Review: Analyzing an Unfamiliar Word Part by Part

Put every word-analysis skill together to unlock a long, unfamiliar word.

Here is the full routine for a long word you have never seen. First, look for a prefix and peel it off. Second, look for a suffix and note what part of speech it creates. Third, identify the root and its meaning, watching for spelling changes and lookalikes. Fourth, rebuild the meaning and test it in the sentence. Try it on: 'The scientists described the creature as nocturnal and insectivorous.

' 'Nocturnal': noct is a Latin root for night (as in 'nocturne', a night piece of music), and -al makes an adjective, so it means active at night. 'Insectivorous': insect + vor (Latin, to swallow or eat, as in 'devour') + -ous (full of, having the quality of), so it means insect-eating. Rebuilt: the creature is active at night and eats insects, perhaps a bat. Test: does that fit a description scientists might write? Yes. Four steps took a sentence that looked like a code and made it plain.

• 1Peel off the prefix, then the suffix.
• 2Identify the root and watch for lookalikes.
• 3Rebuild the meaning and test it in the sentence.