Unit 6

Roots & Words

CHRON TIME

Anachronistic (adj) – Characteristic of something or someone that is not in its correct historical time

Helpful Hints: Recently, people discovered what appeared to be a woman in a 1928 silent film talking on a cell phone. Since cell phones weren’t invented yet in 1928, her phone was anachronistic

You May Remember: AN- from our first unit means “Not” so something anachronistic is “Not of the (correct) time”

SAMPLE SENTENCE: In the movie Braveheart, the Scottish warriors wear kilts, which is anachronistic, as the kilt was not invented in Scotland until 200 years after the death of William Wallace.

Chronological (adj) – Arranged in order of time

Synonyms: sequential, consecutive

Antonyms: random, intermittent

You May Remember: -LOGY from our first unit, meaning “Study of.” Chronological order, therefore, must study the time of the events well.

SAMPLE SENTENCE: Most stories run in chronological order, but stories with flashbacks do not.

VEN / VENT COME

Convene (v) – To come together or assemble

Synonyms: summon, gather

Antonyms: disperse, dissemble

You May Remember: CON- from unit 5 means “TOGETHER,” so to convene literally means to “come together”

SAMPLE SENTENCE: Because of the construction in the principal’s office, his staff had to convene in the library instead of in his office.

Convention (n) – 1. A formal assembly 2. An accepted rule or method

Synonyms: 1. meeting, conference, conclave 2. custom, practice, tradition

Helpful Hints: The first definition is simply the noun form of “convene,” but if you hear anything described as “conventional,” then you’re dealing with the alternate definition

SAMPLE SENTENCE: 1. The Star Wars fan looked forward to the sci-fi convention in Atlanta.

SAMPLE SENTENCE: 2. The Olympic snowboarder defied convention by wearing a skintight suit, instead of the normal padded gear.

DE- DOWN, AWAY

Decipher (v) – To make out the meaning of; to “figure out”

Synonyms: decode, interpret, decrypt

Antonyms: encode, encrypt

Helpful Hints: Decipher can be used with a code, meaning you figure out the secret message, but you can also decipher other things. For instance, I was able to decipher (have a clear understanding of) my brother’s motives for wanting my parents out of town; he hoped to have a party.

SAMPLE SENTENCE: Even decades later, nobody had been able to decipher the mysterious codes of the Zodiac killer.

Derail (v) – To cause something to fail

Synonyms: hinder, thwart

Antonyms: aid, support

Helpful Hints: Yes, this can literally mean “away from the rails,” like a train crash, but more generally, you can derail plans, progress, an election, etc.

SAMPLE SENTENCE: Mike and Jane’s plan to paint their front door over the weekend was derailed by the relentless rainstorm.

SENS / SENT- FEEL

Dissent (v) – To differ in opinion (n) – A differing opinion

Synonyms: (v) object, protest, dispute (n) objection, dissaproval, dispute

Antonyms: agree, accept, concur (n) agreement, approval

Connotation: The connotation of dissent is often negative, often associated with people disagreeing with government.

Helpful Hints: A protester is also commonly referred to as a dissenter.

SAMPLE SENTENCE: (v) The vote passed almost unanimously, with 90 votes in favor and only three dissenting.

SAMPLE SENTENCE: (n) Her refusal to show up to work on time in protest of her boss’s requests went far beyond respectful dissent.

Resent (v) – To feel displeasure from a sense of injury or insult

Synonyms: dislike, begrudge

Antonyms: welcome, like

SAMPLE SENTENCE: Even though she knew she wasn’t as talented as her teammate, she still resented not being selected as the team’s starting shortstop.

DYS- ILL, DIFFICULT, BAD

Dysfunctional (adj) – Not performing normally, malfunctioning

Synonyms: defective

Antonyms: productive

Helpful Hints: Dysfunctional can be used to refer to an object not working properly, such as the dysfunctional laptop. However, you may have heard of a “dysfunctional family.” In this instance, dysfunctional describes how the family is not performing normally in the sense that it displays abnormal or unhealthy behaviors and interactions.

SAMPLE SENTENCE: Hank was furious; the DVD player that he bought on eBay was dysfunctional and would not play most of his DVDs.

Dystopia (n) – A society characterized by absolute human misery

antonym: utopia

Helpful Hints: A lot of Young Adult novels are set in some bleak future dystopia, where everything has gone wrong. You should take Young Adult Fiction next year if you aren’t enrolled already.

SAMPLE SENTENCE: Young adult fiction often depicts a dystopia where society has gained too much control over the population.

GRAPH WRITE

Epigraph (n) – An inscription, especially on a building or a statue, or at the beginning of a poem or chapter of a book

Helpful Hints: EPIGRAPH not to be confused with EPITAPH, which is an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memoriam of a person, or EPITHET, which is an abusive word or phrase.

SAMPLE SENTENCE: The poet added a small epigraph to his poem between the title and the first line, explaining the poem’s historical context.

Graphic (adj) – 1. Vivid 2. Written or drawn (n) A computer-generated image

Synonyms: 1. visual, explicit

Antonyms: 1. unclear, vague

Helpful Hints: Graphic violence is vivid. A Graphic Novel is one composed of drawings.

SAMPLE SENTENCE: She thought the video game’s graphics were far too violent and did not want her children to play it.

EXTRA OUTSIDE

Extraordinary (adj) – Beyond what is usual

Synonyms: remarkable, exceptional

Antonyms: common, ordinary

Helpful Hints: In pronouncing this word, ignore the first “a” – it is silent

SAMPLE SENTENCE: This year’s fireworks display in Newburyport was extraordinary, as the town had purchased better fireworks than ever before.

Extrapolate (v) – To make a guess based on what is already known

Synonyms: deduce, hypothesize

SAMPLE SENTENCE: Using the known data and the results of the controlled field study, the scientist tried to extrapolate what would happen if the disease were released to a much larger population.

JECT THROW

Interject (v) – To insert between other things

Synonyms: interrupt, intervene

You May Remember: From our first unit, INTER- means “Between,” to to interject a thought is to literally thrown it between other comments, or to interrupt the flow.

SAMPLE SENTENCE: During the cross-examination, the judge had to interject and explain to the witness that he did not have to answer the attorney’s inappropriate questions.

Objectivity (n) – The state of being uninfluenced by opinions or bias, relying solely on fact

Synonyms: impartiality, neutrality

Antonyms: bias, partiality

SAMPLE SENTENCE: The teacher always graded his students using absolute objectivity, never allowing his feelings about the students to interfere with his grading.