500 essential Flashcards
abhor
Definition: Detest, regard with disgust
Usage: “Go out with you?” she replied. “I abhor you! I would rather stab myself with a rusty
bread knife than be your girlfriend!”
Related Words: Loathe, Abominate (synonyms), Antipathy (instinctive repugnance or aversion)
More Info: The prefix “ab” means “away”—if you abhor (or abominate) something, you want
to get as far away from it as possib
abjure
Definition: Give up, renounce; repudiate, recant, or shun (especially formally or under oath)
Usage: To become a citizen of the United States, you must abjure loyalty to the
nation of your birth. / Since enrolling in that nutrition class, she has abjured sugar
and saturated fats.
Related Words: Forswear (reject or renounce under oath; swear falsely in court),
Eschew (shun, avoid, abstain from)
More Info: Abjure can be used in the same way as renounce. You renounce worldly
pleasures, a religion or family member, membership in a group, etc. It can also be
used in the same way as repudiate, which is more often used with ideas, as in
“Galileo repudiated the belief that the Sun revolves around the Earth.”
affectation
Definition: Fake behavior (such as in speech or dress) adopted to give a certain impression
Usage: I’m annoyed whenever Americans move to England and suddenly start speaking with
an affected British accent; such affectations, when practiced by celebrities, are only likely to
alienate their fans.
Related Words: Artifice (trickery, especially as part of a strategy)
More Info: In slang, some people call affected behavior “being a poser” (or poseur).
alleviate
Definition: Lessen, make easier to endure
Usage: The stimulus package has alleviated the pangs of the Great Recession, but times are
still tough.
Related Words: Assuage (alleviate, satisfy, or pacify—“assuage someone’s fears”), Ameliorate
(make better), Extenuate (to make seem less serious—“His crime was extenuated by his
mental illness”), Palliate (to alleviate or extenuate)
More Info: The over-the-counter painkiller “Alleve” was undoubtedly named with the word
alleviate in mind.
anoint
Definition: Rub or sprinkle oil on; make sacred, such as by a ceremony that includes applying
oil to someone
Usage: After Principal Smitters raised test scores over 60% at her school, it was only a matter
of time before she was anointed superintendent by a fawning school board.
More Info: Anoint shares a root with ointment, an oily substance added to the skin.
Anointing occurs repeatedly in the Bible; in that time, people rubbed oil on themselves
medicinally and for refreshment, and as a means of showing hospitality to guests.
antagonize
Definition: Make hostile or unfriendly
Usage: “Josie! Stop antagonizing your little brother! Give him back that firetruck and tell
him you’re sorry for pulling his hair!”
Related Words: Provoke (anger, enrage, stir up, incite to action)
More Info: When discussing literature or films, the protagonist is the main character and the
antagonist is the main adversary (The Joker is Batman’s antagonist).
aver
Definition: Declare or affirm with confidence
Usage: “Despite your insistence that ethics are completely situational,” said the philosophy
professor, “I aver that the existence of natural rights inevitably leads to certain immutable
ethical boundaries.”
More Info: Aver contains the root “ver” (truth), which also appears in verify, veracious, and
verisimilitude.
balk
Definition: Refuse to proceed or to do something
Usage: At the company retreat, he reluctantly agreed to participate in the ropes course, but
balked at walking over hot coals as a “trust exercise.”
Related Words: Demur (show reluctance or object, especially for moral reasons, as in, “His
colleagues wanted him to tell the client that their sales would double, but he demurred.”)
More Info: Balk comes from a word for a beam or ridge—when a horse or mule balks, it stops
short and refuses to proceed. Occasionally, balk is used as a noun for an impediment, much
like a beam or ridge, or a defeat.
clamor
Definition: Noisy uproar or protest, as from a crowd; a loud, continuous noise
Usage: As soon as a scent of scandal emerged, the press was clamoring for details. / The
mayor couldn’t even make herself heard over the clamor of the protestors.
