World List Of I Flashcards
Ideology (eye dee AHL uh jee)
Noun
A system of social or political ideas
Iconoclast (eye KAHN uh klast)
Noun
One who attacks popular belief or institutions
The one who breaks the images
Herbert’s iconoclastic views were not popular with the older members of the board
Idiosyncrasy (id ee oh SINK ruh see)
Noun
A peculiarity ; an eccentricity
Eating green beans drenched in ketchup for breakfast was one of Jordana’s idiosyncrasies.
Idyllic (eye DIL ik)
Adjective
Charming in a rustic way; naturally peaceful
Our vacation in the country was idyllic; we went for long walks down winding dirt roads and didn’t see a newspaper all week.
An idyllic time or place could also be called an idyll
Ignominy ( IG nuh min ee)
Noun
Deep disgrace
After the big scandal, the formerly high flying investment banker fell into a life of shame and ignominy
Illicit ( i LIS it)
Adjective
Illegal; not permitted
The police interviewed hundreds of witnesses, trying to elicit clues that might help them stop an illicit business
Immigrate (IM i grayt)
Verb
To move permanently to a new country
Emigrate means exit and immigrate means come in
Imminent (IM uh nunt)
Adjective
Just about to happen
The pink glow in the east made it clear that sunrise was imminent.
Immutable (i MYOO tuh bul)
Adjective
Unchangeable
Jerry’s mother had only one immutable rule: no dancing on the dinner table
Impartial (im PAHR shul)
Adjective
Fair; not favoring one side or the other; unbiased
Impeccable (im PEK uh bul)
Adjective
Flawless; entirely without sin
Hal’s clothes were always impeccable; even the wrinkles were perfectly creased
Imperial (im PEER ee ul)
Adjective
Like an emperor or an empire
Imperious (im PEER ee us) which means bossy and usually arrogant
Impervious (im PUR vee us)
Adjective
Not allowing anything to pass through; impenetrable
A raincoat, if if is any good, is impervious to water. It is made of an impervious material
Impetuous (im PECH oo wus)
Adjective
Impulsive; extremely impatient
Samantha was so impetuous that she never took more than a few second to make up her mind
Implement (IM pluh munt)
Verb
To carry out
The government was better at creating new laws than at implementing them
Impotent (IM puh tunt)
Adjective
Powerless; helpless; unable to perform sexual intercourse
Omnipotent (ahm NIP uh tunt) means all powerful.after winning a dozen games in a row, the football team began to feel omnipotent.
Impugn (im PYOON)
Verb
To attack, especially to attack the truth or integrity of something
The critic impugned the originality of Jacob’s novel, claiming that long stretches of it had been lifted from the work of someone else
Inane (i NAYN)
Adjective
Silly; senseless
Their plan to make an indoor swimming pool by flooding their basement was inane.
Inaugurate (in AW gyuh rayt)
Verb
To begin officially ; to induct formally into office
The team’s loss inaugurated an era of defeat that lasted for several years
Incandescent (in kun DES unt)
Adjective
Brilliant; giving off heat or light
Jan’s ideas were so incandescent that simply being near her made you feel as though you understood the subject for first time
Incantation (in kan TAY shun)
Noun
A chant; the repetition of statements or phrases in a way reminiscent of a chant
The students quickly became deaf to the principle’s incantations about the importance of school spirit
Incense (in SENS)
Verb
To make very angry
Jeremy was incensed when I told him that even though he was stupid and loathsome, he would be my best friend
Incessant (in SES unt)
Adjective
Unceasing
I will go deaf and lose my mind if your children don’t stop the incessant bickering
Incipient (in SIP ee unt)
Adjective
Beginning; emerging
Support for the plan was incipient, and the planners hoped it would soon grow and spread
Incisive (in SYE siv)
Adjective
Cutting right to the heart of the matter
Lloyd’s essays were always incisive; he never wasted any words, and his reasoning was sharp and persuasive.
