Word part · Latin root
Grat root words: meaning and 13 examples
In short
The Latin root grat (from Latin) means "pleasing, or thanks". It is also spelled grate, gratul and grace. Words with it include grateful, gratefully, ungrateful, congratulations, graceful and gracefully. Grateful keeps an old word, grate, that meant pleasing.
- Part
- grat
- Meaning
- pleasing, or thanks
- Origin
- Latin
- Also spelled
- grate, gratul, grace
- Words listed
- 13
Grateful keeps an old word, grate, that meant pleasing. Grace came to English through French from the same root.
Words with the Latin root grat
The list runs from shorter, common words to longer ones. The bands are a rough guide built from syllable count and how common each word is in our word list, not a grade-level standard. Read each word, then its word sum.
Colors:prefixroot or basesuffix
Start here: short, common words (about grades 3 and 4)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| grateful | grate (root or base)+ful (suffix)→grateful | full of thanks |
More words: grace
Next: longer words (about grades 5 and 6)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| gratefully | grate (root or base)+ful (suffix)+ly (suffix)→gratefully | in a thankful way |
More words: gratitude, gracious
Stretch: long or less common words (about grades 7 and 8)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| ungrateful | un (prefix)+grate (root or base)+ful (suffix)→ungrateful | not thankful |
| congratulations | con (prefix)+gratul (root or base)+ation (suffix)+s (suffix)→congratulations | words that share someone's joy |
| graceful | grace (root or base)+ful (suffix)→graceful | moving in a smooth, pleasing way |
| gracefully | grace (root or base)+ful (suffix)+ly (suffix)→gracefully | in a smooth, pleasing way |
| graceless | grace (root or base)+less (suffix)→graceless | clumsy, without grace |
| disgrace | dis (prefix)+grace (root or base)→disgrace | loss of good name and respect |
| disgraceful | dis (prefix)+grace (root or base)+ful (suffix)→disgraceful | shameful |
More words: congratulate
Where does grat sit in a word?
A root can come first, last or in the middle. Students who only look at the start of a word miss half of these.
- At the start:
- grateful, gratefully, graceful, gracefully, graceless
- In the middle:
- ungrateful, congratulations, disgraceful
- At the end:
- disgrace
How do you teach the root grat?
Grat means pleasing or thanks. Grateful is the anchor word. It means full of thanks, and it keeps an old spelling, grate. Congratulations is the word students love to break apart: you share in someone's happy moment. Grace and gracious came to English through French from the same root. Teach grateful and congratulations first, and add grace words once those feel easy.
A quick routine
Write grateful as grate + ful and say, "Grat means thanks. Grateful means full of thanks." Ask the student to read ungrateful and gratefully and tell how the meaning changes. Then write congratulations and say, "Find grat." Point to gratul in the middle. Ask, "When do people say congratulations?" End with a quick spoken sentence: "I am grateful for..."
What do students mix up with grat?
Grate also means to shred cheese, and a grate covers a fireplace or drain. Those words are not from this root. Migrate and integrate end with the letters g, r, a, t, e but are built from other roots. Spelling is the other trap: grateful has an a, not great. Students who say grat (thanks) out loud spell it right.
For the sounds inside these words, see the phonics word lists. Routines that fit: meanings of prefixes and suffixes, circle the parts, read the base and flexible routine for big words.
Questions people ask
What does the root grat mean?
Grat means "pleasing, or thanks". It is a Latin root, also spelled grate, gratul and grace. Grateful keeps an old word, grate, that meant pleasing. Grace came to English through French from the same root.
What are some words with the root grat?
Start with grateful and grace. Then move to gratefully, gratitude, ungrateful and congratulations. This page lists 13 words in all, most with a word sum that shows the parts.
Why is grateful not spelled greatful?
Grateful comes from grat, thanks, not from great. Saying the root out loud, grat, and thinking of thanks helps students remember the a.
Related word parts
- -fulfull of
- un-not, or the opposite of
- dis-not, the opposite of, or apart
- con-with, or together
- -lyin a certain way
Terms on this page: morpheme, root, prefix, suffix, base word, word sum, morphology.
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