1. LESSON 16: ROOTS –CEDE-, -CESS-, -GRAD-, -GRESS- HONORS ENGLISH I VOCABULARY

2. CONCEDE (trans. verb) a. To acknowledge as true or real, often unwillingly b. To give; yield; grant Example: The speaker conceded that the audience had been inattentive.

3. DECEASED (adjective) No longer living; dead (noun) A dead person Example: Cinderella’s deceased father left her alone to live with her stepmother and stepsisters.

4. EGRESS (noun)A path or means of going out; exit Example: To encourage people to leave a circus exhibit, P. T. Barnum once posted a sign that read: “See the egress!”

5. GRADATION (noun) a. A degree or stage in a series of gradual changes. b. A series of such changes; systematic progression. Example: The picture was notable for the gradations in shading from light to dark.

6. GRADIENT (noun) a. The degree to which something inclines; slope. b. An ascending or descending part; an incline. Example: The gradient of the mountain sharply increased after the first mile of climbing.

7. PREDECESSOR (noun) Someone or something that comes before another in time, especially in an office or position; forerunner. Example: Helen had difficulty adjusting to the new job because her predecessor had been so disorganized.

8. REGRESS (intrans. verb) To go back; return to a previous condition. Example: When the trainer was not present, the athletes regressed to their former bad habits.

9. SECESSION (noun) The act of withdrawing formally from membership in an organization, association, or union. Example: The secession of the southern states from the Union preceded the Civil War.

10. TRANSGRESS (trans verb) a. To go beyond or over. b. To act in violation of, as a law. Example: Harold transgressed safe driving rules by not stopping for a red light.

11. UNPRECEDENTED (Adjective)Not having occurred before; without precedent; novel. Example: The political candidate’s overwhelming victory was unprecedented in the large suburban community.