Ninth Grade Vocabulary Unit 13

Latin FLUERE, FLUCTUM “to flow”

Affluent Adjective—wealthy and privileged; well-to-do Sentence: In the more affluent neighborhoods, many people have three or more luxury cars. Syn: prosperous Ant: impoverished

Superfluous Adjective—extra Sentence: Ruben told me that the last paragraph was superfluous, since the other paragraphs already covered the important information. Syn: excessive Ant: crucial

Mellifluous Adjective—sweetly flowing or sounding Sentence: The mellifluous notes of Meg’s song reminded Jack of a gently running brook. Syn: harmonious

Latin LEVIS “light”

Leaven Verb—to make less heavy or serious Sentence: No matter how Angela tried to leaven the mood, everyone seemed determined to be miserable Syn: lighten Ant: dampen

Levity Noun—lack of seriousness; jolly Sentence: The speaker’s levity seemed out of place at the funeral. Syn: jollity Ant: gloominess

Alleviate Verb—to make less painful of dangerous Sentence: Alice has developed a home remedy which will alleviate the symptoms of a bad cold. Syn: ease Ant: aggravate

Latin LABI, LAPSUS “slip, slide”

Elapse Verb—to slip away Sentence: Three hours elapsed, and weary students began to finish the SAT.

Collapse Noun—complete failure and ruin Sentence: Heavy snow on a roof can cause it to collapse.

Relapse Noun—a falling back into an old illness or habit Sentence: Since I decided to give up sugar, I have not had a single relapse. Syn: setback

Latin CEDERE, CESSUM “to move along, to go”

Recede Verb—to move back or away from Sentence: Many flood victims sought shelter while waiting for the flood waters to recede. Syn: retreat Ant: advance

Concession Noun—something given up or yielded Sentence: Joan’s mom made a concession in allowing her to keep her cell in her room, and now her grades are falling Syn: admission Ant: refusal

Cede Verb—to surrender Sentence: The two nations fought over the land for years until one finally ceded it to the other. Syn: yield Ant: withhold