Question

sort the words according to the meanings of their shared roots. retrograde downgrade encrypt septuple cryptanalysis septet cryptic degrade hide step seven

Explanation:

• For the root meaning "hide": The words "encrypt", "cryptanalysis", and "cryptic" share the root "crypt-" which relates to hiding or secrecy. "Encrypt" means to hide information (encode), "cryptanalysis" is the analysis of hidden (encrypted) information, and "cryptic" means having a hidden or secret meaning.
• For the root meaning "step": The words "retrograde", "downgrade", and "degrade" share the root related to "grade" or "step" (movement in a direction, often negative or backward). "Retrograde" means moving backward (in steps), "downgrade" is moving down (in steps/rank), and "degrade" is to lower (in steps/quality).
• For the root meaning "seven": The words "septuple" and "septet" share the root "sept-" which relates to seven. "Septuple" means seven times, and "septet" is a group of seven (like a musical group of seven).

Answer:

• hide: encrypt, cryptanalysis, cryptic
• step: retrograde, downgrade, degrade
• seven: septuple, septet