150+ Word Roots, Their Meaning and Examples

The following table lists the most common word roots, their meanings, and examples of words with those roots. There are more than 150 roots here, but don’t be intimidated by the length of this list. To learn these roots, try breaking the list down into manageable chunks of ten to 20 roots and memorize them section by section.

Some of these roots many already be familiar to you—you use words with these roots every day!

S.No.	ROOT	MEANING	EXAMPLES
1	ac, acr	sharp, bitter	acid, acute, acrimonious
2	act, ag	to do, to drive, to force, to lead	agent, enact, agitate
3	ad, al	to, toward, near	adjacent, adhere, allure
4	al, ali, alter	other, another	alternative, alias, alien
5	am	love	amiable, amity, enamor
6	amb	to go, to walk	ambulatory, preamble, ambush
7	amb, amph	both, more than one, around	ambiguous, ambivalent, amphitheater
8	anim	life, mind, soul, spirit	unanimous, animosity, equanimity
9	annui, ennui	year	annual, anniversary, perennial
10	anthro, andr	man, human	anthropology, android, misanthrope
11	apo	away	apology, apocalypse, apotheosis
12	apt, ept	skill, fitness, ability	adapt, adept, inept
13	arch, archi, archy	chief, principal, ruler	hierarchy, monarchy, anarchy
14	auto	self	automatic, autonomy, automaton
15	be	to be, to have a certain quality	befriend, bemoan, belittle
16	bel, bell	war	rebel, belligerent, antebellum
17	ben, bon	good	benefit, benevolent, bonus
18	cad, cid	to fall, to happen by chance	accident, coincidence, cascade
19	cant, cent, chant	to sing	chant, enchant, recant
20	cap, capit, cipit	head, headlong	capital, principal, capitulate
21	cap, cip, cept	to take, to get	capture, intercept, emancipate
22	card, cord, cour	heart	encourage, cardiac, discord
23	carn	flesh	carnivore, reincarnation, carnage
24	cast, chast	cut	caste, chastise, castigate
25	ced, ceed, cess	to go, to yield, to stop	exceed, concede, incessant
26	centr	center	central, concentric, eccentric
27	cern, cert, cret, crim, crit	to separate, to judge, to distinguish, to decide	ascertain, critique, discern
28	chron	time	chronic, chronology, synchronize
29	cis	to cut	scissors, precise, incisive
30	cla, clo, clu	shut, close	closet, enclose, preclude
31	claim, clam	to shout, to cry out	exclaim, proclaim, clamor
32	cli, clin	to lean toward, bend	decline, recline, proclivity
33	cour, cur	running, a course	recur, incursion, cursory
34	crat, cracy	to govern	democracy, autocracy, bureaucracy
35	cre, cresc, cret	to grow	creation, increase, increment
36	cred	to believe, to trust	incredible, credit, incredulous
37	cryp	hidden	crypt, cryptic, cryptography
38	cub, cumb	to lie down	succumb, incubate, incumbent
39	culp	blame	culprit, culpable, exculpate
40	dac, doc	to teach	doctor, indoctrinate, docile
41	dem	people	democracy, epidemic, pandemic
42	di, dia	apart, through	dialogue, diatribe, dichotomy
43	dic, dict, dit	to say, to tell, to use words	predict, dictionary, indict
44	dign	worth	dignity, indignant
45	dog, dox	opinion	dogma, orthodox, paradox
46	dol	suffer, pain	condolence, indolence, dolorous
47	don, dot, dow	to give	donate, endow, endow
48	dub	doubt	dubious, indubitable, dubiety
49	duc, duct	to lead	conduct, induct, conducive
50	dur	hard	endure, durable, obdurate
51	dys	faulty, abnormal	dysfunctional, dystopia, dyslexia
52	epi	upon	epidemic, epigram, epigraph
53	equ	equal, even	equation, equanimity, equivocate
54	err	to wander	err, error, erratic
55	esce	becoming	adolescent, coalesce, acquiesce
56	eu	good, well	euphoria, eulogy, euthanasia
57	fab, fam	speak	fable, famous, affable
58	fac, fic, fig, fait, feit, fy	to do, to make	fiction, factory, feign
59	fer	to bring, to carry, to bear	offer, transfer, proliferate
60	ferv	to boil, to bubble	fervor, fervid, effervescent
61	fid	faith, trust	confide, fidelity, infidel
62	fin	end	final, finite, affinity
63	flag, flam	to burn	flame, flammable, inflammatory
64	flect, flex	to bend	deflect, reflect, flexible
65	flu, flux	to flow	fluid, fluctuation, superfluous
66	fore	before	foresight, forestall, forbear
67	fort	chance	fortune, fortunate, fortuitous
68	fra, frac, frag, fring	to break	fracture, fraction, infringe
69	fus	to pour	infusion, diffuse
70	gen	birth, creation, race, kind	generous, genetics, homogenous
71	gn, gno	to know	ignore, recognize, incognito
72	grad, gress	to step	progress, aggressive, digress
73	grat	pleasing	grateful, gratitude, ingratiate
74	her, hes	to stick	cohere, adherent, inherent
75	(h)etero	different, other	heterosexual, heterogeneous, heterodox
76	(h)om	same	homogeneous, homonym
77	hyper	over, excessive	hyperactive, hyperextend, hyperbole
78	id	one’s own	idiom, idiosyncrasy, ideology
