• 140 words

12th Grade Spelling Words for Senior Year and the Year After

Spelling words 12th grade students meet after graduation: pick a list, press Start test and type what you hear.

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

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List 1: ten classic traps

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

  1. 1.supersedeThe new rules supersede the old ones.
  2. 2.minusculeThe print on the label was minuscule.
  3. 3.vicissitudeThe crew met one vicissitude after another.
  4. 4.paraphernaliaCamping paraphernalia filled the whole trunk.
  5. 5.lieutenantShe was promoted to lieutenant last spring.
  6. 6.handkerchiefHe folded a clean handkerchief into his pocket.
  7. 7.bellwetherThat county is a bellwether in every election.
  8. 8.innuendoThe rumor spread by innuendo, not by fact.
  9. 9.kaleidoscopeTurn the kaleidoscope and the pattern changes.
  10. 10.pavilionThe band played in the park pavilion.

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

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

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All 140 words

List 1: ten classic traps 10

  • bellwether That county is a bellwether in every election.
  • handkerchief He folded a clean handkerchief into his pocket.
  • innuendo The rumor spread by innuendo, not by fact.
  • kaleidoscope Turn the kaleidoscope and the pattern changes.
  • lieutenant She was promoted to lieutenant last spring.
  • minuscule The print on the label was minuscule.
  • paraphernalia Camping paraphernalia filled the whole trunk.
  • pavilion The band played in the park pavilion.
  • supersede The new rules supersede the old ones.
  • vicissitude The crew met one vicissitude after another.

List 2: garden words 10

  • amaryllis The amaryllis opened one huge red flower.
  • camellia The camellia bloomed in the middle of winter.
  • chrysanthemum A yellow chrysanthemum bloomed by the gate.
  • eucalyptus The eucalyptus shed long strips of bark.
  • forsythia The forsythia turned bright yellow in March.
  • fuchsia A fuchsia hung in a basket on the porch.
  • hyacinth One hyacinth scented the whole room.
  • hydrangea The hydrangea by the steps turned blue.
  • nasturtium An orange nasturtium trailed over the wall.
  • philodendron Her philodendron climbed up the bookshelf.

List 3: words named after people 10

  • algorithm The algorithm sorts the names in order.
  • bowdlerize The editor refused to bowdlerize the old play.
  • chauvinism The essay argues against chauvinism of any kind.
  • draconian Students called the new phone rule draconian.
  • galvanize The speech helped galvanize the volunteers.
  • guillotine The paper guillotine trims a whole stack at once.
  • leotard The gymnast wore a blue leotard.
  • mausoleum A marble mausoleum stood on the hill.
  • mesmerize The fireworks seemed to mesmerize the crowd.
  • pasteurize Dairies pasteurize milk before they bottle it.

List 4: words from Greek and Roman myth 10

  • ambrosia The ripe peach tasted like ambrosia.
  • cornucopia The market was a cornucopia of fall fruit.
  • herculean Clearing the garage was a herculean task.
  • mercurial His mercurial moods kept the team guessing.
  • narcissism The novel is a study of narcissism.
  • nemesis The chess champion finally met her nemesis.
  • odyssey Their road trip became a two-week odyssey.
  • stentorian The coach called out in a stentorian voice.
  • tantalize Bakery smells tantalize everyone who walks past.
  • zephyr A warm zephyr stirred the curtains.

List 5: words that came through Arabic 10

  • alchemy Medieval alchemy tried to turn lead into gold.
  • artichoke She steamed an artichoke for dinner.
  • assassin In the play, an assassin waits offstage.
  • azimuth The surveyor wrote down the azimuth of the tower.
  • elixir The salesman swore his elixir cured everything.
  • gazelle The gazelle leaped away from the lion.
  • mattress We flipped the mattress and changed the sheets.
  • monsoon The monsoon brought weeks of heavy rain.
  • saffron A pinch of saffron turns the rice yellow.
  • zenith The sun reached its zenith at noon.

List 6: Latin words English kept whole 10

  • addendum An addendum was attached to the contract.
  • affidavit She signed the affidavit before a notary.
  • caveat The offer came with one caveat.
  • honorarium The guest speaker received a small honorarium.
  • interim An interim coach led the team this season.
  • memorandum The principal sent a memorandum to the staff.
  • moratorium The town declared a moratorium on new building.
  • quorum Without a quorum, the board could not vote.
  • ultimatum The landlord gave the tenants an ultimatum.
  • verbatim He copied the quotation verbatim.

List 7: music words from Italian 10

  • arpeggio She practiced each arpeggio with both hands.
  • concerto The orchestra rehearsed a piano concerto.
  • crescendo The drums built to a slow crescendo.
  • falsetto He sang the chorus in a high falsetto.
  • fortissimo The brass came in fortissimo and shook the hall.
  • intermezzo A short intermezzo separates the two acts.
  • libretto The libretto holds the words of an opera.
  • pizzicato In a pizzicato passage, the violinists pluck the strings.
  • staccato Play the staccato notes short and crisp.
  • virtuoso The virtuoso played the solo from memory.

List 8: say every syllable 10

  • asterisk An asterisk marks each required field.
  • cavalry The cavalry rode in on horseback.
  • genealogy My aunt traced our genealogy back six generations.
  • larynx Your vocal cords sit inside the larynx.
  • nuptial The couple wrote their own nuptial vows.
  • prerogative Choosing the music is the driver's prerogative.
  • temperament The puppy has a calm temperament.
  • tenterhooks We waited on tenterhooks for the results.
  • triathlon A triathlon combines swimming, cycling and running.
  • verbiage Cut the extra verbiage from your essay.