Related Words: Hubbub (loud noise, confusion), Cacophany (harsh, discordant, or meaningless
mixture of sounds), Din (loud, confused noise), Dissonance (cacophony, harsh, inharmonious
sound)
More Info: Don’t confuse with clamber, which means to climb awkwardly or scramble. Clamor
comes from an Anglo-French root meaning “cry out,” a root that also gives us claim.
clinch
Definition: Make final or settle conclusively; to fasten or hold together
Usage: When their best player was benched, the team fell behind, but once he was allowed
back in the game, the team was able to clinch the win. / These two pieces have been
clinched together with a clamp while the glue dries.
More Info: In sports, to clinch a championship is to gain so great a lead that it is impossible
not to win. To clinch a contract is to lock it down. To clinch a nail is to flatten the part that
sticks out—that is, to finish your work.
complacent
Definition: Self-satisfied, smug; overly content (and therefore lazy, neglectful, or some other
bad quality)
Usage: The coach gave a pep talk: “I know we’ve never won a championship before, but we do
have an advantage over the six-time state champions we’re about to play—they have grown
complacent with their success, and now they just assume they’ll win without having to
sweat.”
More Info: Don’t confuse complacent with complaisant, which means “eager to please.”
concur
Definition: Approve, agree
Usage: John Locke wrote that justice is based on the social contract, and I concur—in fact, my
latest book is all about contractual justice.
Related Words: Assent (approval, agreement)
More Info: Concur is related to concurrent, meaning “occurring at the same time or acting
over the same area; coordinating actions,” as in “We recommend that you take calculus before
college physics, but it is possible to take them concurrently.”
condone
Definition: Overlook, tolerate, regard as harmless
Usage: While underage drinking is illegal, at many universities, it is tacitly condoned by
administrations that neglect to enforce anti-drinking policies.
Related Words: Brook (suffer or tolerate), Countenance (as a noun: face or facial expression;
as a verb: approve or tolerate)
More Info: Condone shares a root (meaning “give”) with donate. To condone is to give mild,
sometimes tacit, approval.
confer
Definition: Consult, compare views; bestow or give
Usage: A Ph.D. confers upon a person the right to be addressed as “Doctor” as well as
eligibility to pursue tenure-track professorship. / Excuse me for a moment to make a call—I
can’t buy this car until I confer with my spouse.
Related Words: Vest can mean “grant an authority or right,” as in “The ownership of 51% of
the stock vests her with the right to make decisions for the company.”
constrict
Definition: Squeeze, compress; restrict the freedom of
Usage: The children strongly disliked being gussied up in constrictive clothing for a formal
wedding. / Tourism is now allowed in North Korea, but tourists must stay with official tour
groups, and their movements are heavily constricted.
Related Words: Constringe (cause to shrink)
More Info: A Boa constrictor is a snake that squeezes its prey to death.
construe
Definition: Interpret or translate
Usage: I don’t know how you construed my comment as an insult. All I said was, “Wow, I
never knew you could sing.”
More Info: To misconstrue is to misunderstand or misinterpret
conversant
Definition: Knowledgeable about or experienced with
Usage: For an opera singer, she is unusually conversant in physics—she just explained to
everyone the purpose of the Large Hadron Collider.
Related Words: Abreast (keeping up with, staying aware of, or remaining equal in progress
with)
More Info: Conversant does NOT mean talkative—it means having enough knowledge to be
able to carry on an intelligent conversation about a topic.
daunt
Definition: Discourage, dishearten, lessen the courage of
Usage: Amazingly undaunted after his accident, Devon vowed to complete a marathon in his
wheelchair. Not even a dented rim on mile 19 could daunt him—he dauntlessly completed
the race anyway.
Related Words: Cow (intimidate, destroy the courage of)
More Info: Daunt shares a root with domesticate, “to tame.”
debunk
Definition: Expose, ridicule, or disprove false or exaggerated claims
Usage: Galileo spent his last years under house arrest for debunking the widely held idea
that the Sun revolved around the Earth. / The show MythBusters debunks pseudoscientific
claims.
