Word list high school

By Ashley Austrew

Whether you’re a teacher, a parent, or a high school student yourself, you’re probably aware that having a strong vocabulary is important for reading, writing, and speaking. In ninth through twelfth grades, students are not only tackling high-level coursework, but also preparing for their adult lives beyond school. The words they learn now will carry through into their later educational and career endeavors, and that makes it especially important to put in the effort to grow their vocabulary, literacy, and spelling skills.

To help get high schoolers back in the swing of things, we’ve put together 12 word lists with hundreds of essential vocabulary words for every stage of high school, along with flash cards, quizzes, and more. These words will not only help students in English class or while taking the SAT. They’ll also help students studying advanced science, history, art, political science, and more. Keep scrolling to learn them all!

When you’re preparing for the big tests in your life, turn to these word lists and quizzes build right for the SAT, ACT, and more.

Ninth-grade vocabulary words and tips

In ninth grade, students are making the transition into advanced learning that will prepare them for college, careers, and beyond. These students are exploring history, science, writing, and literature, and being able to spell and comprehend a great many multisyllabic words with multiple meanings is an important skill.

Ninth graders aren’t only studying words for their spelling or meaning, though. Rather, they’re studying vocabulary to gain a deeper understanding of language and the ability to analyze the impact of words in context. This is a requirement for much of the higher level learning and analysis done by students in high school. Reading remains important at this stage, as does studying new words to learn and use throughout their school work. Here are 75 vocabulary words ninth graders need to know.

• Ninth-Grade Vocab Word List 1
  • absorption
  • characteristic
  • executive
  • accomodation
  • reference
  • grateful
  • ascend
  • satisfactory
  • interval
  • civilization … full list

• Ninth-Grade Vocab Word List 2
  • cocoon
  • remembrance
  • favorable
  • precise
  • interpretation
  • accompaniment
  • sensible
  • ecstasy
  • administration
  • monotony … full list

• Ninth-Grade Vocab Word List 3
  • adequate
  • fiery
  • adolescent
  • suppress
  • nuisance
  • indispensable
  • opposition
  • lively
  • commissioner
  • hindrance … full list

Now take those ninth grade skills up a notch with this quiz!

Tenth-grade vocabulary words and tips

Students in tenth grade are building on many of the literacy skills they acquired in ninth grade. They’re able to not only decode complex words, but also to understand the figurative, connotative, and technical meanings within a text, analyze word choice, and determine the best words to use to convey their ideas.

Students at this stage are likely also preparing to take practice SAT and ACT tests within the coming year or so, making it all the more important for them to have a rich and robust vocabulary. Reviewing these word lists, practicing with flash cards, and taking advantage of our spelling and definition quizzes will help kids slowly and steadily make progress on this goal. Here are three word lists to help tenth graders feel ahead of the curve.

• Tenth-Grade Vocab Word List 1
  • circumvent
  • indigenous
  • estrange
  • anarchy
  • dormant
  • derogatory
  • belligerent
  • unilateral
  • stringent
  • connotation … full list

• Tenth-Grade Vocab Word List 2
  • assiduous
  • obscure
  • vindicate
  • expedite
  • bolster
  • coalition
  • perfunctory
  • nonchalant
  • impetuous
  • disseminate … full list

• Tenth-Grade Vocab Word List 3
  • dissident
  • subordinate
  • admonish
  • jurisdiction
  • travesty
  • precipitate
  • alternative
  • redeem
  • bureaucratic
  • validate … full list 

Once you’ve reviewed these words, consider testing your expertise of tenth grade vocabulary with a quiz.

Eleventh-grade vocabulary words and tips

By eleventh grade, much of the focus for students is on college and career readiness. By the end of their eleventh-grade year, many students will have taken their ACT or SAT. They’re likely also looking at colleges they’d like to apply to during their senior year, and probably practicing those admissions essays as well. All of this makes a strong vocabulary an especially important thing to have.

