradict)

loqu-, locut-

Speak, talk (e.g., eloquent, loquacious, circumlocution)

voc-, vok-

Call, voice (e.g., evoke, vociferous, equivocate)

scrib-, script-

Write (e.g., proscribe, conscript, circumscribe)

spec-, spic-

Look, see, examine (e.g., circumspect, specious, perspicacious)

vid-, vis-

See (e.g., evident, envisage, provident)

sci-

Know (e.g., prescient, conscientious, omniscient)

cred-

Believe, trust (e.g., credulous, credence, incredulous)

fid-

Faith, trust (e.g., fidelity, perfidious, diffident)

duc-, duct-

Lead, draw (e.g., conducive, induce, abduct)

fer-

Carry, bear (e.g., proliferate, defer, confer)

mit-, miss-

Send, let go (e.g., remit, emissary, intermittent)

ced-, cess-

Go, yield (e.g., accede, recede, cessation)

grad-, gress-

Step, go (e.g., digress, transgress, retrograde)

ven-, vent-

Come, arrive (e.g., contravene, intervene, convention)

tract-

Pull, draw, drag (e.g., intractable, protracted, detract)

vert-, vers-

Turn (e.g., avert, aversion, versatile)

sequ-, secut-

Follow (e.g., obsequious, consecutive, non sequitur)

ten-, tain-

Hold, keep (e.g., tenacious, abstain, untenable)

cap-, cept-

Take, seize (e.g., capacious, precept, incipient)

rupt-

Break, burst (e.g., disrupt, abrupt, rupture)

cid-, cis-

Cut, kill (e.g., incisive, concise, excise)

string-, strict-

Bind, tighten (e.g., stringent, astringent, constrict)

solv-, solut-

Loosen, free (e.g., absolve, dissolute, resolute)

tend-, tens-

Stretch, strive (e.g., tenuous, contentious, portend)

anim-

Life, mind, spirit (e.g., magnanimous, animosity, unanimous)

path-

Feeling, suffering (e.g., empathy, dispassionate, pathos)

sens-, sent-

Feel, perceive (e.g., sentient, dissent, sentiment)

viv-, vit-

Live, alive (e.g., vivacious, convivial, vital)

dem-

People, population (e.g., demagogue, endemic, demographic)

anthrop-

Human, mankind (e.g., misanthrope, philanthropy)

greg-

Flock, herd, group (e.g., gregarious, egregious, congregate)

fac-, fic-, fect-

Make, do (e.g., efficacy, artifice, munificent)

pon-, pos-

Put, place, set (e.g., juxtapose, proponent, posit)

sta-, stat-, sist-

Stand, stay (e.g., stasis, obstinate, desist)

gen-

Birth, kind, produce (e.g., engender, indigenous, congenital)

mut-

Change, exchange (e.g., immutable, permutation, transmute)

morph-

Shape, form (e.g., amorphous, metamorphosis)

chron-

Time (e.g., anachronism, chronicle, synchronous)

temp-, tempor-

Time, season (e.g., temporal, extemporaneous, contemporary)

min-

Small, less (e.g., diminish, minutiae, minuscule)

plen-, plet-

Full, fill (e.g., replete, plenitude, deplete)

vac-, van-

Empty, void (e.g., vacuous, evacuate, vanity)

lev-

Light in weight; raise (e.g., alleviate, levity, elevate)

grav-

Heavy, serious (e.g., gravity, aggravate, grievous)

equ-

Equal, even (e.g., equanimity, equivocate, equilibrium)

jur-, jud-

Law, judge, swear (e.g., adjudicate, perjury, judicious)

arch-

Rule, chief; ancient (e.g., anarchy, archetype, archaic)

potent-

Power, able (e.g., omnipotent, potentate, impotent)

fin-

End, limit (e.g., infinite, definitive, finite)