Wordsmart I-M
Iconoclast (eye KAHN uh klast) n one who attacks
popular beliefs or
institutions
Einstein was a scientific iconoclast whose ideas
disproved the
established theories of many eminent physicists
and changed the course
of science.
Ideology n a system of social or political ideas
The Korean War was the result of two conflicting
ideologies that
divided the nation.
Idiosyncrasy: n. a peculiarity; an eccentricity
One of Mr. Tame’s
idiosyncrasies is his fascination of zombies.
Idyllic: adj. charming in a rustic way;
naturally peaceful
My parents’
goal was idyllic; they wanted to live in the countryside
after their retirement.
Ignominy: (IG nuh min ee): n deep disgrace →disgrace:
shame
John looked to the floor in ignominy after being
confronted about his
cheating on the exam.
Illicit: (I LIS it) adj. illegal; not permitted
The mafia engages in numerous illicit businesses
under the police’s radar.
Immigrate: v to move permanently to a new
country
She immigrated to the UK after marrying an
Englishman.
Imminent: adj just about to happen
I had a strange feeling that something terrible
was imminent; then,
the storm hit.
Immutable: adj. unchangeable
The school policies were immutable; the
administration did not value
the opinions of their students.
Impartial: adj. fair, not favoring one side or
the other; unbiased
Zombies are impartial; they do not discriminate
between the rich and
the poor when eating people.
Impeccable: adj. flawless; entirely without sin
His speech was impeccable; he was able to make
an immediate connection
with his audience.
Imperial: adj. like an emperor or an empire
He was the rightful heir of the imperial line,
but he had to live in hiding.
Impervious: adj. not allowing anything to pass
through; impenetrable
John built an impervious fortress that no zombie
could break through.
Impetuous: adj. impulsive; extremely impatient
John is extremely impetuous when it comes to
eating; he finishes
before his mom can lift her spoon.
Implement: v. to carry out
John had a handful of plans made, but rather
than implementing them,
he slept all weekend long.
Impotent: adj. powerless; helpless; unable to
perform
The remaining survivors felt completely impotent
against the
blood-thirsty zombies behind the door.
Impugn: v. to attack, especially to attack the
truth or integrity of something
I impugned his claims by providing evidence that
he had lied about his
whereabouts.
Inane: adj. silly; senseless
The idea of befriending a blood-thirsty zombie
is inane.
Inaugurate: v. to begin officially; to induct
formally into office
The new president’s
inauguration was held yesterday in Washington D.C.
Incandescent (in kun DES unt): adj. brilliant;
giving off heat or light
One incandescent idea can result in a dramatic
advance for the company.
Incantation: n. a chant; the repetition of
statements or phrases in a
way reminiscent of a chant
The mysterious man mumbled some incantation and
disappeared in front
of our eyes.
Incense: v. to make very angry
The student’s
rebellious attitude incensed the teacher, so he kicked
him out of his class.
Incessant: adj. unceasing (continuing or
following without interruption)
The incessant waves of zombies discouraged the army.
Indifferent: adj. not caring one way or the
other; apathetic; mediocre
John was indifferent to the worries of his
parents and went on the
trip with a broken leg.
Indigenous adj. native; originating in that area
(indigenous to “region”)
The indigenous people were treated brutally by
the Western invaders.
Indigent (IN
di junt) adj. poor
The indigent people in the city suffered greatly
after the storm.
Indignant: adj. angry, especially as a result of
something unjust or
unworthy; insulted
I was indignant when my boss forced me to do
mindless work.
Indolent: adj. lazy
Her indolent son woke up at noon and went to bed
again after eating lunch.
Indulgent: adj. lenient; yielding to desire
The indulgent parents hardly punished their kids
even when their
pranks had hurt another student.
Ineffable: adj. incapable of being expressed or
described
Her beauty was ineffable; she captured all the
eyes in the room.
Inept: adj. clumsy, gauche, incompetent
She was absolutely inept at singing; her voice
was intolerable to hear.
Inert: adj. inactive; sluggish; not reacting
chemically
Inert gases never participate in chemical
reactions.
