⧠ catalyst (n) kata- down, fall + luein loosen
something that stimulates and expedites a process, often a chemical one : Coach Johnson’s speech was the catalyst that turned our football season around.
Form: catalyze = to cause (a process) to accelerate, catalytic = acting as or relating to a catalyst, catalysis = the acceleration of a process via a catalyst
Root family: [cata] cataclysm (a violent natural event), catastrophe (disaster), catapult (a machine for heaving heavy objects), cataract (a waterfall), category (a class under which many elements “fall”)
Don’t confuse with: cataclysm (a violent natural event)
Mnemonic: The word catalyst (kata- down + luein loosen) may have come from the idea of a single event, like a shifting stone, causing snow or rocks to cascade into an avalanche.
⧠ disperse (v) dis- apart + spargere to scatter or sprinkle
to spread or scatter over a wide area : The crowd soon dispersed after it was announced that the band had left the stadium.
Form: dispersion = scattering over a wide area
Root family: [dis-] discernment (the ability to make fine distinctions), disparate (very different; variegated), discrepancy (a lack of compatibility between facts or claims), disseminate (to cast widely), dispel (to drive away; to eliminate), diffuse (spread over a wide area)
Root family: [spers] aspersion (a derogatory remark), interspersed (distributed at intervals) Don’t confuse with: dispense (supply, distribute, or provide), diverse (showing great variety)
⧠ ephemeral (adj)
lasting a very short time : Designers try to capture the most ephemeral trends.
Forms: ephemera (plural of ephemeron) = things that last only a short time : The trappings of fame are mere ephemera.
Synonyms: fleeting, transient, evanescent
Don’t confuse with: ethereal (delicate and sublime, as an ether)
⧠ impetus (n) im- toward + petere to strive after
the force that makes something move or energizes a process : The coach’s speech provided the impetus for the team to redouble its efforts in the second half.
Root family: [im-] impugn (to call into question), impute (to attribute something to someone)
Root family: [pet] impetuous (spontaneous and without planning), perpetuate (to help continue for an extended period), petulant (childishly ill-tempered)
Don’t confuse with: impious (not devoutly religious), impish (mischievous)
Mnemonic: Something that is malleable can be shaped by a mallet, like clay or a soft metal can.
⧠ ossify (adj) os bone + -ify to make
to turn into bone; to become stagnant or rigid : Julia could feel her creative impulses ossify as she became inured to the bureaucratic regulations of her job.
Synonym: stagnate
Don’t confuse with: oscillate (swing back and forth)
Mnemonic: The Latin os, meaning “bone,” can be found in a few medical terms you might be familiar with, like osteoarthritis (degeneration of the bone that causes pain in joints) or osteoporosis (the gradual weakening of the bones from loss of tissue due to hormonal changes). Therefore, to ossify is to “make into bone.”
⧠ precipitous (adj) praecipitare to throw headlong [1] dangerously high or steep : It was a precipitous drop to the lake.
[2] (of a decline) sudden and dramatic : The merger led to a precipitous decline in the company’s stock value.
[3] (also precipitate [pre sip eh TET]) hasty : The announcement of the layoffs, unfortunately, was precipitous (or precipitate).
Form: precipice = steep rock face or cliff
Don’t confuse with: precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, or hail)
Mnemonic: The nouns precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, or hail), precipice (high cliff), and precipitousness (hastiness) all derive from the Latin praecipitare, (to throw headlong), from prae- (before) + caput (head). Notice how they all pertain to the action of
“throwing down” in different ways.
Usage: See usage note at expedite in section 14.
⧠ synthesis (n) syn- together + tithenai to place
the act of combining elements into a whole, as ideas into a system, or simpler elements into a compound : The concert was a synthesis of modern dance, jazz, and slam poetry
Forms: synthesize = to create something by combining elements, synthetic = formed by human agency via assembling chemical components
Root family: [thes, thet, them] thesis (a theory proposed as a premise), antithesis (a theory presented to oppose a given thesis), prosthesis (an artificial body part), epithet (an adjective or descriptive phrase referring to a defining quality of a person or thing, such as lionhearted in Richard the Lionhearted), anathema (something that is vehemently disliked)
⧠ transient (adj) trans to a different place + ire to go lasting a short period of time : Selena’s sense of satisfaction was transient.
