Our list of 8th grade spelling words contains 250 challenging, interesting words! What can be better than knowing how to use and spell words like phenomenon, meticulous, and voracious?
Students at this level should already have a mastery of many of the words they use. However, many may still have "glitches" - a misunderstood or forgotten spelling rule, a few words they consistently misspell, and some important words they've not yet encountered.
Eighth graders are developing wide-ranging vocabularies. Let's be sure they can spell the words they use!
Printable version of 8th grade spelling words
accommodate | abstain | accumulate |
accustomed | acoustics | acquaintance |
acquisition | acquittal | adolescence |
adolescent | advantageous | aerial |
amateur | amnesty | anecdote |
annoyance | anonymous | antecedent |
antidote | antiseptic | anxious |
apology | apostrophe | appendixes |
applicant | approximate | archaic |
architect | arrangement | asphalt |
asterisk | asthma | awkward |
bachelor | bankruptcy | barometer |
belligerent | berserk | besieged |
biannual | bimonthly | biographical |
brilliance | budge | burglary |
cameos | capably | caricature |
catastrophe | chameleon | chandelier |
characteristic | chauffeur | chrysanthemum |
circumference | collaborate | collateral |
colleague | colonel | confiscate |
confiscation | conscious | consequence |
considerable | contagious | controversy |
continuous | correlation | council |
counsel | criticism | criticize |
critique | crypt | cylinder |
deficiency | desirable | desolate |
deterrent | diagnosis | dialogue |
dilemma | disbursement | discernible |
discrepancy | dominance | embargo |
endeavor | envious | epidemic |
equilibrium | erroneous | escalator |
excessive | existence | extremity |
extricate | façade | fashionable |
fiasco | fibrous | fiery |
flamboyant | forgery | frivolous |
frostbitten | glamorous | gorgeous |
grotesque | gymnasium | haphazard |
hazardous | headquarters | honorary |
horrific | hospitality | incidentally |
inconvenience | indulgence | inept |
inevitable | innumerable | insistent |
insufficient | integrity | intermittent |
internally | interrogate | jewelry |
legitimate | leisure | lieutenant |
longevity | lucrative | lunar |
luncheon | luxurious | malady |
malicious | malignant | melodious |
mercenary | mesmerize | meteor |
meticulous | metropolitan | minimize |
miscellaneous | mischievous | misdemeanor |
necessity | negligence | neutral |
newsstand | nostalgia | noticeable |
obesity | obscure | obsolete |
obstinate | occurred | ominous |
optimism | optimistic | outrageous |
pageant | parachute | paralysis |
parliament | penitentiary | perceive |
permeate | perseverance | personality |
personification | persuade | phenomenon |
plaintiff | pneumonia | politician |
potential | precipice | precocious |
predecessor | preferably | prestigious |
procrastinate | propeller | prosperous |
protein | pseudonym | psychiatrist |
questionnaire | radioactive | rampage |
recurrent | rehearsal | relevant |
religious | roommate | sacrifice |
sacrificial | sanctuary | scandalized |
schedule | scheme | schism |
scholar | semester | serviceable |
shrine | shuddering | sieve |
snobbery | solitary | sophomore |
studious | subtlety | suburban |
surmise | susceptible | suspicious |
taboo | technically | technology |
tyranny | unacceptable | unconscious |
undernourished | unduly | unenforceable |
unique | universal | unpredictable |
unsanitary | utopia | vaccinate |
vacillate | venom | vertigo |
vessel | vigilant | villain |
vitamin | vivacious | vocalize |
voracious | voucher | vulnerable |
withhold |
Use this general list of 8th grade spelling words to supplement your own spelling program. These words are great to use for worksheets, games and puzzles.
NEW! 8th Grade Vocabulary Words - Stretch your own vocabulary as well as your students' with this giant list of 250 challenging words! Lots of extension activities and additional resources are also included. Will you discover any paraphrasable paradigms or vacuous variances?
8th Grade Worksheet featuring an ARMADILLO! Students must form a word for each clue using only the letters in ARMADILLO, then place the words correctly into the diagram. Great vocab and spelling practice!
Here's an informative list of tips for developing 8th grade vocabulary and spelling skills. Ideas are listed for both home and classroom use.
At-TEN-tion! Complete the spellings of words with the letters TEN on this fun English worksheet. Great vocabulary and spelling practice!
Fun Brain Teasers for Students These fun brain teasers will check your students' spelling and vocabulary skills. They’ll also tickle their funny bones! Try to answer such questions as "What can be right by never wrong?" "What part of a book do you sleep under?" and many more!
Travel Teaser - One of our most difficult logic brain teasers. Can you figure out who went where and when? You'll need to know the correct spellings of several tricky words, plus you'll need to read carefully, and -- of course -- use skills in logic and critical thinking.
Which One Is It? Don’t try to solve this tricky puzzle while you’re blindfolded. Instead, use what you know about correct spelling! Choose the one word that is spelled correctly and write it in the puzzle. Write the misspelled word correctly in the blank on the clues page.
Muddled Music Crossword - Sharpen your focus to solve this one! Replace one or two letters in each clue to spell a musical term.
Synonym Crossword: Can you solve this mammoth-sized challenge? For each clue you must select a synonym that fits into the diagram. Of course, some words have a LOT of synonyms, so you have to think carefully to choose the right one that fits into the crossword and works with all the answers. But surely, you CAN do it!!!
Students may also find it helpful to study these words for spelling bee competitions. This list is especially good for 7th and 8th grade spelling bee contestants.
8th graders may also find these word lists to be helpful:
102 frequently
misspelled words Have you mastered all of these? Do you spell these words correctly every time? Try words including accommodate, acquaintance, courageous, desperately, mischievous, rhythm, schedule, separate, and dozens more!
50 Sets of often confused
homonyms We give you definitions and sample sentences to help you learn to correctly use these sometimes tricky words.
9th grade spelling words Try this next set of challenging words that includes ubiquitous, idiosyncrasy, rococo and many more. How many do you already know?
Ann Richmond Fisher is a longtime published educational writer, a former classroom teacher and a former homeschool teacher. Ann's spelling bee resources, graded spelling word lists, spelling games, worksheets, and other language arts resources have become respected around the globe since she launched Spelling-Words-Well in 2010.
Ann is also the creator of www.word-game-world.com.
101 Word Play Puzzlers Discover the FUN of letters & words as you solve each unique puzzle. Great vocabulary & spelling practice!
Gigantic Spelling Bee Word Lists with definitions, sentences and languages
Spelling Bee Toolboxes for Grades 3/5 and 6/8 All the resources you need for a successful bee!
Monumental Spelling Bee Word Lists for grades 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8 with definitions, sentences and languages
Mammoth Spelling Bee Word Lists for grades 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8 with sentences, definitions, and languages
Young Spellers Spelling Bee Word List for Grades 1 & 2 only
100 Difficult Spelling Bee Words with Definitions, Sentences and Pronunciations, Volumes 1 and 2
600 Spelling Bee Words & Sentences for Gr 3/5 & 6/8 Extra words & sentences at two levels