18 words · ages 14–15
9th Grade spelling words with definitions
What should a 9th grade child be able to spell?
By the end of 9th grade (ages 14–15), most children can spell words like hypothesis, chronological and mediocre — that is, words built on Greek y, double l inside, double p, double g and related patterns. Spelling develops at very different speeds, and a child a year either side of this is ordinary rather than behind.
- Greek y
- double l inside
- double p
- double g
- Greek plural -es
- photo + synthesis
- circum + fer
- ph
- onym
- chron
- -eous
- silent p
- silent p + ology
- Greek -e ending
- gua
- double u
- uo + sc
- -re ending
Updraft
Academic words with Greek and Latin bones.
- hypothesis
- An idea you test to see if it is true.Greek y
- parallel
- Running side by side, always the same distance apart.double l inside
- apparatus
- The equipment a job or experiment needs.double p
- exaggerate
- To make something sound bigger than it is.double g
- parentheses
- The curved brackets around an extra thought.Greek plural -es
- photosynthesis
- How plants make food from sunlight.photo + synthesis
- circumference
- The distance all the way around a circle.circum + fer
- metaphor
- Calling one thing another to show what it is like.ph
- anonymous
- Without a name attached.onym
- chronological
- In the order it happened.chron
- simultaneous
- Happening at exactly the same time.-eous
- pneumonia
- An illness deep in the lungs.silent p
- psychology
- The study of how minds work.silent p + ology
- catastrophe
- A sudden terrible disaster.Greek -e ending
- guarantee
- A promise that something will be put right.gua
- vacuum
- A space with nothing in it, not even air.double u
- fluorescent
- Glowing brightly when light or power hits it.uo + sc
- mediocre
- Not bad, not good — stuck in the middle.-re ending
Practising 9th 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 Greek y 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 9th 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.