More Info: Debunk is an Americanism, deriving from bunkum, an old-fashioned word for
nonsense or meaningless talk.
deface
Definition: Vandalize, mar the appearance of
Usage: Ernest was charged with three counts of vandalism after being caught defacing a row
of townhouses with spraypaint.
Related Words: Depredate (plunder, lay waste to), Efface (wipe out, erase)
More Info: To deface can also be “to mark a check or monetary instrument” in order to make
it invalid (“She defaced the check so it couldn’t be cashed.”)
defamatory
Definition: Slanderous, injurious to someone’s reputation
Usage: One interesting issue in free speech law is defamation. / The political blogs are filled
with defamatory language; it seems anyone with a computer and an opinion can destroy a
politician’s reputation these days.
Related Words: Slander and Traduce also mean “to speak maliciously and falsely of.”
Aspersions are damaging remarks or defamatory speech.
Memory Trick: Someone who made up vicious lies about Lady Gaga’s hit album would have
defamed “The Fame.”
denigrate
Definition: Belittle, attack the reputation of
Usage: Many jokes in the Meet the Parents trilogy come from Robert De Niro’s character
denigrating Ben Stiller’s character for being a male nurse.
Related Words: Disparage is a synonym.
More Info: Denigrate comes from a Latin root meaning “to blacken.”
deride
Definition: Mock, scoff at, laugh at contemptuously
Usage: The manager really thought that deriding his employees as “stupid” or “lazy” would
motivate them to work harder; instead, it motivated them to constantly hide his office supplies
as an act of revenge.
Related Words: Denigrate (belittle, attack the reputation of)
More Info: Deride contains the Latin root “ridere” for “laughter,” which also appears in risible, meaning “laughable.”
detached
Definition: Impartial, disinterested; unconcerned, distant, aloof
Usage: He found her detached demeanor inappropriate for a funeral. It’s fine to politely ask
how someone died, but it’s not appropriate to coldly question a relative on the medical history
of the deceased. / The divorce proceeding was full of anger and recriminations, but the judge
was able to make a detached decision.
Related Words: Standoffish (cold, unfriendly)
More Info: A detached house is one that does not have a wall in common with another
building.
deterrent
Definition: Something that restrains or discourages
Usage: Some argue that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime—that is, the point is not
just to punish the guilty, but to frighten other prospective criminals.
Related Words: Balk (an impediment; refuse to proceed or to do something)
More Info: As a military policy, deterrence is building military strength or ability to retaliate
(especially by stockpiling nuclear weapons, as in the Cold War) sufficient to deter enemies
from attacking.
din
Definition: Loud, confused noise, esp. for a long period of time
Usage: This hotel was described as “near all the hot spots,” but I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t
be able to sleep due to the all-night din from partygoers.
Related Words: Cacophony (harsh, discordant, or meaningless mixture of sounds), Dissonance
(harsh, inharmonious sound), Clamor (noisy uproar, as from a crowd)
discerning
Definition: Having good judgment or insight; able to distinguish mentally
Usage: In an age in which we are bombarded with advertising, it’s important to be a
discerning consumer. For instance, the term “all natural” is not federally regulated and
doesn’t have to mean anything at all, so a smart shopper still reads ingredients.
Related Words: Keen, Perceptive, and Perspicacious are all related to having good judgment or
perception. Descry means to discover or see by looking carefully.
disposition
Definition: A person’s general or natural mood; tendency
Usage: She was possessed of a kind and helpful disposition—she wouldn’t just help you
move, she’d bring home-baked muffins to the affair. / I could really use some help in the
kitchen, if you are so disposed.
Related Words: Penchant and Predilection mean “tendency, preference” (a penchant for fast
cards, a predilection to get angry easily).
More Info: Disposed and disposition are slightly old-fashioned words and occur in oldfashioned expressions: “possessed of a ____ disposition” and “so disposed” (meaning
“inclined towards the kind of activities I just mentioned”).
disseminate
Definition: Scatter, spread about, broadcast
Usage: Many plants use attractive fruits to disseminate their seeds—animals eat the fruit and
excrete the seeds, allowing new plants to grow. / In the 1760s, revolutionary ideas were
disseminated via pamphlets such as Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense.”
