18 words · ages 15–16
10th Grade spelling words with definitions
What should a 10th grade child be able to spell?
By the end of 10th grade (ages 15–16), most children can spell words like rhetorical, caffeine and vengeance — that is, words built on rh, sounds unlike its letters, silent b, ui and related patterns. Spelling develops at very different speeds, and a child a year either side of this is ordinary rather than behind.
- rh
- sounds unlike its letters
- silent b
- ui
- sci
- pre + judice
- one z double r
- ie + ance
- eur ending
- ei not ie
- sc inside
- au before the g
- ieu
- one m double s
- one t
- wright not write
- ser said sar
- ge + ance
Jet Stream
Words English borrowed and never respelled.
- rhetorical
- Asked for effect, not for an answer.rh
- colonel
- An army officer — said like 'kernel'.sounds unlike its letters
- subtle
- So slight you almost miss it.silent b
- nuisance
- A thing that keeps bothering you.ui
- conscious
- Awake and aware of what is happening.sci
- prejudice
- Judging before you know the facts.pre + judice
- bizarre
- Very strange indeed.one z double r
- grievance
- A complaint you feel strongly about.ie + ance
- amateur
- Someone who does it for love, not pay.eur ending
- caffeine
- The wide-awake chemical in coffee and tea.ei not ie
- discipline
- Training yourself to keep at something.sc inside
- gauge
- To measure or judge — or the dial that shows it.au before the g
- lieutenant
- An officer one rank below a captain.ieu
- omission
- Something left out.one m double s
- pastime
- What you enjoy doing in spare hours.one t
- playwright
- A person who writes plays.wright not write
- sergeant
- An officer who keeps soldiers in order.ser said sar
- vengeance
- Paying a wrong back with a wrong.ge + ance
Practising 10th grade spelling words at home
Read the word aloud and have your child write it from sound rather than copy it. The Friday test asks for the harder of those two, and only one of them is practice for it.
When a word goes wrong, say what the pattern is rather than just the letters — “that’s a rh word” gives them something to reuse. Then come back to it tomorrow rather than immediately.
Count a word as learned when it has been spelled correctly on three separate days. That is the rule SpellChirp uses, and it is roughly where a word stops needing to be looked up.
Turn this list into ten minutes a night
SpellChirp reads every word aloud, checks the spelling, and writes these 10th grade words into an adventure story your child chooses — dragons, detectives, deep sea or a dozen more. Free, with no advertising and no account required to start.