Path, Sym, Syn

Front 1

path (root word)

Back 1

feeling, emotion, suffer, or disease

Front 2

apathy

noun

Back 2

lack of interest or desire

Most of George’s so-called friends showed nothing but apathy when he fell ill. They didn’t seem to have any feelings about it at all.

Front 3

empathize

verb

Back 3

to feel empathy (understand and share the feelings of another)

Alicia could empathize. She had experienced a long illness herself and understood what George was going through.

Front 4

empathy

noun

Back 4

the ability to understand and share the feelings of another

Alicia’s experience of being ill allowed her to feel empathy for George.

Front 5

pathetic

adj.

Back 5

when something is causing pity, pitiful, weak, sad

When George fainted during a 5K race, Henry thought George showed a pathetic need for attention; he thought it was false and pitiable.

Front 6

pathogen

noun

Back 6

anything capable of producing a disease, especially a virus, bacteria, or micro organism.

The doctor began to treat George to remove the pathogen from his body. George made a full recovery

Front 7

pathologist

noun

Back 7

an expert that studies the causes and nature of disease

Finally, the pathologist who had been looking for the cause of George’s illness learned that George’s blood contained a high level of toxins caused by a virus

Front 8

pathos

noun

Back 8

a quality in speech, writing, music, events, or scene that causes pity or sadness

Alicia, though, saw the pathos in the situation. Her heart went out to George in real pity because he was trying so hard.

Front 9

sym (root word)

Back 9

Together or with

Front 10

symbol

noun

Back 10

something that stands for a group or a message, or represents something else

The image of two clasping hands is a symbol for friendship.

Front 11

symmetric

adjective

Back 11

somethings that is symmetric is symmetrical, something that is represented equally across or over a line.

The shape of the starfish was perfectly symmetric: each arm had the same width and length and was spaced evenly around the center.

Front 12

symptom

noun

Back 12

a reaction or effect of something, a sign or indication of something.

A fever can be a symptom of the flu, a sign that comes along with the disease.

Front 13

sympathy

noun

Back 13

to share a persons feelings of sorrow or trouble

Letters of sympathy were sent out to the families of the victims.

Front 14

syn (root word)

Back 14

Together or with

Front 15

synchronize

verb

Back 15

cause to occur or operate at the same time or rate

People working together sometimes synchronize their watches before a project so they can start and finish at the same time.

Front 16

syntax

noun

Back 16

the arrangement of phrases and words to make a sentence

The sentence had strange syntax: the words were arranged in such a way that it was difficult to understand the writer’s meaning.

Front 17

synthetic

adj

Back 17

artificially produced, fake

Synthetic silk is made artificially rather than from silkworm cocoons.