Ancient Rome - Middle School and High School

Grab your toga, fire up your chariot, and get ready to learn these words related to ancient Rome. Review the republic and the empire, architectural structures like aqueducts and amphitheaters, gladiators, and much more. Once you've mastered this list, you too can recite the famous words of Julius Caesar: Veni, vidi, vici ("I came, I saw, I conquered").
138 words 1192 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. Aeneas
    a mythical Greek warrior who was a leader on the Trojan side of the Trojan War; hero of the Aeneid
  2. Aeneid
    an epic in Latin by Virgil
  3. Agrippina
    granddaughter of Augustus and mother of Caligula and Agrippina the Younger (14 BC - AD 33)
  4. amphitheater
    an oval large stadium with tiers of seats
  5. Appian Way
    an ancient Roman road in Italy extending south from Rome to Brindisi; begun in 312 BC
  6. aqueduct
    a conduit that carries water over a valley
  7. arch
    a curved masonry construction for spanning an opening
  8. assassinate
    murder; especially of socially prominent persons
  9. Attila the Hun
    king of the Huns
  10. Augustine of Hippo
    one of the great Fathers of the early Christian church
  11. Augustus
    Roman statesman who established the Roman Empire and became emperor in 27 BC; defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC at Actium (63 BC - AD 14)
  12. banquet
    a ceremonial dinner party for many people
  13. barbarian
    a member of an uncivilized people
  14. basilica
    a Roman building used for public administration
  15. bas relief
    sculpture that projects only slightly from the background
  16. bishop
    a senior member of the Christian clergy
  17. Brutus
    statesman of ancient Rome who (with Cassius) led a conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar (85-42 BC)
  18. Byzantine Empire
    a continuation of the Roman Empire in the Middle East after its division in 395
  19. Byzantium
    an ancient city on the Bosporus founded by the Greeks
  20. Caesar
    conqueror of Gaul and master of Italy (100-44 BC)
  21. Caligula
    Roman Emperor who succeeded Tiberius and whose uncontrolled passions resulted in manifest insanity; noted for his cruelty and tyranny; was assassinated (12-41)
  22. Carthage
    an ancient city state on the north African coast near modern Tunis; founded by Phoenicians; destroyed and rebuilt by Romans; razed by Arabs in 697
  23. Cassius
    prime mover in the conspiracy against Julius Caesar
  24. catacomb
    an underground tunnel with recesses where bodies were buried
  25. catapult
    an engine providing medieval artillery used during sieges
  26. cavalry
    troops trained to fight on horseback
  27. census
    a periodic count of the population
  28. centurion
    leader of soldiers in ancient Rome
  29. chariot
    a two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle
  30. Christianity
    a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior
  31. circus
    an open-air stadium for chariot races and gladiatorial games
  32. citizen
    a native or naturalized member of a state
  33. civil service
    the government workforce exclusive of military service
  34. civil war
    a war between factions in the same country
  35. Claudius
    Roman Emperor after his nephew Caligula was murdered
  36. Cleopatra
    beautiful and charismatic queen of Egypt
  37. cloaca
    a waste pipe that carries away sewage or surface water
  38. cohort
    a band of warriors
  39. colony
    a geographical area controlled by a distant country
  40. Colosseum
    a large amphitheater in Rome whose construction was begun by Vespasian about AD 75 or 80
  41. Constantine
    Emperor of Rome who stopped the persecution of Christians and in 324 made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire; in 330 he moved his capital from Rome to Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople (280-337)
  42. Constantinople
    the council in 869 that condemned Photius who had become the patriarch of Constantinople without approval from the Vatican, thereby precipitating the schism between the eastern and western churches
  43. decimate
    kill one in every ten, as of mutineers in Roman armies
  44. deity
    a supernatural being worshipped as controlling the world
  45. diaspora
    the dispersion of something that was originally localized
  46. dictator
    a ruler who is unconstrained by law
  47. dictatorship
    a form of government in which the ruler is unconstrained
  48. Dido
    a princess of Tyre who was the founder and queen of Carthage
  49. Diocletian
    Roman Emperor who when faced with military problems decided in 286 to divide the Roman Empire between himself in the east and Maximian in the west; he initiated the last persecution of the Christians in 303 (245-313)
  50. dome
    a hemispherical roof
  51. Domitian
    Emperor of Rome
  52. emperor
    the male ruler of an empire
  53. empire
    the domain ruled by a single authoritative sovereign
  54. epistle
    a specially long, formal letter
  55. Etruscan
    a native or inhabitant of ancient Etruria
  56. fasces
    bundle of rods containing an axe with the blade protruding
  57. forum
    a public facility to meet for open discussion
  58. Gaul
    an ancient region of western Europe that included what is now northern Italy and France and Belgium and part of Germany and the Netherlands
  59. gladiator
    a professional combatant in ancient Rome
  60. Goth
    one of the Teutonic people who invaded the Roman Empire in the 3rd to 5th centuries
  61. gravitas
    formality, dignity, or seriousness
  62. Hadrian
    Roman Emperor who was the adoptive son of Trajan
  63. Hannibal
    general who commanded the Carthaginian army in the second Punic War; crossed the Alps and defeated the Romans but was recalled to defend Carthage and was defeated (247-182 BC)
  64. Herculaneum
    ancient city; now destroyed
  65. ides
    the middle of the month, especially March, May, July, or October
  66. infantry
    an army unit consisting of soldiers who fight on foot
  67. inflation