Related Words: Disperse (scatter, spread widely, cause to vanish), Diffuse (spread widely,
disseminate; dispersed; or wordy and going off-topic)
More Info: Disseminate contains the Latin root for “seed.” Use disperse for something that
spreads out and disappears (the crowd dispersed); use disseminate for something that spreads
out and remains significant (writers disseminate ideas; disseminating seeds grows new
plants).
dissent
Definition: Disagree or take an opposing view, esp. in relation to a formal body such as a
government, political party, or church; such a view
Usage: Judge Antonin Scalia cast the only dissenting vote, explaining in his written decision
why he thought all the other justices had it wrong. / Not every country has a right to free
speech (and thus to dissent), although nations that throw dissenters in jail are condemned
by the international community at large.
Related Words: Gainsay (deny, refute, oppose), Sedition (incitement of dissent against a
government; promoting rebellion by speech or writing)
More Info: The variant dissidence tends to be a strong, longstanding, determined practice of
dissenting.
dissonance
Definition: Harsh, inharmonious sound; cacophony; disagreement
Usage: After allowing her sixth-grader’s heavy metal band to practice in her living room, Mrs.
Rosen decided she’d better get used to dissonance.
Related Words: Din (loud, confused noise), Clamor (noisy uproar, as from a crowd), Hubbub
(loud noise, confusion)
More Info: An opposite to dissonance is assonance, primarily a poetry term, meaning sound
resemblance or vowel rhyme. Harmony or euphony, meaning “good sound,” are more general
antonyms.
divest
Definition: Deprive or strip of a rank, title, etc., or of clothing or gear; to sell off holdings
(opposite of invest)
Usage: When she found out that the most profitable stock in her portfolio was that of a
company that tested products on animals, she immediately divested by telling her broker to
sell the stock. / Once his deception was exposed, he was divested of his position on the Board.
Related Words: Arrogate (claim or take presumptuously or without right), Appropriate (as a
verb, to set aside or authorize for a particular purpose; take for one’s own use
dormant
Definition: Asleep, inactive, on a break
Usage: Some famous writers’ skills have lain dormant until quite late in life; Laura Ingalls
Wilder didn’t publish Little House on the Prairie until she was 65.
Related Words: Abeyance (temporary suspension, inactivity), Hiatus (break or gap in an
activity), Deferment or Deferral (postponement)
More Info: If you speak Spanish or French, dormant will certainly remind you of the verb
dormir, to sleep.
egalitarian
Definition: Related to belief in the equality of all people, esp. in political, economic, or social
spheres
Usage: After moving to a more liberal part of the country, the couple was pleased to have
neighbors who shared their views of egalitarian marriage—for instance, men and women
could be found in equal proportions downshifting to part-time work to make time for
childcare.
More Info: Egalitarian, of course, contains a root for “equal,” but comes into English through
French, which explains the spelling (égal is French for “equal”).
elated
Definition: Very happy, in high spirits
Usage: I am elated that you flew my twin brother in from Australia to surprise me at my
birthday party!
Related Words: Ebullient (very enthusiastic, lively, excited), Blithe (joyous, merry; excessively
carefree), Exultant (joyful, celebratory)
elicit
Definition: Call forth, bring out, evoke
Usage: The touchdown elicited wild cheer from the crowd. / While the death of Ellen’s elderly
cat was indeed sad, Ellen’s constant, mournful looks whenever anyone mentioned any animal
at all were nothing but a play to elicit sympathy.
Related Words: Educe means “bring out, esp. something that has been dormant,” as in “The
speech therapist finally educed (or elicited) a complete sentence from a boy who had been
previously labeled ‘non-verbal.’”
