241-280 Flashcards
hackneyed
adj. commonplace; trite.
When the reviewer criticized the movie for its hackneyed plot, we agreed; we had seen similar stories hundred of times before.
hamper
v. obstruct
The new mother didn’t realize how much the effort of caring for an infant would hamper her ability to keep an immaculate house.
hardy
adj. sturdy; robust.
We asked the gardening expert to recommend particularly hardy plants that could withstand the harsh New England winters.
haughtiness
n. pride; arrogance.
When she realized that Darcy believed himself too good to dance with his inferiors, Liz took great offense at his haughtiness.
hedonist
n. one who believes that pleasure is the sole aim in life.
A thoroughgoing hedonist, he considered only his own pleasure and ignored any claims others had on his money or time.
heresy
n. opinion contrary to popular belief; opinion contrary to accepted religion.
n. heretic
Galileo’s assertion that the earth moved around the sun directly contradicted the religious teachings of his day; as a result, he was tried for heresy.
hierarchy
n. arrangement by rank or stand; authoritarian body divided into ranks,
To be low man on the totem pole is to have an inferior place in the hierarchy.
homogeneous
adj. of the same kind.
v. homogenize
Because of the student body at Elite Prep was so homogeneous, Sara decided to send her daughter to a school that offered greater cultural diversity.
hypocritical
adj. pretending to be virtuous; deceiving.
n. hypocrisy
It was hypocritical of Martha to say nice things about my poetry to me and then make fun of my verses behind my back.
hypothetical
adj. based on assumptions or hypotheses; supposed.
n. hypothesis.
This is only a hypothetical situation.
iconoclastic
adj. attacking cherished traditions.
Deeply iconoclastic, Jean deliberately set out to shock conventional theatergoers with his radical plays.
idiosyncrasy
n. individual trait, usually odd in nature.
adj. idiosyncratic
One of Richard’s little idiosyncrasies was his liking for ketchup of cottage cheese.
ignominy
n. deep disgrace; shame or dishonor.
adj. ignominious
To lost the Ping-Pong match to a trained chimpanzee!
How could Rollo stand the ignominy of his defeat?
illicit
adj. illegal.
The defense attorney maintained that his client had never preformed an illicit actions.
illusory
adj. deceptive; not real.
Unfortunately, the costs of running the lemonade stand were so high that Tom’s profits proved illusory.
immutable
adj. unchangeable
All things change over time; nothing is immutable.
impair
v. injure; hurt.
Drinking alcohol can impair your sense to drive safely.
impeccable
adj. faultless.
The uncrowned queen of the fashion industry, Diana was acclaimed for her impeccable taste.
impecunious
adj. without money.
Though Scrooge claimed he was too impecunious to give aims, he easily could have afforded to be charitable.
impede
v. hinder; block.
A series of accidents impeded the launching of the space shuttle.
implausible
adj. unlikely; unbelievable.
Though her alibi seemed implausible, it in fact turned out to be true.
implement
v. put into effect; supply with tools.
n.
The mayor was unwilling to implement the plan until she was sure it had the governor’s backing.
impregnable
adj. invulnerable.
Until the development of the airplane as a military weapon, the fort was considered impregnable.
impudence
n. impertinence; insolence.
Criminals are sent to jail for their impudence.
inadvertently
adv. unintentionally: by oversight.
Judy’s great fear was that she might inadvertently omit a question on the exam and mismark her whole answer sheet.
inane
adj. silly; senseless.
Why are you bothering to make such inane remarks?
incidental
adj. not essential; minor.
The scholarship covered his major expenses at college and some of his incidental expenses as well.
incisive
adj. cutting; sharp.
His incisive remarks made us see the fallacy in our plans.
incite
v. arouse to action; motivate.
In a fiery speech, Mario incited his fellow students to go out on strike to protest the university’s anti-affirmative action stand.
inclusive
adj. tending to include all.
The comedian turned down the invitation to join the Players’ Club, saying any club that would let him in was too inclusive for him.
incongruous
adj. not fitting; absurd.
n. incongruity
Dave saw nothing incongruous about wearing sneakers with his tuxedo; he couldn’t understand why his date took one look at him and started to laugh.
inconsequential
adj. insignificant; unimportant.
The apology was inconsequential because it was not the person’s fault.
incontrovertible
adj. indisputable
Unless you find the evidence against my client absolutely incontrovertible, you must declare her not guilty of this charge.
incorrigible
adj. not correctable.
Though Widow Douglass hoped to reform Huck, Miss Watson called him incorrigible and said he would come to no good end.
indefatigable
adj. tireless.
Although the effort of taking out the garbage tired Wayne out for the entire morning, when it came to partying, he was indefatigable.
indict
v. charge
n. indictment
The district attorney didn’t want to indict the suspect until she was sure she had a strong enough case to convince a jury.
indifferent
adj. uncaring.
Because Ann felt no desire to marry, she was indifferent to Carl’s constant proposals.
indiscriminate
adj. choosing at random; confused.
She disapproved of her son’s indiscriminate television viewing and decided to restrict him to educational programs.
indolent
adj. lazy
n. indolence
Couch potatoes lead an indolent life lying back on their Lazyboy recliners watching TV.
