L E S S O N 1 6 : R O O T S – C E D E - , - C E S S - , - G R A D - , - G R E S S -

HONORS ENGLISH I VOCABULARY

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.

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.

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!”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

UNPRECEDENTED

• (Adjective)Not having occurred before; without precedent; novel.

• Example: The political candidate’s overwhelming victory was unprecedented in the large suburban community.