It’s junior year, so if you’re going to add anything to your teen’s to-do list, it better be worth it. Trust us, this list of 11th grade academic vocabulary words is worth it. Help your teen learn the meanings, uses, and spellings of these words. These are terms your teen will encounter in every subject this year. When teens know these words, they better understand what they read and hear in class, rather than getting lost because of unknown terms. When your 11th grader knows these words well enough to use them in writing and presentations, it will add precision, nuance, and eloquence to your teen’s work.
Share this list, courtesy of , with your high school junior. Challenge yourself and your teen to use these words in everyday conversation and to learn all of these words before the year ends. Not only will knowing these words help your child’s reading comprehension and writing assignments now, they’re words that will pop up on college admissions tests (if your child chooses to take one of these tests).
11th grade vocabulary words
aberration
abstract
accolade
accommodate
aesthetic
affinity
altercation
ameliorate
amicable
anarchy
anomaly
despot
appall
archaic
arduous
articulate
astute
authoritarian
aversion
biased
brevity
cajole
callous
capitulate
catalyst
catharsis
caustic
censure
chastise
clamor
coalesce
cognizant
commiserate
composure
conciliatory
contract
copious
cordial
dearth
debilitate
decadence
deference
delineate
deprecate
devious
didactic
disparage
dissonance
duplicity
edifice
effervescent
egregious
elusive
equivocal
erroneous
exemplary
expedient
extraneous
formidable
frivolous
grueling
haphazard
heretic
hindrance
hypocrisy
iconoclast
incessant
incidental
incite
incorrigible
indoctrinate
insurgent
intangible
judicious
lavish
listless
meager
meander
negligent
obliterate
ponderous
preclude
prerequisite
proximity
rectify
rescind
resolution
rigorous
scrutinize
substantiate
surmise
tirade
turbulence
unimpeachable
unobtrusive
usurp
vacillate
whimsical
See the academic vocabulary lists for 10th grade and 12th grade, too.
Learn more about how to help your 11th grader with reading skills:
• Read: Getting ready for college reading
• Read: Making high school reading more inclusive
• Watch: Is your teen learning the research skills needed for college?
• Do: How to help a child find their purpose
• Check out: 11th grade college prep timeline