• 180 words
  • Checked October 2026

9th Grade Spelling Bee Words

Three bee rounds of sixty freshman 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.

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Round 1, List 1: words for people

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

  1. 1.gregariousMy gregarious aunt talks to every stranger.
  2. 2.tenaciousThe tenacious climber refused to turn back.
  3. 3.diligentA diligent student checks every answer.
  4. 4.frugalMy frugal uncle fixes his own shoes.
  5. 5.impartialA referee must stay impartial.
  6. 6.indignantShe was indignant about the unfair call.
  7. 7.obstinateThe obstinate mule would not move.
  8. 8.pragmaticHe took a pragmatic view of the budget.
  9. 9.resilientA resilient plant grew back after the frost.
  10. 10.versatileA versatile player can cover any position.

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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
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.

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All 180 words

Round 1, List 1: words for people 10

  • diligent A diligent student checks every answer.
  • frugal My frugal uncle fixes his own shoes.
  • gregarious My gregarious aunt talks to every stranger.
  • impartial A referee must stay impartial.
  • indignant She was indignant about the unfair call.
  • obstinate The obstinate mule would not move.
  • pragmatic He took a pragmatic view of the budget.
  • resilient A resilient plant grew back after the frost.
  • tenacious The tenacious climber refused to turn back.
  • versatile A versatile player can cover any position.

Round 1, List 2: verbs that end in ate 10

  • abbreviate You can abbreviate Tuesday as Tues.
  • accelerate The train began to accelerate out of town.
  • alleviate A short break will alleviate the boredom.
  • anticipate We anticipate a large crowd on Friday.
  • contemplate She paused to contemplate the question.
  • deteriorate The old road will deteriorate without repairs.
  • elaborate Please elaborate on your second point.
  • fluctuate Gas prices fluctuate from week to week.
  • infiltrate Water can infiltrate the smallest crack.
  • interrogate Detectives interrogate each witness separately.

Round 1, List 3: ture and sure 10

  • aperture A wide aperture lets in more light.
  • architecture The city is known for its modern architecture.
  • caricature The artist drew a caricature of the mayor.
  • composure She kept her composure during the speech.
  • curvature The lens corrects the curvature of the image.
  • departure Our departure was delayed by fog.
  • disclosure The form requires full disclosure of your income.
  • enclosure The goats escaped from their enclosure.
  • exposure Long exposure to sunlight faded the poster.
  • horticulture She studies horticulture at the state college.

Round 1, List 4: ize, ise or yze 10

  • advertise We will advertise the car wash on posters.
  • authorize Only the principal can authorize the trip.
  • categorize Librarians categorize books by subject.
  • chastise The coach did not chastise the late players.
  • enterprise The lemonade stand was her first enterprise.
  • jeopardize One late paper could jeopardize your grade.
  • paralyze A heavy snowstorm can paralyze the city.
  • scrutinize Editors scrutinize every line of the article.
  • surmise From the mud, I surmise it rained.
  • sympathize We sympathize with the tired stage crew.

Round 1, List 5: ant or ent 10

  • competent A competent mechanic found the problem fast.
  • dominant Blue is the dominant color in the painting.
  • eloquent Her eloquent speech moved the audience.
  • exuberant The exuberant puppy knocked over the lamp.
  • flamboyant He wore a flamboyant purple jacket.
  • hesitant The hesitant swimmer stood at the edge.
  • insistent The insistent alarm finally woke me.
  • prevalent That rumor is prevalent in the lunchroom.
  • prominent The clock tower is a prominent landmark.
  • tolerant The coach is tolerant of honest mistakes.

Round 1, List 6: cle or cal 10

  • chronicle The diary is a chronicle of the voyage.
  • identical The twins wore identical jackets.
  • logical Her proof follows a logical order.
  • miracle It was a miracle nobody dropped the cake.
  • obstacle A fallen tree was the only obstacle.
  • pinnacle The flag flew from the pinnacle of the tower.
  • practical Boots are the practical choice today.
  • receptacle Drop the cans in the blue receptacle.
  • tentacle The octopus curled one tentacle around the jar.
  • whimsical The mural shows whimsical flying fish.