    a general and progressive increase in prices
  68. Julian
    Roman Emperor and nephew of Constantine
  69. Julius Caesar
    conqueror of Gaul and master of Italy (100-44 BC)
  70. Latin
    any dialect of the language of ancient Rome
  71. legion
    a large military unit
  72. Livy
    Roman historian whose history of Rome filled 142 volumes (of which only 35 survive) including the earliest history of the war with Hannibal (59 BC to AD 17)
  73. magistrate
    a lay judge or civil authority who administers the law
  74. Marcus Aurelius
    Emperor of Rome
  75. Mark Antony
    Roman general under Julius Caesar in the Gallic wars
  76. martyr
    one who voluntarily suffers death
  77. Maximian
    Roman Emperor from 286 until he abdicated in 305
  78. Mediterranean Sea
    the largest inland sea; between Europe and Africa and Asia
  79. mercenary
    a person hired to fight for another country than their own
  80. mosaic
    design made of small pieces of colored stone or glass
  81. Mt. Vesuvius
    a volcano in southwestern Italy on the Mediterranean coast
  82. Nero
    Roman Emperor notorious for his monstrous vice and fantastic luxury (was said to have started a fire that destroyed much of Rome in 64) but the Roman Empire remained prosperous during his rule (37-68)
  83. numen
    a spirit believed to inhabit an object or preside over a place (especially in ancient Roman religion)
  84. Octavian
    Roman statesman who established the Roman Empire and became emperor in 27 BC; defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC at Actium (63 BC - AD 14)
  85. Ostrogoth
    a member of the eastern group of Goths who created a kingdom in northern Italy around 500 AD
  86. Palatine
    the most important of the Seven Hills of Rome
  87. pantheon
    all the gods of a religion
  88. paterfamilias
    the male head of a kin group or tribe
  89. patrician
    a member of the aristocracy
  90. Pax Romana
    the Roman peace
  91. peninsula
    a large mass of land projecting into a body of water
  92. persecution
    causing someone to suffer
  93. plebeian
    one of the common people
  94. Pliny the Elder
    Roman author of an encyclopedic natural history
  95. Pliny the Younger
    Roman writer and nephew of Pliny the Elder
  96. Plutarch
    Greek biographer who wrote Parallel Lives (46?-120 AD)
  97. polytheism
    belief in multiple gods
  98. Pompeii
    ancient city to the southeast of Naples that was buried by a volcanic eruption from Vesuvius
  99. Pompey
    Roman general and statesman who quarrelled with Caesar and fled to Egypt where he was murdered (106-48 BC)
  100. pope
    the head of the Roman Catholic Church
  101. praetor
    an annually elected magistrate of the ancient Roman Republic
  102. Praetorian Guard
    the elite bodyguard of a Roman Emperor in ancient Rome
  103. province
    the territory in an administrative district of a nation
  104. Punic War
    one of the three wars between Carthage and Rome that resulted in the destruction of Carthage and its annexation by Rome; 264-241 BC, 218-201 BC, 149-146 BC
  105. Pyrrhus
    king of Epirus
  106. quaestor
    any of several public officials of ancient Rome
  107. Remus
    (Roman mythology) the twin brother of Romulus
  108. representative
    related to government in which citizens elect officials
  109. republic
    a form of government whose head of state is not a monarch
  110. Romulus
    founder of Rome
  111. Rubicon
    the boundary in ancient times between Italy and Gaul
  112. Scipio
    Roman general who commanded the invasion of Carthage in the second Punic War and defeated Hannibal at Zama (circa 237-183 BC)
  113. senate
    assembly possessing high legislative powers
  114. senator
    a member of a legislative assembly
  115. Seneca
    Roman statesman and philosopher who was an advisor to Nero
  116. shrine
    a place of worship associated with something sacred
  117. slavery
    the practice or system of owning people as property
  118. St. Paul
    a Christian missionary to the Gentiles
  119. St. Peter
    disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles
  120. stadium
    a large structure for sports or entertainments
  121. Stoicism
    (philosophy) the philosophical system of the Stoics following the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno
  122. Tacitus
    Roman historian who wrote major works on the history of the Roman Empire (56-120)
  123. Tarquin
    according to legend, the seventh and last Etruscan king of Rome who was expelled for his cruelty (reigned from 534 to 510 BC)
  124. temple
    a place of worship
  125. Theodosius
    the last emperor of a united Roman Empire, he took control of the eastern empire and ended the war with the Visigoths; he became a Christian and in 391 banned all forms of pagan worship (346-395)
  126. Tiber
    a river of central Italy
  127. Tiberius
    son-in-law of Augustus who became a suspicious tyrannical Emperor of Rome after a brilliant military career (42 BC to AD 37)
  128. toga
    a one-piece cloak worn by men in ancient Rome
  129. Trajan
    Roman Emperor and adoptive son of Nerva
  130. tribune
    an ancient Roman official elected by the plebeians
  131. triumphal arch
    a monumental archway
  132. triumvirate
    a group of three people responsible for civil authority
  133. Vandal
    a member of the Germanic people who overran Gaul and Spain and North Africa and sacked Rome in 455
  134. Vespasian
    Emperor of Rome and founder of the Flavian dynasty who consolidated Roman rule in Germany and Britain and reformed the army and brought prosperity to the empire; began the construction of the Colosseum (9-79)
  135. veto
    a vote that blocks a decision
  136. villa
    a country house in ancient Rome
  137. Virgil
    a Roman poet; author of the epic poem `Aeneid' (70-19 BC)
  138. Visigoth
    a member of the western group of Goths who sacked Rome and created a kingdom in present-day Spain and southern France
Created on Fri Jan 27 15:23:21 EST 2017 (updated Fri Mar 31 11:25:56 EDT 2017)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.