18 words · ages 16–17
11th Grade spelling words with definitions
What should a 11th grade child be able to spell?
By the end of 11th grade (ages 16–17), most children can spell words like ubiquitous, indispensable and exhilarating — that is, words built on ubi + ous, ph, jux, -asy ending and related patterns. Spelling develops at very different speeds, and a child a year either side of this is ordinary rather than behind.
- ubi + ous
- ph
- jux
- -asy ending
- oeia
- silent p + onym
- French silent letters
- vowels in order
- Greek y twice
- -able not -ible
- one n one c
- double l double n
- ch said sh
- silent g
- gia
- -oire ending
- -quy ending
- silent h inside
Stratosphere
The vocabulary of essays, exams and eloquence.
- ubiquitous
- Seeming to be everywhere at once.ubi + ous
- ephemeral
- Lasting only a very short time.ph
- juxtapose
- To put two things side by side to compare them.jux
- idiosyncrasy
- A small habit that is yours alone.-asy ending
- onomatopoeia
- A word that sounds like the noise it names.oeia
- pseudonym
- A made-up name an author hides behind.silent p + onym
- rendezvous
- A meeting arranged at a set place and time.French silent letters
- facetious
- Joking when the moment is serious.vowels in order
- hypocrisy
- Preaching one thing and doing another.Greek y twice
- indispensable
- Too important to do without.-able not -ible
- inoculate
- To protect against illness with a small dose.one n one c
- millennium
- A thousand years.double l double n
- nonchalant
- Calm, as if nothing could bother you.ch said sh
- paradigm
- The pattern everyone's thinking follows.silent g
- plagiarism
- Passing off someone else's work as yours.gia
- repertoire
- All the pieces a performer can do.-oire ending
- soliloquy
- A speech a character makes alone on stage.-quy ending
- exhilarating
- So exciting it takes your breath away.silent h inside
Practising 11th 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 ubi + ous 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 11th 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.