9th Grade Word Study

List 1

Word Roots

• Gno/Sci –

– to know; have skill in

• MIS –

– Hate

– wrong, bad

conscience

• (n) the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one’s conduct or motives

• Instead of pocketing the $300 she found, the young girl followed her conscience, did the right thing, and returned it to the lost and found.

omniscience

• (n) the quality or state of having complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding

• A narrator’s omniscience allows the reader to be aware of the actions, feelings, and thoughts of all characters.

conscientious

• (adj) meticulous; careful; painstaking; thorough and careful

• Most students are very conscientious when deciding upon which college to attend; they research carefully, apply to several schools, and thoroughly examine the pros and cons of those who accept them.

diagnosis

• (n) identification, especially of a disease, by examination and analysis

• The doctor’s diagnosis was based upon many tests and collaboration among several specialists.

Prognosis

• (n) prediction or forecast, often but not always relating to a disease

• The forecaster’s prognosis for the weekend weather was hot, humid, and sticky, with thunderstorms likely.

agnostic

• (n) one who is doubtful or noncommittal about something; a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known about the existence of God

• As an agnostic, the professor felt uncomfortable working in a private school where she was responsible for teaching religion classes twice a week.

misandry

• (n) hatred of males

• Because she had many bad experiences with boyfriends, she has developed a strong misandry.

misanthrope

• (n) hater of humanity

• Ebenezer Scrooge was quite a misanthrope prior to the visit of the ghosts; he showed his hatred of people by refusing to share any of his wealth as a philanthropist would do.

misogyny

• (n) demonstrating a hatred of women

• He has so much misogyny that I don’t think hell ever like a woman enough to get married.

misdirection

• Inaccurate aim; Incorrect instructions or directions. The act of distracting; drawing someone's attention away from something.

• The magician was so good at misdirection that I always followed his left hand even when I knew my card was in his right hand and I never learned how he did the trick.