Rather than cramming for a specific test or assignment, it will be helpful for eleventh graders to focus on study and enrichment all year long. They can use these three lists to get started by reviewing the words daily with digital flashcards and taking our accompanying word quizzes to see how much they’ve retained. With a little practice each day, these terms will be second nature to eleventh graders in no time.

• Eleventh-Grade Vocab Word List 1
  • iconoclast
  • aberration
  • brevity
  • affinity
  • indoctrinate
  • coalesce
  • proximity
  • debilitate
  • contradiction
  • effervescent … full list

• Eleventh-Grade Vocab Word List 2
  • conciliatory
  • scrutinize
  • edifice
  • biased
  • heretic
  • accolade
  • dearth
  • altercation
  • usurp
  • delineate … full list

• Eleventh-Grade Vocab Word List 3
  • edifice
  • aesthetic
  • tirade
  • caustic
  • rigorous
  • indict
  • ponderance
  • dilettante
  • judicious
  • ameliorate … full list

Think you can pass this eleventh grade vocab quiz? Only one way to find out!

Twelfth-grade vocabulary words and tips

In their final year of high school, students are able to interpret, use, and understand some of the most complex words in the English language. They’ve built up their vocabularies through their regular coursework and by studying for the SAT or ACT, if they’ve taken the tests or plan to. Students at this level are working with the real world in mind, and they need to be able to interpret language in a variety of settings.

So, what’s left to do? Plenty! It’s time to deepen their understanding of language and create a lifelong practice of learning and thinking about the way we use words. For twelfth graders, this may mean reading more complicated books and poetry, being adventurous in their writing, and seeking new opportunities for learning, which is a lifelong skill that will benefit them once they leave the four walls of the school building. They can start by getting familiar with these word lists. These words are ones they may need for test prep, college, their careers, and beyond. Start by reviewing the words, and then dig in to our spelling tests and quizzes to build a functional and seriously impressive vocabulary in no time.

• Twelfth-Grade Vocab Word List 1
  • anachronism
  • impute
  • abdicate
  • denouement
  • camaraderie
  • incompatible
  • ephemeral
  • prudent
  • expository
  • digression … full list

• Twelfth-Grade Vocab Word List 2
  • evanescent
  • abbreviate
  • frugal
  • hackneyed
  • adulation
  • longevity
  • florid
  • diligent
  • wary
  • rancorous … full list

• Twelfth-Grade Vocab Word List 3
  • anecdote
  • intrepid
  • fortuitous
  • ostentatious
  • superfluous
  • demagogue
  • subtle
  • arid
  • transient
  • collaborative … full list

Once you’ve reviewed these words, test yourself with this quiz built straight for twelfth grade vocabulary.

Ashley Austrew is a freelance journalist and writer from Omaha, Nebraska. Her work has been published at Cosmopolitan, Scary Mommy, Scholastic, and other outlets. For more by Ashley, read: “Teacher” vs. “Tutor”: Why Most Kids Need Both | Your Student Can Take Middle School By Storm With The Right Vocabulary | Make Your Writing The Star Of National Grammar Day With These Tips | How To Plan Out And Plan Ahead For Your Final Project

High school (9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade) students usually have to spend lots of time building vocabulary, especially those planning to test the SAT or ACT. (Some students’ grade 9 is in junior high school or middle school, starting high school from 10th grade. In this scenario, please take tasks from your actual class.)

In general, high school words are in three groups:

• Spelling words: know them and can spell them correctly to express ideas
• Academic words: used in classes for all subjects, must understand them to get good scores in non-language subjects
• Literature words: selected from classics that are recommended to students of the grades, nice to know them

We provide a relatively difficult spelling words list, 500 words for each grade. It’s for high school students to evaluate and enhance English vocabulary skills. Besides, we offer another harder word list in the Academic Arts section as a supplement for those planning to pursue further academic careers.

