Word Power - University Interscholastic League

1 Word PowerWord PowerUniversity Interscholastic League PO BOx 8028 Austin, tx 78713-8028 512-471-5883 School Spelling & Vocabulary Contest Word ListCAPITALIZATIONIf a word can begin with either a lowercase letter or a capital, both versions are given. It is the respon-sibility of the contestant to know in what circumstances to use lowercase or capital letters. Both the unnecessary use of a capital or its omission are considered English language includes words taken directly from foreign languages without chang-es in spelling. Marks assumed to be accent marks for syllables are really guides to the proper pronunciation of vowels; therefore, in order to spell the words correctly, it is necessary to use these marks ac-curately. For example, the French word d gag is pro-nounced DAY gah ZHAY. The acute accent ( ) is usually pronounced as the a in late or date.

2 The grave (`) and the circumflex e (^) are pronounced as the e in peck or deck. The grave and circumflex a give the a sound of ah as in paw. Other commonly used pronunciation guides are the German umlaut ( ) and the Spanish tilde (~). Because the selection of a mark, such as a pronun-ciation mark, and its proper placement are necessary for the correct spelling and pronunciation of foreign words used by educated Americans, improper usage of accent marks or marks such as umlaut or tilde is considered a spelling 350 words have been selected for vocabulary study and are designated by the symbol . For example: 778. kookaburra Contestants will be responsible for the spelling, meaning, and derivation of these words . Question formats may vary from one test to another in order to provide the best method of testing the questions regarding the correct spell-ing of words should be directed to the League office.

3 Corrections to Word Power are post-ed on the Spelling and Vocabulary webpage at: ABOUT WORD POWERWord Power was compiled using The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, third (1992), fourth (2000) and fifth (2011) editions. Each word was checked for possible variant spelling, capitalization, and parts of speech. Word Power reflects several decisions made for consistency and & PRONUNCIATIONIf a word has more than one correct spell-ing, all spellings are listed, separated by a comma (frenetic, phrenetic). Students are required to spell only one variant. Although every attempt has been made to list all alternate spellings, some others will undoubtedly be discovered. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third, Fourth or Fifth Edition is the final authority, not Word Power or the test order to make it easier for contes-tants to determine the correct pronuncia-tion of words with variable suffixes, the following guidelines are used.

4 If the addition of a letter does not change the pronunciation of a word, the additional letter(s) may be placed in parentheses at the end of a word, or the second spelling is given on the same line. For example dialogue may also be spelled dialog; therefore, the listing in Word Power is dialogue, dialog. An entry such as pedagog(ue), paedagogue would indicate three ac-ceptable spellings. On the other hand, holographic and holographical are forms of the same word in the same part of speech, but they are pronounced differently. These words will be separate definitions will be given for each word pronounced in Parts II and III. During competition, students must spell the form of the word given. For instance, the list word mecca can be written as either a capitalized or lower-case word, depending on the definition given.

5 In order to get credit for such a word, students must spell the form of the word which corresponds to the pronounced definition. If a word is spelled correctly but is the incorrect form, it will be considered misspelled. words with same parts of speech and meanings but different pronunciations will appear as separate entries in Word OF THE CONTESTThe UIL Spelling and Vocabulary Contest promotes vocabulary development and precise and effective use of words . The three part contest consists of multiple-choice questions and words that are written from diction. Eighty percent of the test will come from the UIL Word Power list that changes each year. Twenty percent will come from outside sources, such as commonly used words , proper names/ words in the news, and words that are representative of important elements in the English language. Part I: Contestants are given 15 minutes to complete 30 questions that consist of 15 Proofreading questions and 15 Vo-cabulary questions.

6 The Proofreading questions are comprised of list words , forms of list words and non-list ( outside ) words . The Vocabulary questions are based on the words indicated for vocabulary study in the current Word Power . Part II & III: This portion of the contest will consist of words pronounced for the contestants. Part II is the hand-written spelling of 70 words pronounced aloud to contestants. Part III is a tiebreaker section of 20 additional pronounced spelling Director lindA Berrey a fortiori 2. la carte, a la carte 3. a posteriori 4. Abadan 5. abaxial 6. Abednego 7. able-bodied 8. abridgment, abridgement 9. absolutism 10. absorbefacient 11. academia 12. acanthus, Acanthus 13. acciaccatura 14. acclimatization 15. accumbent 16. acedia 17. acerbity 18. achondroplasia 19. acidify 20. acquisition 21. acquittal 22. ad nauseam 23. ad valorem 24.

