Ninth Grade Vocabulary

Unit 5

Latin Root

Legare

Legatum

“to appoint; to send on a mission; to charge with”

LegacyNoun—body of ideas, achievements, and morals

Sentence: Mother Theresa leaves behind a legacy of good deeds and hope for mankind.

Syn: heritage

AllegationNoun—claim of wrongdoing; charge

Sentence: The criminal denies all allegations of criminal activity.

Syn: accusation

DelegateVerb—To divide up, especially responsibilitesSentence: The best of leaders often delegate

tasks to others.Syn: designate

Latin Root

Agere

Actum

“To do, act”

AgendaNoun—plan of action; purpose

Sentence: Some people may worry that politicians may have a hidden agenda.

ExactingAdjective—demanding perfection; strict

Sentence: The exacting conductor sometimes kept the orchestra for hours to practice a single

passage.Syn: picky Ant: lenient

ProactiveAdjective—seeking to solve a problem before it

occursSentence: Gwen, who was proactive about getting a job, was hired right after she left

college.

Latin Root

Pellere

Pulsum

“To push”

RepulsionNoun—desire to avoid; disgust

Sentence: After months of eating primarily peanut butter, Izzie began to feel repulsion for it.Syn: horror Ant: attraction

DispelVerb—to scatter about, break up

Sentence: Policemen were sent in to dispel the crowd gathered around the accident.

Syn: banish Ant: gather

PropelVerb—to cause to move towards; push

Sentence: A strong wind propelled the boat across the lake.

Syn: push

Latin Root

Latum

“brought, carried”

RelativeAdjective—dependent upon

Sentence: The number of people at the beach on any day is relative to the weather.

SuperlativeAdjective—excellent; above all others.

Sentence: Holly was awarded a big promotion for her superlative performance at work.

Syn: superior Ant: inferior

DilateVerb—to widen

Sentence: The optometrist dilated Sarah’s eyes so that he could look at her retinas.