More Info: Don’t confuse with illicit, which is an adjective meaning “illegal.”
erudite
Definition: Scholarly, knowledgeable; possessing deep, often systematic, knowledge
Usage: Some have said that Americans dislike erudite leaders; while German leaders
frequently have Ph.D.’s, even speaking a foreign language is considered pretentious by many
American voters.
Related Words: Learned is a synonym. Cerebral can mean “intellectual, esp. as opposed to
instinctual or emotional.” Esoteric, recondite, and abstruse all mean “pertaining to difficult or
obscure knowledge; known to only a few.”
More Info: Erudite comes from the Latin “erudire,” meaning “to polish.”
esoteric
Definition: Understood by or intended for only a few; secret
Usage: In his first year of university-level physics, he felt he was merely memorizing
information found in every textbook on the subject; by his fourth year, he spent his days
poring over esoteric journal articles that few people had ever read or understood.
Related Words: Arcane and Recondite are synonyms.
More Info: The “eso” in esoteric means “in”—in this case, in the sense of “inside knowledge.”
An antonym is exoteric (“exo” = out), as in that which is “common knowledge.”
eulogy
Definition: Speech of praise or written work of praise, esp. a speech given at a funeral
Usage: While it was hard for Xing to write a eulogy for his friend, he was pleased to be able to
tell others at the funeral some wonderful things about him that they hadn’t known. / The
review of the book was pure eulogy—usually, this publication runs more balanced articles.
Related Words: Encomium (warm, glowing praise, esp. a formal expression of praise),
Laudation (praise, tribute), Panegyric (formal, lofty, or elaborate praise), Paean (song of
praise, triumph, or thanks)
More Info: “Eu” is a Greek root for “good,” and “log” or “logos” for “discourse.”
exponent
Definition: Person who expounds or explains; champion, advocate, or representative
Usage: An exponent of clean fuel, he petitioned the state government to commit to replacing
conventional energy with solar and wind energy where possible.
Related Words: Proponent (person who proposes or argues in favor of something)
More Info: Of course, an exponent is also the number to which another number is raised.
Both senses of the word come from the verb expound, meaning “interpret, explain, state in
detail.” In a sense, an exponent on a number expounds upon that number by telling us how
many times the number is to be multiplied by itself.
facetious
Definition: Joking, humorous, esp. inappropriately; not serious, concerned with frivolous
things
Usage: When I said, “Sure, you can take anything in my house as a souvenir of this study
session,” I was being facetious! I would like my nightgown back now. / He’s a facetious
person—I doubt he will take your offer of a spiritual quest very seriously.
Related Words: Waggish (merry, roguish), Risible (laughable, related to laughing), Jocular,
Jocund, or Jocose (jesting, jolly), Droll (funny in an odd way)
More Info: Don’t confuse facetious with fatuous, meaning “foolish, silly, inane.” Facetious
people can be smartly sarcastic; fatuous people are dull and dim-witted. Facetious comes
from a Latin word for clever; fatuous comes from a word for gaping—as in, having one’s
mouth hang open like a very stupid person.
fanatical
Definition: Excessively devoted, enthusiastic, or zealous in an uncritical way
Usage: We avoid our neighbors—they’re fanatics who can’t go five minutes without trying to
convert you to their beliefs. / Mrs. Becker was fanatical about grammar, once deducting
fifteen points from a student’s paper for a misused semicolon—and it was a physics class!
Related Words: Ardent (very passionate), Zealous (full of fervor or dedicated enthusiasm for a
cause, person, etc.). Also Fervent, Fervid, and Perfervid all mean “passionate, fiery, deeply
enthusiastic.”
fathom
Definition: Measure the depth of (usually of water) as with a sounding line; penetrate and
discover the meaning of, understand
Usage: I cannot even remotely fathom how you interpreted an invitation to sleep on my couch
as permission to take my car on a six-hour joyride!
Related Words: Sound and Plumb (used as verbs) are synonyms.