Round 2, List 7: theater 10

  • backstage The actors waited backstage for their cue.
  • dramatist The dramatist rewrote the final act.
  • improvisation The scene was pure improvisation.
  • melodrama The villain in the melodrama twirled his cape.
  • pantomime He told the whole story in pantomime.
  • playbill My name is printed in the playbill.
  • stagehand A stagehand moved the sofa between scenes.
  • thespian Every thespian in the club auditioned.
  • understudy The understudy knew every line.
  • wardrobe The wardrobe room holds fifty costumes.

Round 2, List 8: algebra 10

  • arithmetic Check your arithmetic before you move on.
  • binomial A binomial has exactly two terms.
  • constant The constant in the equation is seven.
  • coordinate Write the first coordinate of the point.
  • discriminant The discriminant tells how many roots exist.
  • inverse Each function on the chart has an inverse.
  • matrix The matrix has three rows.
  • rational One half is a rational number.
  • simplify Simplify the expression on the left first.
  • trinomial Factor the trinomial into two parts.

Round 2, List 9: the news 10

  • broadcast The station will broadcast the game live.
  • censorship The class debated censorship of school papers.
  • circulation The paper has a circulation of ten thousand.
  • columnist The columnist answers letters from readers.
  • correspondent A correspondent reported from the flood zone.
  • documentary We watched a documentary about coral reefs.
  • editorial The editorial argued for a longer lunch.
  • headline The headline filled half the front page.
  • journalism She plans to study journalism in college.
  • periodical The library keeps each periodical for a year.

Round 2, List 10: speech and debate 10

  • affirmative The affirmative team spoke first.
  • articulate An articulate speaker chooses words with care.
  • credibility One false claim can ruin your credibility.
  • extemporaneous Her extemporaneous remarks drew loud applause.
  • fallacy The speech rested on a common fallacy.
  • impromptu He gave an impromptu speech at lunch.
  • lectern She set her notes on the lectern.
  • moderator The moderator kept the debate on time.
  • persuasive Her persuasive essay changed my mind.
  • proposition The debaters argued the proposition for an hour.

Round 2, List 11: economics 10

  • commodity Wheat is a commodity traded around the world.
  • fiscal The school's fiscal year ends in June.
  • franchise She opened a franchise of the sandwich shop.
  • inflation Inflation made groceries cost more.
  • liability The loan is listed as a liability.
  • merger The merger joined two small airlines.
  • monetary The prize has little monetary value.
  • monopoly One company held a monopoly on salt.
  • recession Many shops closed during the recession.
  • subsidy Farmers received a subsidy for planting trees.

Round 2, List 12: grammar 10

  • adverbial The adverbial phrase tells when it happened.
  • antonym Generous is an antonym of stingy.
  • conjugation We practiced the conjugation of irregular verbs.
  • consonant The first consonant in knee is silent.
  • imperative Close the door is an imperative sentence.
  • modifier A misplaced modifier can confuse the reader.
  • possessive Add an apostrophe to form the possessive.
  • predicate Circle the predicate in each sentence.
  • semicolon Put a semicolon between the two clauses.
  • subjunctive If I were you uses the subjunctive.

Round 3, List 13: ology, and one alogy 10

  • anthology The anthology collects forty short poems.
  • anthropology Anthropology is the study of human cultures.
  • criminology Her criminology course visits a courtroom.
  • ideology The two parties differ in ideology.
  • methodology The report describes its methodology first.
  • mineralogy The mineralogy exhibit is full of crystals.
  • physiology Physiology explains how the body works.
  • seismology Seismology is the study of earthquakes.
  • sociology Her sociology class surveyed the whole school.
  • terminology The manual explains the terminology of sailing.

Round 3, List 14: words from the names of people and places 10

  • bedlam The cafeteria was bedlam after the announcement.
  • boycott Shoppers began a boycott of the store.
  • calico Our calico kitten has one orange ear.
  • denim Her denim jacket has six pockets.
  • laconic The laconic guide answered with a nod.
  • marathon She trained six months for the marathon.
  • maverick The senator was known as a maverick.
  • mentor My mentor reads every draft I write.
  • stoic She stayed stoic through the long delay.
  • tuxedo He rented a tuxedo for the concert.