Forms: transience = impermanence, transitory = transient, transient (n) = a homeless person Synonyms: fleeting, ephemeral, evanescent
Root family: [trans-] transcend (to rise above), transportation (means of carrying from place to place), translation (the act or result of expressing something in a different language)
Don’t confuse with: intransigent (stubbornly unwilling to change one’s views)
⧠ volatile (adj) volare to fly
prone to unpredictable, rapid, and undesirable changes or displays of emotion; explosive : The convergence of the opposing protest marches created a volatile and dangerous situation.
Synonyms: incendiary, inflammatory
Root family: [vol] volley (an exchange of tennis shots; a series of utterances; a flurry of projectiles) Don’t confuse with: versatile
Mnemonic: In chemistry, a volatile liquid (such as gasoline) is one that evaporates very quickly and, often, one whose vapors
Mnemonic: Today’s romantic comedies are so banal that we should ban all of them.
⧠ conventional (adj) con- together + venire to come according to common practice : It’s not a conventional love story.
Forms: convene = come together in a group; convention = standard way of doing something; unconventional = demonstrating original thinking
Root family: [con-, co-, com-, col-] conformist (one who conscientiously complies with the standards of a group, conjecture (guess), convoluted (complicated), consensus (general agreement), conspire (to plot together), coalesce (to come together), coherent (forming a united whole), compliant (willing to obey), confluence (a place at which two things merge)
Root family: [ven, vene, vent] intervene (to come between to alter events), venture (daring undertaking), revenue (income), circumvent (to avoid by finding a way around)
⧠ homogeneous (adj) homo same + gen kind
consisting of parts or members all of the same kind : The club was a homogeneous band of like-minded thinkers.
Root family: [gen] indigenous (native), progenitor (the first in a family tree), heterogeneous (diverse in character or content), disingenuous (not sincere or candid)
Don’t confuse with: homogenous (having a common biological lineage or structure)
⧠ indigenous (adj) indi- into + gignere to be born
native; occurring naturally in a particular place : There are over twenty different tribes indigenous to this river valley.
Synonyms: native, aboriginal
Root family: [gen] progeny (offspring), disingenuous (not candid or sincere), progenitor (the first in a family tree), heterogeneous (diverse in character or content), homogeneous (consisting of parts or members all of the same kind)
Don’t confuse with: ingenious (brilliant), indignant (showing anger at unfair treatment)
Mnemonic: The phrase indigenous people refers to a tribe born into (indi- into + gignere to be born) a particular area.
⧠ insipid (adj) in- not + sapere to taste
lacking vigor or interest, flavorless : His latest album drones with insipid songs.
Root family: [in-, im-] insuperable (impossible to overcome), inert (lacking vigor), interminable (unending), innocuous (harmless), indefatigable (untiring), ineffable (inexpressible in words), inscrutable (beyond understanding), impassive (unemotional), incongruous (not consistent with expectations)
Root family: [sap, sav] sapid (flavorful), savor (taste and enjoy thoroughly), savory (having a flavorful spiciness or saltiness) Mnemonic: It would be insane to sip such an insipid soup.
Don’t confuse with: insidious (subtly harmful or dangerous)
⧠ languish (v)
to lack energy; to grow weak : My favorite baseball team has been languishing in last place for two weeks now.
Forms: languor = a state of weakness or stillness, languid = lacking in energy; weak Synonyms: atrophy, wither
⧠ stagnant (adj) stare to stand
[1] (of a pool of water or the air in a confined space) unmoving and hence having an unpleasant smell : The stagnant air of the gym made us feel sick.
[2] sluggish : The economy has been stagnant for years.
Forms: stagnate = to become stagnant, stagnation = the state of being or becoming stagnant
Root family: [stan, stat, stag, stas, stab] stasis (a period of inactivity), constant (unchanging), stable (resistant to movement or failure), apostasy (heresy)