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100 Words
100 Words Every Fourth Grader Should Know

Ideal for students in the upper grades of elementary school, 100 Words Every Fourth Grader Should Know is the latest book in the popular 100 Words series from the American Heritage® Dictionaries. This book includes one hundred words of varying degrees of difficulty, representing the kind of vocabulary students often encounter in their classes and in their reading. From accommodate to zest, with stops along the way at frank, persuade, and vengeance, the words are invariably intriguing and useful. Each entry includes the word's pronunciation, clear definitions of its various senses, and one or more short example sentences, along with a longer quotation from a classic or contemporary author showing how the word is used in a broader context.


Here is a complete list of the words in 100 Words Every Fourth Grader Should Know

accommodate
afterthought
allegiance
aloft
ancestor
anticipation
antics
apparel
ascend
beckon
brink
catastrophe
coax
compassion
complexion
content
courteous
cringe
derelict
dignity
distaste
dormant
elaborate
endure
enforce
exertion
expanse
extraordinary
foliage
foremost
frank
function
futile
gaze
glimmer
glimpse
grimace
headstrong
hesitate
hoist
immense
imperceptibly
indication
inscription
instinctive
intent
interior
jar
keepsake
knack
literacy
lurch
makeshift
malicious
massive
meager
melancholy
merge
mingle
minuscule
momentary
nape
nimble
obstinate
opt
overwhelming
pact
pandemonium
persuade
phenomenal
ponder
quantity
quaver
quench
radiant
ravine
recipient
resentful
satisfactory
sensitive
sentiment
shudder
sickly
sleek
solemn
soothe
stagger
stern
tantalize
temptation
transform
unscrupulous
vain
vengeance
violate
vital
vivid
wistful
yield
zest


Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.