More Info: A sounding line or plumb line is a length of rope with a weight at the bottom;
dropping it into water will allow the weight to sink and water to be measured in fathoms (sixfoot increments—fathom comes from a word for outstretched arms, which on an adult male
tend to measure about six feet).
fleeting
Definition: Passing quickly, transitory
Usage: I had assumed our summer romance would be fleeting, so I was very surprised when
you proposed marriage!
Related Words: Ephemeral, Evanescent and Fugacious are synonyms. Fugitive is best known
as meaning “running from the law,” but can also mean fleeting.
More Info: A fleet is a group of ships controlled together. The connection is the root word, “to
float”—a fleet of boats floats on the water, and a fleeting romance, for instance, is one that
simply seems to float away.
foment
Definition: Incite, instigate, stir up, promote the growth of; apply medicated liquid to a body
part
Usage: The revolutionary group was quietly fomenting a rebellion, galvanizing student
radicals, leading unions in revolutionary songs, and anonymously pasting incendiary posters in
every quarter of the city.
Related Words: Rouse (wake up; incite, stir up)
More Info: Abigail Adams famously told her husband John Adams that, if left out of the
Constitution, ladies would “foment a rebellion.” Foment comes from a Latin word for a
poultice or hot compress. The similiar-sound ferment (to undergo fermentation as in yogurt,
kimchi, etc., such as by a yeast or bacterium) can also be used to mean “excite or agitate”—
you can foment or ferment a rebellion.
foreshadow
Definition: Indicate or suggest beforehand, presage
Usage: You didn’t know this was a horror movie? I thought it was pretty clear that the
children’s ghost story around the campfire was meant to foreshadow the horrible things that
would happen to them years later as teenagers at a motel in the middle of the woods.
Related Words: Prefigure is a synonym. Forerun means run before or foreshadow. Harbinger
and Herald mean a person or thing that indicates what is to come (Herald can also mean
“messenger,” including about something in the past). Portentous and Ominous can mean
“giving a bad sign about the future” (portentous can also mean “very significant, exciting
wonder and awe”).
More Info: “Fore” means “before”—foreshadow literally comes from the idea that an object’s
shadow sometimes arrives before the object does.
forfeit
Definition: Surrender or lose as a result of an error, crime, or failure to fulfill an obligation
Usage: “The rules are clear,” said the umpire. “This is a co-ed league, and if your team doesn’t
have at least three women, you forfeit. Sorry, everybody, no game today!” / If you are found
guilty of defrauding this casino, the forfeiture of your winnings will be only the first of the
consequences coming your way.
More Info: Forfeit comes from the Middle English “forfet,” for “crime” (people often have to
give up, or forfeit, rights or property as punishment for a crime). A forfeit, as a noun, simply
means the property, right, etc. that was forfeited.
fringe
Definition: On the margin, periphery (adj); the people in a group who hold the most extreme
views (noun)
Usage: In America, reincarnation is a fringe belief, but in primarily Hindu countries, the
belief is quite mainstream. / Stacey and Mark liked to say they lived on the fringe of the big
city, but really they had just moved to the suburbs.
Related Words: Penumbra (partial shadow in an eclipse; outer area, periphery)
More Info: Fringe is also, of course, a clothing decoration of hanging cords, strings, etc. (as
worn by cowboys or hippies). The connection is that fringe is on the border or edge of clothes,
just as fringe ideas are on the border or edge of society.
gawky
Definition: Physically awkward (esp. of a tall, skinny person, often used to describe
teenagers)
Usage: As a teenager, she thought of herself as gawky and often slouched so as not to seem so
much taller than her peers; of course, now that she’s a supermodel, no one thinks of her as
gawky at all.
Related Words: Coltish (playful, wild; resembling a young horse, esp. having
disproportionately long legs), Ungainly (awkward, ungraceful)
More Info: To gawk is to stare at something in a blatant, often surprised way. The origin of
gawk is related to an old word for left, or left-handed.
gist
Definition: Main idea, essence
Usage: I didn’t read the whole book, but I read enough to get the gist.
