Week 18 of 36 · 10 words · ages 17–18

12th Grade spelling words, week 18: per- versus pre-

Per- and pre- sound alike when unstressed. Peremptory, perfidious, peripatetic and pervasive use per-; prerogative, prevaricate and premonition use pre-.
prerogative
A right that is yours alone.
peremptory
Demanding obedience at once, without argument.
prevaricate
To avoid giving a straight answer.
preposterous
Absurd; against all reason.
precipitous
Dangerously steep.
perfidious
Disloyal; ready to betray trust.
peripatetic
Moving from place to place, especially for work.
predilection
A strong liking for something.
premonition
A feeling that something bad will happen.
pervasive
Spreading through every part.

Ten minutes a day this week

Short and daily beats long and once. A word met on five separate days is remembered; a word met five times on Thursday night mostly is not.

  1. Monday

    Read the list together. Say each word, clap its syllables and find the pattern in it.

  2. Tuesday

    Look, say, cover, write, check — each word once from memory, then check the letters.

  3. Wednesday

    Use every word in a sentence, out loud or on paper, so each one means something.

  4. Thursday

    Practice test: a grown-up reads each word aloud. Circle the misses for tomorrow.

  5. Friday

    The test. One try per word, no letters given. The circled words go first.

Practise these 10 words, free

One tap puts this week’s list in SpellChirp. It reads each word aloud, checks the spelling, brings back the ones that went wrong, and can write them into a story your child stars in. No account needed to start, and no advertising.

Add week 18’s words