Synonyms: Prefixes from Latin - ISEE Upper Level: Verbal Reasoning

The word “permeate” is a combination of the prefix “per-”, here used to mean “through,” and the Latin root for “to go or pass.” It means to “go through” in the sense of something that fills a space. For example, one might say, “The smell of the fresh apple pie permeated the room, filling it with the wonderful odors of the autumnal dessert.” The word “perfuse” means “to pour through” in a sense close to that of “permeate.” Its “-fuse” portion is related to the same form that is found in “infuse” and “diffuse.”

The word “infuse” is derived from the obvious prefix “in-”, which here means just that—“in”—and the base “-fuse,” which is derived from the Latin for “to pour.” Someone “infuses” one thing with another when the latter is added to the former. More strictly speaking, the word implies that one thing fills another, as when someone’s thought is said to be “infused with their pains and agonies.” Still, the word can also mean “to add or instill into.” The former is the meaning implied by the options provided in the answers, as “fill” is the only acceptable answer among them.

You likely know the word “procrastinate” as an insult or as a panicked word when you have put off your work and find a deadline quickly approaching. The word literally means “to put off until tomorrow.” The prefix “pro-” means “forward or toward,” and the “-cras-” portion of the word comes from the Latin for tomorrow. Note that this is not the same as the “crass” that means “unrefined or rude.” One can fairly say that “to procrastinate” is “to delay.”

The word “refuge” is derived from the prefix “re-”, here implying the sense of “back” and the base “-fuge.” The “-fuge” base is related to English words like “fugitive” and “refugee.” It is derived from the Latin for “to flee.” “Refuge” thus means “to flee back(ward).” A place that is a refuge is one to which someone flees for protection. For example, one could say, “The child fled to its mother’s arms as a refuge from its fear.” Of course, the word could be used to refer to a building, location, or anything else of that sort.

The word relinquish is composed of the prefix “re-”, which here merely strengthens the sense of the base, and a base meaning “to leave or abandon.” The latter is related to words like “derelict,” “dereliction,” and “reliquary.” To “relinquish” something is to give it up freely. The word “renounce” means “to announce the abandonment of something.”

The word “resuscitate” is derived from Latin roots meaning “to raise up again.” It is from this that we get the general sense of “resuscitate” as meaning “to bring back to life from a near death situation.” The word “revive” best signifies this, as it means “to bring back to life.” The “-vive” in “revive” is related to other words for life such as “vivify” and “survive.”

Surprisingly, the word “oblation” is related to the word “translate.” When someone translates expressions from one language to another, he or she “carries them across” from one language to the other. The “-late” portion of “translate” contains this literal notion of “carrying.” The “ob-” prefix in “oblation” means “to” or “toward.” Literally considered, the word “oblation” means “carried toward.” Its direct English meaning is “an offering,” generally implying that this offering is religious in nature. It is an “offering” in the sense of “carrying” the item to the deity in question. Actually, the word “offering” is from the exact same irregular Latin roots as “oblation.”

The “-merge” portion of this word is related to similar forms found in English words like “emerge” and “immersion.” It is derived from the Latin for “to dip.” The prefix “sub-” means “beneath” or “under,” as is used in the word “submarine” (meaning “beneath water”). When someone “submerges” something else, he or she “dips it under water.” Plunge is the best option among those given.

The “-merge” portion of this word is related to similar forms found in English words like “submerge” and “immersion.” It is derived from the Latin for “to dip.” The prefix “e-” is a form of “ex-”, meaning “out of” as used in the word “exit”—“to go out of.” When someone or something “emerges” it “comes out of being dipped.” A better definition is “coming into view or becoming apparent.” When something “materializes,” it comes to exist actually. Often, this is used to describe something appearing as well.

The word “connotation” comes from Latin roots literally meaning, “To note with.” “Con-” is a prefix meaning “with” and is found in various forms in words like “connect” and “conjugal” as well as “community” and many others. When an expression or word “connotes” something it implies something beyond its literal meaning. For instance, one could say, “The word ‘enlightened’ often is used to connote the sense of being beyond superstitions and perhaps even non-religious.”

The word “exhume” literally means to take out of the earth. The “-hume” portion of the word is the same as that which is found in “humility.” It comes from the Latin for ground or dirt. “Humility” is a disposition that makes one feel “lowly.” When combined with the prefix “ex-”, this root word makes the expression out of the earth.