Related Words: Pith (central part, essence), Precis (summary of the essentials of a text)
More Info: If you read enough to get the pith of something, you really deeply understand it to
the core; if you read enough to get the gist, you probably just skimmed, and might need to go
back later to get more detail.
gradation
Definition: A progression, a process taking place gradually, in stages; one of these stages
Usage: The hill’s gradation was so gradual that even those on crutches were able to enjoy the
nature trail. / The short story’s language graded from the vernacular to the erudite so
gradually that you practically didn’t realize until the end that the speaker had become
educated almost before your eyes.
More Info: A grade is a step, stage, or rank, as in grades on papers, school years (“sixth
grade”), or “Grade A” milk
guile
Definition: Clever deceit, cunning, craftiness
Usage: The game of poker is all about guile, manipulating your own body language and patter
to lead other players to erroneous conclusions about the cards you’re holding.
Related Words: Duplicity (deceit, double-dealing, acting in two different ways for the purpose
of deception), Wily (crafty, cunning)
More Info: Beguile can mean to trick or mislead, but can also mean to charm or bewitch—that
is, to trick in a pleasant, sometimes flirtatious way.
haven
Definition: Harbor or port; refuge, safe place
Usage: The relief workers set up the camp as a haven from persecution.
Related Words: Succor (relief, aid), Asylum (refuge or sanctuary; refuge granted by a country
to a foreigner persecuted in her or her own country). Asylum was once used to mean a care
facility for the mentally ill, orphans, etc., but this usage is generally considered insensitive
today.
hedonist
Definition: Person devoted to pleasure
Usage: A vacation is a fine time to practice hedonism, letting your troubles go and pursuing
massages and cocktails as though it’s your life mission.
Related Words: Sybarite (synonym). Voluptuary is also very similar, but adds the idea of
seeking luxury. Licentious (sexually unrestrained; immoral; ignoring the rules), Libertine
(morally or sexually unrestrained person; freethinker)
More Info: The original Hedonists were Greek philosophers who held that pleasure is the
highest moral good, so whatever policy causes the most pleasure (and least pain) to the most
people is the most moral policy
hyberbole
Definition: Deliberate exaggeration for effect
Usage: Oh, come on. Saying “That movie was so bad it made me puke” was surely hyperbole.
I strongly doubt that you actually vomited during or following The Back-Up Plan.
Related Words: Overstatement is similar in meaning.
More Info: Hyperbole shares a root (meaning “throw”) with ballistics—think of it as throwing
your statement quite a bit past the mark.
illiberality
Definition: Narrow-mindedness, bigotry; strictness or lack of generosity
Usage: Students protested the illiberality of an admissions policy that made no allowances
for those from disadvantaged areas or backgrounds who may not have had access to advanced
classes and tutors.
Related Words: Chauvinism (fanatical patriotism or blind enthusiasm for military glory; undue
or biased devotion to any group, cause, etc.), Bigot (obstinately prejudiced person),
Xenophobia (fear of foreigners), Jingoism (extreme chauvinism plus warlike foreign policy),
Insular (pertaining to an island; isolated; illiberal)
More Info: Illiberal can also mean lacking a liberal arts education (as a person), or not
requiring such an education (as a profession).
impair
Definition: Make worse, weaken
Usage: Playing in a rock band without earplugs will almost certainly impair your hearing over
time.
Related Words: Exacerbate and Aggravate (make worse or irritate), Mar (damage, spoil,
deface), Vitiate (ruin, corrupt)
inadvertent
Definition: Unintentional; characterized by a lack of attention, careless
Usage: In attempting to perfect his science project, he inadvertently blew a fuse and plunged
his family’s home into darkness.
Related Words: Fortuitous (happening by chance; lucky), Fluke (stroke of luck, something
accidentally successful)
More Info: To advert is to turn attention to (as in an advertisement). Thus, inadvertent
indicates a lack of attention paid.
incendiary
Definition: Setting on fire, pertaining to arson; arousing strife, rebellion, etc.; “inflaming” the
senses
Usage: The college suspended him for creating an incendiary website, encouraging sit-ins
and protests, but the ACLU defended his right to freedom of speech. / It is illegal to bring
incendiaries on a plane—there are many good reasons why you may not have a stick of
dynamite in your carry-on.
