Word Families - Related Words by Root

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Example Word Families

Click a family to explore its members.

act

action, actor, active, react, enact, actual, activate

form

reform, inform, formal, format, formation, transform

port

transport, import, export, report, support, portable

struct

structure, construct, instruct, destruct, obstruct

dict

dictate, predict, verdict, contradict, dictionary

duct

conduct, produce, reduce, introduce, educate

scribe

describe, inscribe, prescribe, subscribe, script

ject

reject, inject, project, object, subject, eject

press

express, impress, compress, depress, pressure

spect

inspect, respect, expect, suspect, spectacle

miss / mit

mission, submit, permit, admit, transmit, dismiss

graph

paragraph, photograph, autograph, biography, graphic

What Are Word Families?

A word family is a group of words that share a common root or base word. By learning one root, you can often understand and remember many related words. For instance, the Latin root port (meaning "to carry") gives us "transport" (carry across), "import" (carry in), "export" (carry out), and "portable" (able to be carried).

Word families are a powerful tool for vocabulary building, reading comprehension, and spelling. Recognizing shared roots helps you decode unfamiliar words and see connections between words you already know.

Try our prefix & suffix explorer to see how affixes modify root words, or look up any word in our dictionary for full definitions and synonyms.