I Flashcards
Idiosyncrasy
Noun
Peculiarity of temperament, eccentricity:
His numerous idiosyncrasies included a fondness for wearing bright green shoes with mauve socks.
Synonym: humors; oddity; quirk
Ignoble
Adj.
Having low moral standards, not noble in character; mean:
The photographer was paid a princely sum for the picture of the self claimed ethicist in the ignoble act of of pickpocketing.
Synonym: vulgar
Imbue
Verb
To infuse; dye, wet, moisten:
Lisa struggled to imbue her children with decent values.
Synonym: permeate; pervade
Impasse
Noun
Blocked path; dilemma with no solution:
The rock slide produced an impasse, so no one could proceed further on the road.
Synonym: deadlock; stalemate
Impecunious
Adj.
Poor; having no money:
After the stock market crashed, many former millionaires found themselves impecunious.
Synonym: indigent; destitute; needy
Imperturbable
Adj.
Not capable of being disturbed:
The counselor had so much experience dealing with distraught children that she was imperturbable, even when faced with the wildest tantrums.
Iconoclast
Noun
One who opposes established belief, customs, and institutions:
His lack of regard for traditional beliefs soon established him as an iconoclast.
Synonym: maverick; nonconformist; rebel
Impugn
Verb
Dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of a statement or motive; call into question:
The father does not impugn her capacity as a good mother.
Synonym: challenge; query
Ignominious
Adj
Deserving or causing public disgrace or shame:
No other party risked ignominious defeat.
Synonym: humiliating
Ingenuous
Adj
Innocent and unsuspecting:
Her ingenuous thirst for experience in the computer science field
Synonym: naive
Inundate
Verb
Overwhelm with things or people to be dealt with:
We’ve been inundated with complaints from listeners.
Synonym: overrun; overload
Impetuous
Adj
Quick to act without thinking:
It is not good for an investment broker to be impetuous since much thought should be given to all the possible options.
Synonym: impulsive; precipitate
Impious
Adj
Not devout in religion:
The nun cut herself off from her impious family after she entered the convent.
Synonym: immoral
Incarnadine
Adj
Blood-red in color:
At his mothers mention of his baby picture, the shy boy’s cheeks turned incarnadine with embarrassment.
Synonym: reddened
Inchoate
Adj
Not fully formed, disorganized:
The idea expressed in Nietzsche’s mature work also appear in an inchoate form in his earliest writings.
Synonym: nascent; amorphous; incoherent
Impervious
Adj
Impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected:
A good raincoat will be impervious to moisture.
Synonym: resistant; hermetic
Implacable
Adj
Unable to calm down or made peaceful:
His rage at the betrayal was so great that he remained implacable for weeks.
Synonym: inexorable; intransigent; unforgiving
Impervious
Adj
Impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected:
A good raincoat will be impervious to moisture.
Synonym: resistant; hermetic
Impetuous
Adj
Quick to act without thinking:
It is not good for an investment broker to be impetuous since much thought should be given to all the possible options.
Synonym: impulsive; precipitate
Impious
Adj
Not devout in religion:
The nun cut herself off from her impious family after she entered the convent.
Synonym: immoral
Inculcate
Verb
To teach, impress in the mind:
Most parents inculcate their children with their beliefs and ideas instead of allowing them to develop their own values.
Synonym: implant; indoctrinate; preach
Indolent
Adj
Habitually lazy; idle:
Her indolent ways for her fired from many jobs.
Synonym: lethargic; sluggish
Inexorable
Adj
Inflexible, unyielding:
The inexorable force of the twister swept away their house.
Synonym: obdurate; implacable
Ingrate
Noun
Ungrateful person:
When none of her relatives thanked her for the fruitcake a she had sent them, Lisa condemned them all as ingrates.
Synonym: churl
Ingratiate
Verb
To gain favor with another by deliberate effort; to seek to please somebody so as to gain an advantage:
The new intern tried to ingratiate herself with the managers so that they might consider her for a future job.
Synonym: flatter
Inimical
Adj
Hostile, unfriendly;
Even though a cease fire had been in place for months, the two sides were still inimical to each other.
Synonym: adverse; dissident; recalcitrant
Iniquity
Noun
Sin, evil act:
The mayor promised to close every den of iniquity in this town.
Synonym: enormity; vice; wickedness
Innocuous
Adj
Harmless:
Some snakes are poisonous, but most species are innocuous and pose no danger to humans.
Synonym: benign
Inquest
Noun
An investigation, an inquiry
The police chief ordered an inquest to determine what went wrong.
Synonym: research
Insipid
Adj
Lacking interest or flavor:
Synonym: banal; stale; vapid
Insurrection
Noun
Rebellion:
After the emperor’s troops crushed the insurrection, its leaders fled the country.
Synonym: mutiny; revolt
Inter
Verb
To bury:
After giving the masses one last chance to pay their respects, the leader’s body was interred.
Synonym: entomb
Interregnum
Noun
Interval between reigns:
When John f Kennedy was shot, there was a brief interregnum before Lyndon b Johnson became president.
Intractable
Adj
Not easily managed or manipulated:
Intractable for hours, the wild horses eventually allowed the rider to mount.
Synonym: stubborn; unruly
Intransigent
Adj
Uncompromising, refusing to be reconciled:
The professor was intransigent on the deadline, insisting that everyone turn in the assignment at the same time.
Synonym: implacable; obstinate; obdurate
Intrepid
Adj
Fearless, resolutely courageous:
Despite freezing winds, the intrepid hiker completed his ascent.
Synonym: brave
Inure
Verb
To harden; accustom, become used to:
Eventually, mike became inured to the sirens that went off every night.
Synonym: condition; familiarize; habituate
Invective
Noun
Abusive language:
A stream of invective poured from mrs. Pratt’s mouth as she watched the vandals smash her ceramic frog.
Synonym: diatribe; denunciation; tirade
Investiture
Noun
Ceremony conferring authorities:
At Napoleon’s investiture, he grabbed the crown from the Pope’s hands and placed it in his head himself.
Synonym: inaugural
Invidious
Adj
Envious; obnoxious, offensive; likely to promise ill-will:
It is cruel and invidious for parents to ah favorites with their children.
Synonym: insulting; resentful
Irascible
Adj
Easily made angry:
Mike’s irascible and violent nature made all who dealt with him fear for their lives.
Synonym: irritable; cantankerous; ornery
Itinerant
Adj
Wandering from place to place; unsettled:
The itinerant tomcat came back to the johanssan homestead every two months.
Synonym: nomadic; vagrant
Indefatigable
Adj
(Of a person or their efforts) persisting tirelessly.
An indefatigable defender of human rights
Synonym: tireless, unflagging
Inscrutable
Adj
Impossible to understand or Interpret.
Guy looked blankly inscrutable.
Synonym: enigmatic, mysterious
Impart
Verb
Make information known; communicate:
Teachers had a duty to impart strong morals to their students.
Synonym: convey; bestow
Impertinent
Adj
Not showing proper respect; rude:
She answers impertinent questions without being offended.
Synonym: insolent, discourteous
Imperium
Noun
Absolute power:
It was the high noon of imperium, an age when there was something empowering about being an American.
Immaculate
Adj
Free from moral blemish or impurity:
Bostrom tends to see the mind as immaculate code, the body as inefficient hardware.
Irresolute
Adj
Showing or feeling hesitancy; uncertain:
She stood irresolute outside his door.
Synonym: indecisive, equivocating, dithering
Imprecation
Noun
A spoken curse:
She hurled her imprecations at anyone who might be listening.