While “superficial” often is used to describe someone who is “not deep” or perhaps “trivial” in his or her interests, the word literally means “being on the upper most face.” The word “surface” is actually closely related to the word. The prefix “super-” means “above,” and “-ficial” comes from relatives of “face or surface.” Therefore, someone who is “superficial” is “on the surface” (that is, not going any deeper than the uppermost layer). The word “superficial” can be used as an adjective that merely means “surface” or “surface-level” as in “superficial wounds,” which would mean “surface wounds” or “surface-level wounds.”

The word “transition” is taken from two familiar components, though you might not see the second component at first sight. The prefix “trans-” means across. When someone “translates” something, he or she “carries” it from one language to another. Likewise, “transferring” is the sending or carrying of something “across from one person or place to another.” The “-ition” is related to the small “-it” in “exit.” It means to go, and “exit” means to go out. A “transition” is a going across from one place, quality, etc. to another. Better stated, it means a change from one thing to another. "Alteration" is thus the answer choice closest in meaning to "transition."

The word “regress” is related to words like “digress” and “progress.” It is comprised of two roots, both of which are likely familiar. The prefix “re-” here means backward, back, or (in a sense) behind. Think of words like “return” or “reply.” The “-gress” comes from the Latin word for to step. The words “grade” and “gradual” both come from this same base, as do the aforementioned words. For example, “progression” is the process of going forward (pro-). The word “regress” means returning (going back) to former stage of development. One can speak of emotional regression, as in, “At age fifty, he seemed to regress to a teenage mentality, buying a number of frivolous things like cars and baseball trophies.” Likewise, one can use the term to talk about cultural regression, as in, “The state of society has been regressing for a generation; not only is the intellectual culture far less developed, but likewise manners have all but died, being replaced with barbaric rudeness.”

The word “digression” is related to words like “regress” and “progressive.” It is comprised of two roots, both of which are likely familiar. The prefix “di-” here means “down from” or “away from.” The “-gress” comes from the Latin word for “to step.” The words “grade” and “gradual” both come from this same base, as do the aforementioned words. For example, “progression” is the process of “going forward (pro-).” The word “digression” means, “turning away from the path of an argument or discussion.” Often, we think of someone “digressing” into some topic that is unrelated to the one currently being discussed. Perhaps you have heard someone say, “But I digress.” When he or she says this, he or she means to say, “I acknowledge that I have gone off the topic, stepped away from the train of thought!” An example use of “digression” would be, “In the course of delivering his speech, the professor went off on a long digression to discuss the merits of coconut oil for the development of skin tissue. Nobody was quite sure why he was discussing this in an American literature class.”

The word “progressive” is related to words like “regress” and “digression.” It is comprised of two roots, both of which are likely familiar. The prefix “pro-” here means “forward.” The “-gress” comes from the Latin word for “to step.” The words “grade” and “gradual” both come from this same base, as do the aforementioned words. The word “progress” means “a step forward” in the sense of advancing some activity or cause. The word “progressive” has many uses, though they all are related to this sense of “advancing.” A “progressive” idea is often one that looks to advance or make better the world. It often comes with the additional sense of being “enlightened” (sometimes implying, unfairly, that those who hesitate to make such changes are not as high-minded). Among the options provided, “developing” most closely fits the sense of “advancing.”

The word “ingress” is perhaps a bit strange looking, but you can infer its meaning from two relatively well known bases. The prefix “in-” merely means in or into. While the “-gress” may seem unknown, think of words like “progress” or “digress.” The “-gress” in these words comes from the Latin word for to step. The words “grade” and “gradual” both come from this same base. Literally speaking, an “ingress” is a “going in” or—more appropriate for our word choices—the means of going in. For this reason, it often means merely “door,” “entrance,” or “entryway.”

The word “inundate” actually comes from the Latin for a wave. The word “undulate” means to have a wave-like motion. For this reason, the word “inundate” can have the specific meaning of to flood. Most normally, however, it is used to mean to overwhelm, as though to imply that someone is “flooded” by some concern or care. For example, one could say, “With all of the applications for the position, the secretary was inundated with paperwork for months, trying to give fair review to each resume.”

The word “excursus” is related to “excursion,” though let us be careful to note the meanings of its parts. The “ex-” is the same as that found in “exit,” meaning “out of.” The “-cursus” portion comes from the Latin for “to run,” which is found in “currency” and “current” (a “running” flow of something). Thus, an excursion is a “going out into some adventure,” and an “excursus” is a more general “running out” in the sense of running outside the bounds of some discussion. The word “cursus” once applied to the course of studies in a subject. For instance, in the early modern period, one could find sets of text called Cursus Philosophicus or Cursus Theologicus, meaning (roughly) “A philosophy course” or “a theology course.” An “excursus” is a like an “aside” into a topic in more detail than is needed for the main “cursus.” The word “digression” means roughly the same thing.