79	ject	to throw, to throw down	eject, dejected, conjecture
80	join, junct	to meet, to join	joint, junction, juxtapose
81	jur	to swear	jury, perjury, abjure
82	lect, leg	to select, to choose	election, select, eclectic
83	lev	lift, light, rise	elevator, lever, alleviate
84	loc, log, loqu	word, speech	dialogue, eloquent, loquacious
85	luc, lum, lus	light	illustrate, lucid, luminous
86	lud, lus	to play	illusion, elude, allude
87	lug, lut, luv	to wash	lavatory, dilute, deluge
88	mag, maj, max	big	magnify, magnitude, magnanimous
89	man	hand	manual, manufacture, manifest
90	min	small	minute, diminish, minutiae
91	min	to project, to hang over	prominent, imminent, preeminent
92	mis, mit	to send	transmit, remit, intermittent
93	mon, monit	to warn	monitor, admonish, remonstrate
94	morph	shape	amorphous, metamorphosis, anthropomorphic
95	mort	death	immortal, morbid, moratorium
96	mut	change	mutate, immutable, permutation
97	nam, nom, noun, nown, nym	rule, order	economy, taxonomy, autonomy
98	nat, nas, nai	to be born	native, nascent, renaissance
99	nec, nic, noc, nox	harm, death	innocent, noxious, innocuous
100	nom, nym, noun, nown	name	nominate, homonym, nominal
101	nounc, nunc	to announce	announce, pronounce, denounce
102	nov, neo, nou	new	novice, novel, neophyte
103	ob, oc, of, op	toward, to, against, completely, over	object, obstruct, obsequious
104	omni	all	omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient
105	pac, peas	peace	pacify, appease, pacifier
106	pan	all, everyone	panorama, pandemic, panacea
107	par	equal	par, disparate, parity
108	para	next to, beside	parallel, paragon, paradox
109	pas, pat, path	feeling, suffering, disease	passionate, antipathy, apathetic
110	pau, po, pov, pu	few, little, poor	poverty, pauper, impoverish
111	ped	child, education	pediatrician, encyclopedia, pedantic
112	ped, pod	foot	pedestrian, expedite, impede
113	pen, pun	to pay, to compensate	penalty, punishment, penance
114	pend, pens	to hang, to weigh, to pay	depend, compensate, pensive
115	per	completely, wrong	perplex, permeate, pervade
116	peri	around	perimeter, peripheral, peripatetic
117	pet, pit	to go, to seek, to strive	compete, petition, impetuous
118	phil	love	philosophy, philanthropy, bibliophile
119	phone	sound	telephone, homophone, cacophony
120	plac	to please	placid, placebo, complacent
121	ple	to fill	complete, deplete, plethora
122	plex, plic, ply	to fold, to twist, to tangle, to bend	complex, comply, implicit
123	pon, pos, pound	to put, to place	expose, component, juxtapose
124	port	to carry	import, portable, importune
125	prehend, prise	to take, to get, to seize	surprise, apprehend, reprisal
126	pro	much, for, a lot	proliferate, profuse, proselytize
127	prob	to prove, to test	probe, probation, reprobate
128	pug	to fight	repugnant, pugnacious, impugn
129	punc, pung, poign	to point, to prick	point, puncture, punctilious
130	que, quis	to seek	inquisitive, conquest, query
131	qui	quiet	quiet, tranquil, acquiesce
132	rid, ris	to laugh	riddle, ridiculous, derision
133	rog	to ask	interrogate, surrogate, abrogate
134	sacr, sanct, secr	sacred	sacred, sacrament, sanction
135	sal, sil, sault, sult	to leap, to jump	assault, insolent, desultory
136	sci	to know	conscious, science, omniscient
137	scribe, scrip	to write	scribble, prescribe, circumscribe
138	se	apart	separate, segregate, seditious
139	sec, sequ	to follow	consequence, sequel, obsequious
140	sed, sess, sid	to sit, to be still, to plan, to plot	subside, assiduous, dissident
141	sens, sent	to feel, to be aware	sense, sentiment, dissent
142	sol	to loosen, to free	dissolve, resolution, dissolution
143	spec, spic, spit	to look, to see	perspective, speculation, circumspect
144	sta, sti	to stand, to be in place	static, obstinate, steadfast
145	sua	smooth	suave, persuade, dissuade
146	tac, tic	to be silent	tacit, reticent, taciturn
147	tain, ten, tent, tin	to hold	detain, sustain, tenacious
148	tend, tens, tent, tenu	to stretch, to thin	extend, tension, tenuous
149	theo	god, religion	atheist, theology, apotheosis
150	tract	to drag, to pull, to draw	attract, detract, tractable
151	us, ut	to use	abuse, utility, usurp
152	ven, vent	to come, to move toward	convene, venture, intervene
153	ver	truth	verdict, verisimilitude, veritable
154	vers, vert	to turn	revert, aversion, versatile
155	vi	life	vivid, vigorous, vicarious
156	vid, vis	to see	evident, survey, visionary
157	voc, vok	to call	vocal, advocate, equivocate
158	vol	to wish	volunteer, volition, benevolence

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150+ Word Roots, Their Meaning and Examples

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