7 Adipocyte 25. admonish 26. adobo 27. adulate 28. advection 29. advocacy journalism 30. adynamia 31. aegis, egis 32. aerophobia 33. affinity 34. aggravation 35. aggrieve 36. agitato 37. agnosia 38. agrology 39. ahimsa 40. aide-de-camp 41. aikido 42. akinesia 43. alcazar 44. alfresco, al fresco 45. algorism 46. alla breve 47. allottee 48. allurement 49. altercation 50. altricial 51. amalgamate 52. amarelle 53. Amazonia 54. ambivalence 55. amnesiac 56. ampulla 57. anachronism 58. anacoluthon 59. analogy 60. anaphora 61. anarthrous 62. anathematize 63. ancylostomiasis 64. Andorra 65. angiocardiography 66. anguished 67. animadvert 68. aniseikonia 69. annuity 70. anomaly 71. anopheles, Anopheles 72. antemortem 73. antepenultimate 74. anthropometry 75. antimacassar 76. antinome 77. antipodal 78. antipyretic 79.

8 A u, anyu 80. apatetic 81. ap ritif 82. aperture 83. apocalyptic 84. appertain 85. applicable 86. apteryx, Apteryx 87. aquacade 88. aquamarine 89. Aramaic 90. arbitrage 91. arborescent 92. archdiocese 93. Archimedean screw 94. argentiferous 95. Armageddon 96. aromaticity 97. artifact, artefact 98. asperse 99. asphodel 100. aspidistra, Aspidistra 101. assumptive 102. astrakhan, astrachan (fur) 103. astraphobia 104. atamasco lily 105. atypical 106. au courant 107. au pair 108. aureola 109. auricular 110. australopithecine 111. authenticity 112. Averno 113. aversion 114. avian 115. babbitt metal, Babbitt metal116. baccalaureate 117. bacteriophage 118. baguette 119. Bahaism 120. baldachin 121. ball-peen hammer 122. balmacaan 123. Balthazar, Balthasar 124. barberry 125. Barents Sea 126. baronial 127. bateaux 128.

9 Batista y Zald var 129. bauble 130. b arnaise sauce 131. beatification 132. beau ideal 133. bedlamite 134. Begin (Israeli leader) 135. bellicosity 136. benzoyl peroxide 137. beryllium 138. besotted 139. beurre blanc 140. bijouterie 141. bilious 142. bimestrial 143. bindlestiff 144. biodegradation 145. biostatistics 146. blas 147. blepharitis 148. bombastically 149. booboisie 150. bookkeeping 2151. boreal, Boreal 152. borzoi 153. bouleversement 154. bradycardia 155. brandish 156. bresaola 157. briarroot 158. broad-minded 159. brocade 160. brotherliness 161. brouhaha 162. brumal 163. Buddha 164. bulletproof 165. bureaucratize 166. Burundi 167. cabaret 168. Cabeza de Vaca 169. cacique 170. cacophonous 171. caisson disease 172. calipash 173. caliphate 174. calque 175. Canaanite 176. cantaloupe, cantaloup 177. cantonment 178.

10 Capital-intensive 179. capitulation 180. caravel, caravelle 181. carbon-14 dating 182. Caribbean 183. carom 184. carotenoid 185. caseous 186. cashier s check 187. cassoulet 188. cataclysmal 189. catamaran 190. catarrh 191. catchword 192. catholic, Catholic 193. catoptric 194. caudate 195. causerie 196. caveat emptor 197. cede 198. ceilometer 199. celibacy 200. cellulitis 201. Centaurus 202. cerebration 203. cerecloth 204. cerotype 205. certitude 206. chagrined 207. chalcedony, calcedony 208. chamois, chammy, shammy 209. chancery 210. chanoyu 211. Charybdis 212. chass 213. chatelaine 214. chemin de fer 215. chemoautotroph 216. chemurgy 217. chiasmus 218. chicanery 219. chiffonier 220. choler 221. choreographer 222. Christology 223. Ciceronian 224. Cinco de Mayo 225. cinquain 226. cinquecentist 227. circumscribe 228.