The Word Within the Word

Stem Lesson 7

Part 1 (stems 151-165)

151. acro

meaning: high

Sentence example:The unfortunate acrobat suffered

from acrophobia.

Clue Words:acrobat, acronym, acropolis, acrophobia

acrophobia

• Fear of heights

152. culp

meaning: blame

Sentence example:Unfortunately, the culprit was

exculpated and escaped punishment.

Clue Words:culprit, culpable, exculpate, inculpate,

exculpatory

culpable

• guilty

153. derm

meaning: skin

Sentence example:A pachyderm rarely suffers from

dermatitis on its trunk.

Clue Words:dermatologist, dermatitis, pachyderm,

hypodermic, ectoderm, endoderm

Pachyderm

• An elephant

154. zo

meaning: animal

Sentence example:Does the zoo have a protozoan exhibit

with microscopes to look through?

Clue Words:zoology, protozoa, zooplankton, zodiac, Mesozoic, zoophilous, zoophagous, zoo

Zoology

• Study of animals

155. per

meaning: through

Sentence example:The perforations let water percolate

through the membrane.

Clue Words:perception, perforation, percolate,

perambulate

Perforation

• A hole

156. pac

meaning: peace

Sentence example:The angry pacifists were not pacified by the president’s militaristic speech.

Clue Words:pacify, pacific, pacifist, pacifier, pacifism,

pacification, Pax Romana

Pacify

• To calm someone/ something

157. brev

meaning: short

Sentence example:A long discursive speech lacks

brevity.

Clue Words:brevity, abbreviation, brief, breviary, breve

Brevity

• conciseness

158. necro

meaning: death

Sentence example:If you have necrophobia, avoid the

necropolis.

Clue Words:necropolis, necromancer, necrophobia,

necrotic, necrobiosis

Necropolis

• An ancient cemetery

159. urb

meaning: city

Sentence example:The wealthy urbanite in Chicago had

urbane manners.

Clue Words:urban, urbane, suburbs, urbanite,

urbanologist, urbanism

urbane

• Sophisticated, elegant

160. pugn

meaning: fight

Sentence example:His pugnacious attitude was repugnant

to his peace-loving friends.

Clue Words:pugnacious, repugnant, pugilist, impugn

Pugnacious

• Combative/ quarrelsome

161. ecto

meaning: outer

Sentence example:Ectothermic species enjoy the

summer warmth.

Clue Words:ectoderm, ectomorph, ectothermic,

ectoplasm, ectoparasite

Ectothermic

• Cold-blooded (i.e. an animal)

162. plasto

meaning: molded

Sentence example:

A plastic surgery question: “Is rhinoplasty a form of dermoplasty?”

Clue Words:plastic, dermoplasty, rhinoplasty, plaster,

plasticity, plastid

Rhinoplasty

• Plastic surgery on the nose – A nose job

163. agog

meaning: leader

Sentence example:

Is a corrupt politician a demagogue or a pedagogue?

Clue Words:demagogue, pedagogue, synagogue,

pedagogy, mystagogue

Pedagogue

• A teacher

164. cle

meaning: small

Sentence example:

Is a blood corpuscle larger than a molecule?

Clue Words:molecule, corpuscle, follicle, minuscule,

ventricle, particle

Minuscule

• Very small

165. il

meaning: not

Sentence example:

Your corrupt suggestion is both illegal and illogical.

Clue Words:illegal, illogical, illicit, illiterate, illegible

Clue Words:illegal, illogical, illicit, illiterate, illegible

Illegible

• unreadable