Related Words: Kindle (ignite, cause to begin burning; incite, arouse, inflame), Rouse or
Foment (incite, stir up)
More Info: The root “candere” (“to shine”) also appears in candle, incense, and incensed
(furious, “on fire” with anger).
incipient
Definition: Just beginning; in a very early stage
Usage: The movie producer was devastated when, due to legal trouble over the screenplay, the
incipient project was crushed before it had even begun shooting.
Related Words: Nascent (synonym), Inchoate (just begun, undeveloped, unorganized)
More Info: The “in” here means “on,” and the remainder of the word shares a root with
capable.
incongruous
Definition: Out of place, inappropriate, not harmonious
Usage: Among the student artwork posted in the halls, Angelina’s submission was
incongruous, a dark, gruesome, and even worldly work amidst the happy family portraits and
other childish drawings.
Related Words: Heterogeneous (different in type, incongruous), Conspicuous (standing out)
More Info: Incongruous is, of course, related to congruent, as in “congruent triangles” (those
that are identical).
inconsequential
Definition: Insignificant, unimportant; illogical
Usage: You wrote a bestselling book and got a stellar review in the New York Times—whatever
your cousin has to say about it is simply inconsequential. / Given that your entire essay is
about Hamlet’s relationship with his mother, your thesis that Hamlet’s relationship with
Laertes drives the plot is inconsequential —that is, it does not follow as a consequence of the
evidence you’ve provided.
Related Words: Negligible, Null, and Nil mean “nothing, or too insignificant to matter.”
ingrained
Definition: Deep-rooted, forming part of the very essence; worked into the fiber
Usage: Religious observance had been ingrained in him since birth; he could not remember a
time when he didn’t pray five times a day.
Related Words: Inculcate (teach persistently, implant [an idea] in a person)
More Info: The “grain” root is related to using plant parts for dye; something ingrained is
suffused into the very fiber, like dye.
intelligible
Definition: Able to be understood, clear
Usage: You are doing a disservice to all music by listening through those horrible speakers!
None of the lyrics are even intelligible! I’ll bet you have no idea what this song is even about!
Related Words: Legible applies to handwriting and means “able to be read.” Intelligible can
be used for speech, writing, or ideas. Lucid means clear and applies to people as well as ideas.
As in, “After brain surgery, it will take awhile for the anesthesia to wear off and for her to
become lucid. Then we can test whether her handwriting is intelligible, which will help
pinpoint any loss of functioning.”
intractable
Definition: Difficult to control, manage, or manipulate; hard to cure; stubborn
Usage: That student is positively intractable! Last week, we talked about the importance of
staying in your seat during the lesson—this week, she not only got up mid-class, but she
actually scrambled on top of a bookcase and refused to come down! / Back injuries often result
in intractable pain; despite treatment, patients never feel fully cured.
Related Words: Intransigent, Obdurate, and Obstreperous are also used to describe people
who are stubborn and hard to control.
More Info: The antonym of intractable is tractable, meaning “compliant.” The root “tract” means “manage or handle” (and originally “drag about”) and also appears in tractor, distract,
retract, and, of course, tract (a stretch of land).
intrepid
Definition: Fearless, brave, enduring in the face of adversity
Usage: Intrepid explorers Lewis and Clark led the first U.S. expedition to the West Coast,
facing bitter winters and rough terrain.
Related Words: Hardy (bold, brave, capable of withstanding hardship, fatigue, cold, etc.),
Fortitude (strength in facing adversity), Grit (firmness of mind, esp. during hardship; courage)
More Info: The antonym trepid means frightened and trepidation means fear or alarm. The
USS Intrepid is a decommissioned Naval aircraft carrier docked in NYC as a museum. As a
rule, if it’s the name of a ship, it’s probably something good (even the Titanic was meant to be
positive—“titanic” means very large).
