Middle School Spelling Vocabulary Words

For students in middle school (6th, 7th, and 8th grade), learning words vocabulary is a major task. In general, let us form the new words in three groups: 

  • Spelling words: know them and can spell them correctly to narrate
  • Academic words: used in classes for all subjects, must know them
  • Literature words: selected from masterpieces that are endorsed to students of the grades, nice to identify them

Middle School Vocabulary Words

Follow are the middle grade level words with meaning that a middle school student should know:

  1. Apprehensive: in fear or dread of possible evil or harm
  2. Conspicuous: obvious to the eye or mind
  3. Aptitude: inherent ability
  4. Banish: send away from a place of residence, as for punishment
  5. Barricade: block off with barriers
  6. Furtive: secret and sly
  7. Ignite: cause or start burning
  8. Illuminate: make free from confusion or ambiguity
  9. Jabber: talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner
  10. Brackish: slightly salty
  11. Concoction: any foodstuff made by combining different ingredients
  12. Dismal: causing dejection
  13. Emerge: come out into view
  14. Contortion: a tortuous and twisted shape or position
  15. Cunning: shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception
  16. Deft: skillful in physical movements; especially of the hands
  17. Destination: the place designated as the end, as of a race or journey
  18. Obscure: not clearly understood or expressed
  19. Ominous: threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
  20. Knoll: a small natural hill
  21. Luminous: softly bright or radiant
  22. Malleable: easily influenced
  23. Meander: move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
  24. Disdain: lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
  25. Engross: consume all of one attention, time
  26. Exasperation: a feeling of annoyance
  27. Fragrance: pleasant odor
  28. Jargon: technical terminology characteristic of a particular subject
  29. Kindle: call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
  30. Meticulous: marked by extreme care in treatment of details
  31. Narrate: give a detailed account of
  32. Outlandish: noticeably or extremely unconventional or unusual
  33. Adversary: someone who offers opposition
  34. Aplomb: great coolness and composure under strain
  35. Attentive: taking heed
  36. Bluff: a high steep bank
  37. Brandish: move or swing back and forth
  38. Circumference: the length of the closed curve of a circle
  39. Commotion: a disorderly outburst or tumult
  40. Counter: a calculator recording the number of times something happens
  41. Debris: the remains of something that has been destroyed
  42. Defiance: a hostile challenge
  43. Deft: skillful in physical movements; especially of the hands
  44. Diminish: decrease in size, extent, or range
  45. Dismal: causing dejection
  46. Dispel: cause to separate and go in different directions
  47. Eavesdrop: listen without the speaker’s knowledge
  48. Egregious: conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
  49. Ember: a hot, smoldering fragment of wood left from a fire
  50. Exhilarate: fill with sublime emotion
  51. Falter: move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
  52. Foresight: seeing ahead; knowing in advance; foreseeing
  53. Grueling: characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion
  54. Gusto: vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
  55. Habitation: the act of dwelling in or living permanently in a place
  56. Hasten: move fast
  57. Headway: forward movement
  58. Impending: close in time; about to occur
  59. Imperious: having or showing arrogant superiority
  60. Jostle: make one’s way by pushing or shoving
  61. Jut: extend out or project in space
  62. Materialize: come into being; become reality
  63. Misgiving: uneasiness about the fitness of an action
  64. Momentum: the product of a body’s mass and its velocity
  65. Monotonous: sounded or spoken in a tone unvarying in pitch
  66. Multitude: a large indefinite number
  67. Muster: summon up, call forth, or bring together
  68. Persistent: stubbornly unyielding
  69. Pertinent: being of striking appropriateness
  70. Potential: existing in possibility
  71. Precipice: a very steep cliff
  72. Pristine: immaculately clean and unused
  73. Quell: suppress or crush completely
  74. Recluse: one who lives in solitude
  75. Recuperate: restore to good health or strength
  76. Replenish: fill something that had previously been emptied
  77. Repugnant: offensive to the mind
  78. Restitution: the act of restoring something to its original state
  79. Sabotage: a deliberate act of destruction or disruption
  80. Scarcity: a small and inadequate amount
  81. Scurry: move about or proceed hurriedly
  82. Serenity: the absence of mental stress or anxiety
  83. Sociable: inclined to or conducive to companionship with others
  84. Somber: serious and gloomy in character
  85. Specimen: a bit of tissue or fluid taken for diagnostic purposes
  86. Stamina: enduring strength and energy
  87. Subside: wear off or die down
  88. Swagger: walk with a lofty proud gait
  89. Swarm: a group of many things in the air or on the ground
  90. Tactic: a plan for attaining a particular goal
  91. Terse: brief and to the point
  92. Translucent: allowing light to pass through diffusely
  93. Uncanny: surpassing the ordinary or normal
  94. Unsightly: unpleasant to look at
  95. Versatile: having great diversity or variety
  96. Vigilant: carefully observant or attentive
  97. Vulnerable: capable of being wounded or hurt
  98. Waft: a long flag; often tapering
  99. Waver: pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
  100. Weather: atmospheric conditions such as temperature and precipitation
  101. Zeal: a feeling of strong eagerness

Bearing in mind the nature of language studying, interactive exercises, like online lists and cards, are very effective for middle school students. So it is suggested to advance more into online tools than the elementary level. 

Quick Links

  1. Advanced English Vocabulary Words 
  2. 7th Grade Spelling Bee Words
  3. 8th Grade Spelling Bee Words