We organize word lists by grades at first. You can get spelling words, academic words (for Arts), and literature words in each grade accordingly. Tutors and parents can get word lists for separate grades and subjects here.

Because some high school subjects aren’t set by particular grades, we will list academic words (for social studies, science, and math) by subjects, not by grades.

Please focus on Spelling Words and Arts of Academic if you are new here. They are core in high school students’ vocabulary.

However, what you get isn’t only a set of high school words. It’s an all-in-one tool to study high school vocabulary; it tells you what to learn, when, and how to learn. It also integrates with lots of interactive tests and exercises and printable worksheets. It’s handy for students to access anywhere and anytime through the Internet.

Considering the attributes of different word lists, we have developed various study and exercise tools, such as online cards, interactive exercises, printable cards, and printable quizzes. We show some samples here.

Although we encourage high school students to manage their studying activities, tutors and parents can also produce printable worksheets dynamically to help students warm up, review, or quiz.

As we present in 10 Questions about K12 Spelling Words, in general, the average active vocabulary of an adult English speaker is around 20,000 words. If plus passive vocabulary, the total is around 40,000 words. For students who are leaving high school for college, these 100 hard English words are a quick tool to evaluate vocabulary skills. A 12 grader may not know each of them but should comprehend most of them. 

Want to study or practice them? Please get Hard words for 12th-graders

Senior year of high school — especially the first semester — is quite a busy time for teens and parents. While you may hesitate to add anything more to your family’s plate at this time, you may want to make room for this list of 12th grade vocabulary words. Share this list, courtesy of Hyde Park Central School District, with your high school senior. Help your teen learn the meanings, uses, and spellings of these words. Challenge yourself and your teen to use these words in everyday conversation.

Your teen will encounter these words in every subject this year — and next year, too. When teens know these words, they are better able to understand what they read and hear in class, rather than getting lost because of unknown terms. When your 12th grader knows these words well enough to use them in writing and presentations, it will add precision, nuance, and eloquence to your teen’s work. Not only will knowing these words help your teen excel in school, they’ll also be better prepared when they pop up on college admissions tests (if your child chooses to take one of these tests).

12th grade vocabulary words

See the academic vocabulary lists for 10th grade and 11th grade, too.

Learn more about how to help your 12th grader with reading skills:

• Read: Getting ready for college reading
• Read: Making high school reading more inclusive
• Watch: Is your teen learning the research skills needed for college?
• Do: How to help a child find their purpose
• Check out: 12th grade college prep timeline

VocabularySpellingCity offers free high school vocabulary word lists. All high school subject area teachers can import ready-made word lists with a variety of content specific vocabulary to assign engaging activities to students. Our activities align with the 9-12 grade level standards to fit any curriculum. Teachers also have the ability to create their own word lists based on their lesson plans and units of study.

High school vocabulary word lists feature vocabulary from Common Core exemplar novels, like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird; plays, like Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth; and epics, like Homer’s The Odyssey. Lists can be paired with word study activities to build vocabulary knowledge necessary to increase reading comprehension.

Science, social studies, math and other content area teachers can use the word lists found on VocabularySpellingCity to provide practice with new vocabulary words and review previously learned terms. This is a great way for high school students to learn differentiated vocabulary based on their abilities. By the time students get to high school, the vocabulary gap is wider, and VocabularySpellingCity is a great way to get high school students working from individual vocabulary lists based on their ability. High school students benefit from interactive games; the engagement helps them build a better understanding of key concepts and vocabulary needed to increase general and content area reading comprehension. Flashcards and Word Study are games that are well suited for high school students to practice their vocabulary.

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Select a link below to view available high school word lists:

HIGH SCHOOL SPELLING

Import high school spelling word lists.

HIGH SCHOOL VOCABULARY

Import high school vocabulary word lists, such as figurative language concepts.

HIGH SCHOOL – OTHER SUBJECTS

Import high school content-specific vocabulary lists.

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