Spelling Bee Words for 10th Graders, From History to English

Five bee rounds of grade 10 subject words, read aloud word, sentence, word.

Edit this list or use your own words

The 10 words of this list. Add or change any. For your own list, press Clear first.

For a sentence, put it after a colon: rain: The rain fell all day. Up to 40 words.

Sheet to show and print

Warm-up: world history (feudalism)

Words to learn. Read each word, cover it, write it, then check it.

  1. 1.feudalismUnder feudalism, peasants worked land held by lords.
  2. 2.imperialismImperialism is one nation ruling lands far away.
  3. 3.nationalismNationalism can unite a people or divide them.
  4. 4.colonialismColonialism set up settlements under a distant power.
  5. 5.mercantilismMercantilism urged nations to export more than they import.
  6. 6.absolutismUnder absolutism, a monarch holds unlimited power.
  7. 7.armisticeAn armistice stops the fighting while leaders talk.
  8. 8.propagandaWartime posters were often a form of propaganda.
  9. 9.conscriptionConscription requires people to serve in the armed forces.
  10. 10.embargoAn embargo bans trade with another country.

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Make a word search

Each word is read aloud, then used in a sentence. Type what you hear. The marks come at the end.

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Reading speed

Accents do not count: café may be typed as cafe, and the marks show how it is written.

Only voices built into this device are used, so the words are not sent to a speech service to be read. With no voice, a person reads the words from the last page of the test sheet.

Review test from several lists
Tick the lists to draw 10 words from

The words are mixed from the lists you tick, so a review test needs a read-aloud voice.

Next step Easier rounds: the junior high beePick the next speller at random

All 50 words

Warm-up: world history (feudalism) 10

  • absolutism Under absolutism, a monarch holds unlimited power.
  • armistice An armistice stops the fighting while leaders talk.
  • colonialism Colonialism set up settlements under a distant power.
  • conscription Conscription requires people to serve in the armed forces.
  • embargo An embargo bans trade with another country.
  • feudalism Under feudalism, peasants worked land held by lords.
  • imperialism Imperialism is one nation ruling lands far away.
  • mercantilism Mercantilism urged nations to export more than they import.
  • nationalism Nationalism can unite a people or divide them.
  • propaganda Wartime posters were often a form of propaganda.

Round 2: biology (osmosis) 10

  • autotroph A green plant is an autotroph that makes its own food.
  • decomposer A mushroom is a decomposer that breaks down dead matter.
  • diffusion Diffusion spreads molecules from crowded areas to open ones.
  • flagellum Some bacteria swim by spinning a flagellum.
  • heterotroph A heterotroph must eat other living things for food.
  • heterozygous A heterozygous plant carries two different alleles for a trait.
  • homozygous A homozygous plant carries two matching alleles for a trait.
  • osmosis Osmosis moves water across a membrane.
  • synapse A signal jumps the synapse between two nerve cells.
  • taxonomy Taxonomy sorts living things into named groups.

Round 3: chemistry (polymer) 10

  • alkaline Baking soda makes water slightly alkaline.
  • alloy Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.
  • anion An anion carries a negative charge.
  • cation A cation carries a positive charge.
  • combustion Combustion of wood releases heat and light.
  • halogen Chlorine is a halogen.
  • molarity Molarity tells how much solute is in a liter of solution.
  • oxidation Rust is a kind of oxidation of iron.
  • polymer Plastic is a polymer made of long chains.
  • precipitate A solid precipitate formed at the bottom of the tube.

Round 4: geometry (postulate) 10

  • centroid A cardboard triangle balances on its centroid.
  • congruence Prove the congruence of the two triangles.
  • conjecture Test your conjecture with a few more examples.
  • contrapositive Write the contrapositive of the if-then statement.
  • corollary A corollary follows directly from a theorem.
  • decagon A decagon has ten sides.
  • dilation A dilation makes a figure larger or smaller.
  • postulate A postulate is accepted without proof.
  • scalene A scalene triangle has no equal sides.
  • secant A secant crosses a circle at two points.

Final round: English (exposition) 10

  • anaphora Anaphora repeats words at the start of each line.
  • citation Add a citation for every quote you use.
  • diction The poet's diction is plain and direct.
  • exposition The exposition introduces the setting and characters.
  • imagery Vivid imagery lets readers picture the storm.
  • rebuttal Her rebuttal answered each point of the other side.
  • symbolism The dove adds symbolism of peace to the poem.
  • synopsis Read the synopsis on the back cover.
  • thesis State your thesis in the first paragraph.
  • tragedy The play is a tragedy with a sad ending.

How it works

These 50 spelling bee words for 10th graders come from the year's classes: world history, biology, chemistry, geometry and English. Each is read in a sentence that shows its meaning; the grade is our suggestion.

Read the full guide

What each round tests

The warm-up is world history (mercantilism, armistice). Round 2 is biology (heterozygous, synapse) and Round 3 chemistry (precipitate, halogen). Round 4 is geometry (corollary, contrapositive), and the final round English: exposition, rebuttal, anaphora.

One round, two ways

On a screen, Start round says the word, its sentence and the word again, and the speller types; marks come when the round ends, with the missed words ready to retry. For a bee spoken aloud, choose Word list and press Print, and read from the sheet.

  • Anion and cation both end in ion: spell the start, an or cat, then add the ending.
  • Heterozygous and homozygous share zygous; teach the pair together.

Questions and answers

How hard are these words for a 10th grader?

Imperialism, colonialism, heterozygous and contrapositive run to five syllables. None of the 50 is on our grade 9 to 12 lists, and Edit this list swaps in words your class knows.

Why subject words instead of tricky everyday words?

Tricky everyday words, such as accommodate and rhythm, are already on our grade lists. These come from class, so the bee also reviews what the year teaches, and each sentence shows the word in use.

Which round is easiest to start with?

The final round: every English word has four syllables or fewer, and eight of the ten have two or three, such as thesis and tragedy.

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