List 9: words from senior English 10

  • archetype The wise old mentor is a familiar archetype.
  • assonance The vowels in deep green sea show assonance.
  • cacophony A cacophony of car horns filled the street.
  • catharsis The final scene offers the audience catharsis.
  • epistolary An epistolary novel is told through letters.
  • malapropism Saying pacific for specific is a malapropism.
  • metonymy Saying the crown for the king is metonymy.
  • synecdoche Calling a car your wheels is synecdoche.
  • verisimilitude Small details give the story verisimilitude.
  • villanelle A villanelle has nineteen lines.

List 10: math, chemistry and physics words 10

  • asymptote The graph levels off toward a horizontal asymptote.
  • centripetal Centripetal force points toward the center of the circle.
  • electrolysis Electrolysis splits water into hydrogen and oxygen.
  • entropy Our physics unit on entropy starts next week.
  • hyperbola A hyperbola has two separate branches.
  • logarithm The base ten logarithm of 100 is two.
  • sinusoidal The tide chart traced a sinusoidal curve.
  • stoichiometry Stoichiometry tells us how much product to expect.
  • titration During the titration, the solution turned pink.
  • trigonometry Trigonometry gave us the height of the flagpole.

List 11: graduation and college words 10

  • baccalaureate She earned her baccalaureate degree in four years.
  • commencement Families filled the gym for commencement.
  • extracurricular Debate is my only extracurricular activity.
  • matriculate She will matriculate at the state university.
  • prerequisite Algebra is a prerequisite for this course.
  • recommendation My coach wrote a letter of recommendation.
  • registrar The registrar mailed my transcript.
  • salutatorian The salutatorian welcomed the guests.
  • syllabus The syllabus lists every due date.
  • valedictorian The valedictorian spoke for five minutes.

List 12: money and paperwork words 10

  • beneficiary He named his sister as beneficiary.
  • collateral The bank held the car as collateral.
  • deductible Our insurance has a high deductible.
  • delinquent The account became delinquent after sixty days.
  • depreciation Depreciation lowers the value of a new car.
  • escrow The deposit sits in escrow until closing.
  • fiduciary A trustee has a fiduciary duty to the heirs.
  • guarantor My aunt signed the lease as guarantor.
  • promissory He signed a promissory note for the loan.
  • reimbursement Keep your receipts for reimbursement.

List 13: election and government words 10

  • apportionment The class studied the apportionment of House seats.
  • caucus The party caucus met before the vote.
  • constituency The senator toured her constituency by bus.
  • electorate Half the electorate voted early this year.
  • gubernatorial Two candidates met for a gubernatorial debate.
  • inauguration Crowds gathered for the inauguration.
  • incumbent The incumbent won a second term.
  • municipal The municipal pool opens in June.
  • plebiscite The region held a plebiscite on independence.
  • precinct Our precinct votes at the fire station.

List 14: courtroom words 10

  • acquittal The trial ended in an acquittal.
  • appellate An appellate court reviews a lower court's decision.
  • arraignment At the arraignment, he heard the charges.
  • bailiff The bailiff called the courtroom to order.
  • defendant The defendant sat beside her lawyer.
  • injunction The judge issued an injunction to stop the sale.
  • misdemeanor A misdemeanor is less serious than a felony.
  • perjury Lying under oath is perjury.
  • plaintiff The plaintiff is the one who brings the lawsuit.
  • probate The will went through probate last spring.

How it works

Fuchsia hides the name Fuchs, and affidavit is Latin left whole. These 12th grade spelling words are 14 lists of 10, sorted by where a word comes from or where a senior meets it next: graduation, money, elections and court.

Read the full guide

How these spelling words for 12th grade are sorted

List 1 is ten classic traps, from supersede to pavilion. Lists 2 to 7 go by origin: garden names (chrysanthemum), people's names (guillotine), Greek and Roman myth (nemesis), Arabic (saffron), Latin kept whole (affidavit) and Italian music terms (arpeggio). List 8 holds words that lose a syllable in speech. Lists 9 and 10 come from senior English, math, chemistry and physics. Lists 11 to 14 are for the year after.

The name hidden inside the word

On Lists 2 and 3 a person's name fixes the spelling. Fuchsia is Fuchs plus ia, after the botanist Leonhard Fuchs: s follows ch. Pasteurize keeps all of Pasteur, galvanize all of Galvani, forsythia all of Forsyth. Kamel has one m, and so does camellia.

  • Supersede is the only English word ending in sede, from Latin sedere, to sit. Minuscule starts with minus.
  • On List 8, say the word slowly first: temperament has four syllables, prerogative starts with pre, asterisk ends in isk.
  • British spelling often ends mesmerize, pasteurize, galvanize and tantalize in ise, misdemeanor in our. Swap them under Edit this list.

Questions and answers

Why is supercede marked wrong?

The test has one right answer per word, and the sentence was read for supersede. The American Heritage Dictionary also records supercede, and miniscule for minuscule, as second spellings. A teacher who accepts both can take them out of List 1 with Edit this list.

How do I review several lists before a final?

Open Review test from several lists, tick the lists you have finished and press Start review test. It draws 10 words and needs a read-aloud voice. A paper test covers one list at a time: choose Test sheet above the sheet and press Print.

What comes after 12th grade spelling words?

The spelling words for adults page: 150 everyday words, most shown with the misspelling people usually write. Lists 11 to 14 here already lean that way, with graduation, money, election and courtroom words. The grade is only our suggestion.

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