Incongruous (in KAHN groo us)
Adjective
Not harmonious; not consistent; not appropriate; not fitting in
Bill’s membership in the motorcycle gang was incongruous with his mild personality and his career as a management consultant
Incorrigible (in KOR uh juh bul)
Adjective
Incapable of being reformed
The convict was an incorrigible criminal; as soon as he got out of prison, he said, he was going to rob another doughnut store
Increment (IN cruh munt)
Noun
An increase; one in a series of increases
Indifferent (in DIF ur unt)
Adjective
Not caring one way or the other; apathetic; mediocre
Indigenous (in DIJ uh nus)
Adjective
Native; originating in that area
Fast food restaurants are indigenous to America, where they were invented
Indigent (IN di junt)
Adjective
Poor
The indigent family had little to eat, nothing to spend, and virtually nothing to wear
Indignant (in DIG nunt)
Adjective
Angry, especially as a result of something unjust or unworthy; insulted
Ted became indignant when the policewoman accused him of stealing the nuclear weapon
Indolent (iN duh lunt)
Adjective
Lazy
Inheriting a lot of money enabled Rodney to do what he loved most: pursue a life of indolence
Indulgent (in DUL junt)
Adjective
Lenient; yielding to desire
Someone who is self indulgent yields to his or her every desire
Ineffable (in EF uh bul)
Adjective
Incapable of being expressed or described
The simple beauty of nature is often so ineffable that it brings tears to our eyes
Inept (in EPT)
Adjective
Clumsy; incompetent; gauche
Julia’s inept attempt at humor drew only groans from the audience
Inert (in URT)
Adjective
Inactive ; sluggish ; not reacting chemically
Helium is an inert gas: it doesn’t burn, it doesn’t explode, and it doesn’t kill you if you inhale it
Inexorable (in EK sur uh bul)
Adjective
Relentless ; inevitable ; unavoidable
Inexorable death finds everyone sooner or later
Infamous (IN fuh mus)
Adjective
Shamefully wicked; having an extremely bad reputation ; disgraceful
To be infamous is to be famous for being evil or bad. An infamous cheater is one whose cheating is well known
Infatuated (in FACH oo ay tid)
Adjective
Foolish; foolishly passionate or attracted; made foolish ; foolishly in love
I was so infatuated with Polly that I drooled and gurgled whenever she was near
Infer (in FUR)
Verb
To conclude ; to deduce
An inference is a deduction or conclusion whereas implication is a hint or suggestion
Infinitesimal (in fin uh TES uh mul)
Adjective
Very very very small, infinitely small
Our chances of winning were infinitesimal, but we played our hearts out anyways
Ingenuous (in JEN yoo us)
Adjective
Frank; without deception; simple; artless; charmingly naive
An ingenue is a somewhat naive young woman, especially a movie actress or character
Disingenuous means crafty or artful
Inherent ( in HAIR unt)
Adjective
Part of the essential nature of something; intrinsic
Wetness is an inherent quality of water
Injunction (in JUNGK shun)
Noun
A command or order , especially a court order
Innate (i NAYT)
Adjective
Existing since birth; inborn ; inherent
Joseph’s kindness was innate it was part of his natural character
Innocuous (i NAHK yoo us)
Adjective
Harmless ; banal
Innocuous is closely related in both origin and meaning to innocent
Inordinate ( in OR duh nit)
Adjective
Excessive ; unreasonable
The math teacher paid an inordinate amount of attention to the grammar rather than algebra
Insatiable ( in SAY shul bul)
Adjective
Hard or impossible to satisfy; greedy ; avaricious
Peter’s addiction never reached satiety
Insidious (in SID ee us)
Adjective
Treacherous; sneaky
Winter was insidious; it crept under the doors and trough cracks in the windows
Insinuate (in SIN yoo ayt)
Verb
To hint; to creep in
He didn’t ask us outright to leave; he merely insinuated, through his tone and his gestures, that it was time for us to go.
Insipid (in SIP id)
Adjective
Dull; bland ; banal
We were bored to death at party; it was full of insipid people making insipid conversation
Insolent (IN suh Lunt)
Adjective
Arrogant; insulting
The insolent sales clerk said she was sorry but store did not accept cash
Instigate (IN stuh gayt)
Verb
To provoke; to stir up
The strike was instigated by the ambitious union president, who wanted to get his name into the newspapers
Insular (IN suh lur)
Adjective
Like an island; isolated
The insular little community had very little contact with the world around it
Insurgent (in SUR junt)
Noun
A rebel; someone who rebels against a government
Integral (IN tuh grul)
Adjective
Essential
Integrate (IN tuh grayt)
Verb
To combine two or more things into a whole
Intractable (in TRAK tub bul)
Adjective
Uncontrollable; stubborn ; disobedient
The intractable child was a torment to his nursery school teacher
Intransigent (in TRAN suh junt)
Adjective
Uncompromising; stubborn
Vijay was an intransigent hard liner and he didn’t care how many people he offended with his views
Intrinsic (in TRIN sik)
Adjective
Part of the essential nature of something; inherent
Larry’s intrinsic boldness was always getting him into trouble.
The opposite of intrinsic is extrinsic.
Introspective (in truh SPEC tiv)
Adjective
Tending to think about oneself; examining one’s feeling
Randy’s introspective examination of his motives led him to conclude that he must have been at fault in the breakup of his marriage
Inundate (IN un dayt)
Verb
To flood; to cover completely with water; to overwhelm
The mother was inundated with telegrams and gifts after she gave birth to octuplets.
Invective (in VEK tiv)
Noun
Insulting or abusive speech
Herman wasn’t much of an orator, but he was brilliant at invective
Inveterate ( in VET ur it)
Adjective
Habitual; firm in habit; deeply rooted
Larry’s practice of spitting into fireplace became inveterate despite his wife’s protestations.
Irascible ( i RAS uh bul)
Adjective
Easily angered or provoked; irritable
A grouch is irascible
The CEO was so irascible, his employees were afraid to talk to him for fear he might hurl paperweights at them.
Ironic (eye RAHN ik)
Adjective
Meaning the opposite of what you seem to say; using words to mean something other than what they seem to mean
Eddie was being ironic when he said he loved Peter like a brother; in truth, he hated him
Irrevocable (i REV uh Kuh bul)
Adjective
Irreversible
My decision to take test is irrevocable as I am left with no reason to delay
Itinerant (eye TIN ur unt)
Adjective
Moving from place to place
The life of a traveling salesman is an itinerant one
