1. WORD STUDY Crossroads Middle School Year Two Trimester Three

2. Root: caust / caut Language of Origin: Greek Definition: To burn Words: caustic holocaust cauterize

3. caustic Adjective Definition: capable of burning or eating away Sentences: 1) The caustic chemicals were locked in a safe place so the children couldn’t hurt themselves. 2) Jeremy was so upset and angry that he didn’t care about how painful his caustic tone was with everyone.

4. holocaust Adjective Definition: Total devastation, especially by fire Sentence: 1) The holocaust of the forest has caused many birds and other wildlife to lose their homes.

5. cauterize Verb Definition: To burn with a hot instrument. Sentence: 1) The doctor cauterized the wart so it would stop spreading and causing infections.

6. Root: ceed / cess / ced Language of Origin: Latin Definition: Go, yield Words: precede incessant exceed

7. precede Verb Definition: to go before Sentences: 1) My reputation had preceded me, so everyone already knew how warm and giving I was. 2) In the alphabet, “A” precedes “B”.

8. incessant Adjective Definition: Constant, never ending Sentences: 1) His incessant talking about his shoelace collection made her realize this was not her soul mate. 2) Adam’s incessant belief that there were snakes in his bed caused him to lose many hours of sleep.

9. exceed Verb Definition: To go beyond expectations Sentences: 1) When the benchwarmer entered the game and scored 20 points, he exceeded everyone’s expectations. 2) If the temperature exceeds 100 degrees, they are not going to allow us to go outside for gym class.

10. Root: greg Language of Origin: Latin Definition: Herd, flock, mob Words: congregate segregate gregarious

11. congregate Verb Definition: to gather together Sentences: 1) The students would all congregate in the hallway to avoid being the first one in the classroom. 2) The protesters congregated outside of the courthouse to show their anger over the verdict.

12. segregate Verb Definition: to separate from the crowd, set apart Sentences: 1) In the South during the 1950s, black children were segregated from white children in public schools. 2) I was segregated from my team and forced to sit in the stands because I had missed three practices.

13. gregarious Noun Definition: associating with others; enjoying companionship Sentence: 1) The gregarious students lingered in the hall before class, chatting and laughing. 2) My doctor is a gregarious man and often loses track of time while he visits with his patients.

14. Root: medi Language of Origin: Latin Definition: half; middle Words: mediator median intermediate

15. mediator Noun Definition: one who comes between opposing parties Sentences: 1) The mediator was brought in to help the Board of Education and the teachers come to an agreement on their contract. 2) Since the two seventh graders couldn’t settle their differences on their own, Mrs. Robey had to act as a mediator for them.

16. median Noun Definition: the middle or midpoint Sentences: 1) I wasn’t toward the front or back of the lunch line, I was just stuck in the median, going nowhere. 2) In the middle of Route 1, there is a concrete median that keeps cars from crashing into oncoming traffic.

17. intermediate Adjective Definition: occurring or situated between two points or places; in between Sentence: Many people live in central New Jersey because it is a good intermediate location between two major cities, New York City and Philadelphia.

18. Root: chron Language of Origin: Greek Definition: time Words: chronological chronic synchronize

19. chronological Adjective Definition: arranged in time order Sentences: 1) The teacher told the students to line up in chronological order, so the youngest kid was at the front and the oldest kid was at the back. 2) In social studies, we learn events in chronological order because it is easier to then understand the timeline of how things happened.

20. chronic Adjective Definition: lasting for a long time Sentences: 1) From all his years getting tackled playing college football, David has chronic back pain. 2) Gretchen had been smoking cigarettes for 30 years and now she has a chronic cough.

21. synchronize Verb Definition: do or happen at the same time Sentences: 1) We synchronized all of the alarm clocks in the house so they would go off at the same time. 2) In the synchronized diving event at the Olympics, they receive a higher score for landing in the water at the same time.

22. Root: auto Language of Origin: Greek Definition: self Words: 1) autonomous 2) autobiography 3) automotive

23. autonomous Adjective Definition: independent; able to make decisions by oneself Sentences: 1) Many teenagers believe their parents should stay out of their business and let them be completely autonomous. 2) While the President of the United States of America has the right to make autonomous decisions, he often consults with his advisors for their input.

24. autobiography Noun Definition: The story of one’s life Sentence: The autobiography of Mark Twain is the most accurate story of his life since it is actually in his own words.

25. automotive Adjective Definition: self-moving Sentence: 1) The automotive industry capital in this country has always been Detroit, Michigan.

26. Root: bell Language of Origin: Latin Definition: war Words: 1) belligerent 2) rebellion 3) bellicose

27. belligerent Adjective Definition: hostile, ready to fight Sentence: 1) The belligerent sports fanatic would go to the game and look for fans of the opposing team.

28. rebellion Noun Definition: organized resistance to authority Sentence: 1) There was a rebellion that formed in the South and over the issue of slavery.

29. bellicose Adjective Definition: inclined to start a war Sentence: 1) Rather than reaching a truce and peace agreement, the two opposing sides became more bellicose and the peace talks ended.

30. Root: tele Language of Origin: Greek Definition: distant, over a distance Words: 1) telescope 2) teleport 3) telecommute

31. telescope Noun Definition: an instrument used to make distant items appear larger and closer. Sentence: 1) Jon used his telescope to look at the stars and search for constellations that he learned about in science class.

32. teleport Verb Definition: An imaginary way of traveling through space instantaneously. Sentences: 1) The spaceship teleported from Earth to Mars in five seconds. 2) Sometimes during my math class, I wish I could teleport back to home to my bed.

33. telecommute Verb Definition: to work from a remote location using technology. Sentence: 1) With increased gas prices and improved technology, many businesses have their workers telecommute on some days, allowing them to work from their computers at home.