Round 3, List 15: qu 10

  • acquit The jury voted to acquit the defendant.
  • adequate The tent gave adequate shelter from the wind.
  • banquet The team banquet is held every May.
  • bequeath He will bequeath his books to the library.
  • exquisite The quilt has exquisite stitching.
  • oblique The two streets meet at an oblique angle.
  • quarantine The new puppy stayed in quarantine for a week.
  • quarrel The quarrel ended with a handshake.
  • requisite She has the requisite skills for the job.
  • tranquil A tranquil garden sits behind the library.

Round 3, List 16: cial or tial 10

  • beneficial Regular practice is beneficial to any musician.
  • confidential The file is stamped confidential.
  • controversial The new schedule proved controversial.
  • influential She is an influential voice on the council.
  • official The official score was posted at noon.
  • residential Trucks may not park on residential streets.
  • sacrificial The chess player made a sacrificial move.
  • substantial The storm caused substantial damage.
  • superficial The scratch was only superficial.
  • torrential Torrential rain flooded the underpass.

Round 3, List 17: five syllables or more 10

  • differentiate Experts differentiate the twins by a freckle.
  • disproportionate The fine seemed disproportionate to the mistake.
  • enthusiastically She enthusiastically signed up for the play.
  • incomprehensible His handwriting was nearly incomprehensible.
  • inconsequential The typo was inconsequential.
  • irresponsibility The report blamed plain irresponsibility.
  • sesquicentennial The town held its sesquicentennial after 150 years.
  • simultaneously Both runners crossed the line simultaneously.
  • unnecessarily The form is unnecessarily long.
  • unsatisfactory The first draft was unsatisfactory.

Round 3, List 18: the last ten 10

  • bivouac The hikers made a bivouac below the ridge.
  • bourgeoisie The novel pokes fun at the bourgeoisie.
  • bureaucrat A bureaucrat stamped each form twice.
  • lackadaisical His lackadaisical effort cost the team.
  • precocious The precocious child read at age three.
  • reconnoiter Scouts went ahead to reconnoiter the trail.
  • synonymous Her name is synonymous with kindness.
  • temperamental The temperamental printer jammed again.
  • thoroughfare Main Street is the town's busiest thoroughfare.
  • ubiquitous Phones are ubiquitous in the hallway.

How it works

These 180 words come in three rounds of six lists. Round 1 sorts everyday words mostly by ending, Round 2 takes words from freshman classes, and Round 3 reaches bivouac, reconnoiter and bourgeoisie. The grade is our suggestion.

Read the full guide

Freshman spelling bee words, round by round

Round 1 goes mostly by ending: ant or ent (exuberant, competent), ize or ise (scrutinize, surmise), cle or cal (pinnacle, whimsical). Round 2 comes from class: theater (understudy, thespian), algebra (trinomial, discriminant), the news (columnist, censorship), debate, economics and grammar. Round 3 has ology words, words from names (boycott, tuxedo), qu, cial and tial, words of five syllables or more, and a last ten.

A list is one turn of the bee

Start round reads a word, its sentence and the word again while the speller types; marks come when the ten are done. For a spoken bee, print the Word list and read from the paper.

  • Mineralogy ends in alogy, not ology; it is the one word in List 13 that does.
  • Sesquicentennial is a 150th anniversary: sesqui means one and a half, centennial a hundred years.

Questions and answers

How hard are 9th grade spelling bee words?

Round 1 words run from two to five syllables (frugal, obstinate, deteriorate). Round 3 reaches seven in irresponsibility. None of the 180 is on our grade 9 lists or on another bee page here.

Why are eccentric, cubicle and conquer missing?

Each has a sound-alike in the dictionary (excentric, cubical, conker), and spatial is also spelled spacial. A bee word here has one right answer, so no speller is marked wrong for the other form.

Which round should a class start with?

Round 2. Its words come from freshman classes, so most spellers have met them: headline, backstage, monopoly, semicolon. Keep Round 3, List 18 for the last spellers standing.

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