Inexorable: adj. relentless; inevitable;
unavoidable
The incoming asteroid was inexorable; the end of
human civilization
was imminent.
Infamous: adj. shamefully wicked; having an
extremely bad reputation;
disgraceful
The brutal acts of the military will forever
remain infamous.
Infatuated: adj. foolish; foolishly passionate
or attracted; made
foolish; foolish in love
The man was infatuated with Iron Man that he
wore a self-made metal
suit to work.
Infer: v. to conclude; to deduce
I inferred from the heaps of garbage that there
had been a crazy party
last night.
Infinitesimal: adj. very, very, very small;
infinitely small
The zombie virus was infinitesimal that
scientists failed to predict
its deadliness.
Ingenuous: adj. frank; without deception;
simple; artless; charmingly naïve
Young children are ingenuous in that they just
express whatever they
feel in a straightforward way.
Inherent: adj. part of the essential nature of
something; intrinsic
The hardness of diamond is inherent in its
chemical makeup.
Injunction: n. a command or order, especially a
court order
John didn’t
follow the injunction of the doctor to stop playing sports.
Innate: adj. existing since birth; inborn;
inherent
The mark in my neck is innate; I had it since
birth.
Innocuous: adj. harmless; banal
Even thought your intent was innocuous, people
were still angry about
the way you handled the situation.
Inordinate: adj. excessive; unreasonable
The bathroom was inordinately big in comparison
to the overall size of
the small apartment.
Insatiable: adj. hard or impossible to satisfy;
greedy; avaricious
Her high standards were insatiable; it was
impossible to be good
enough in her eyes.
Insidious: (in SID ee us) adj. treacherous;
sneaky
Smoking is insidious; it not only harms your own
lungs, but others
around you due to second hand smoke.
Insinuate: v. to hint; to creep in
His calm voice insinuated that he had the situation
under control.
Insipid: adj. dull; bland; banal
The principal’s
remarks were insipid that almost everyone including
teachers were dozing off.
Insolent: adj. arrogant; insulting
His insolent attitude exasperated me and made me
punch him in the face.
Instigate: v. to provoke; to stir up
The unsolvable equation instigated many
mathematicians to work on it
for several decades.
Insular: adj. like an island; isolated
KMLA is insular in the mountains away from any
major city.
Insurgent: n. a rebel; someone who revolts
against a government
The insurgents finally defeated the dictator’s
army and freed the country.
Integral: adj. essential
Bass plays an integral role in any band.
Integrate: v. to combine two or more things into
a whole
Biophysics is an area of study where the
theories of biology and
physics are being integrated.
Intractable: adj. uncontrollable; stubborn;
disobedient
The intractable dog tried to bite his owner.
Intransigent (in TRAN suh junt): adj.
uncompromising; stubborn
My dad was intransigent in his opposition, so I
gave up getting a motorcycle.
Intrinsic: adj. part of the essential nature of
something; inherent
My acne is so stubborn that it repels every
possible remedy; it now
feels like an intrinsic part of my face.
Introspective:
adj. tending to think about oneself; examining one’s feelings
After
moving away from home, I had the opportunity for introspective reflection and
realized how much I had relied on my parents.
Inundate (IN un dayt): v. to flood; to cover completely with water;
to overwhelm
After
leaving the faucet turned on for a week, the house was completely inundated
with water that I could almost swim in my house.
Invective: n. insulting or abusive speech
His
invectives often irritated people and left him with few friends.
Inveterate (in VET ur it): adj. habitual; firm in habit; deeply
rooted
My roommate
made many inveterate noises that annoyed me whenever I sat next to him.
Irascible: adj. easily angered or provoked; irritable
John became
irascible after his surgery and often yelled at his mother over small things.
Ironic: adj. meaning the opposite of what you seem to say; using
words to mean something other than what they seem to mean
When the
judge said Jane looked very
pretty without
makeup, he was being ironic.
Irrevocable: adj. irreversible
Once you
are affected by the zombie virus, the transformation is irrevocable until an
antidote is discovered.
Itinerant:
adj. moving from place to place
My uncle's
job required him to be itinerant in that he went abroad to contract businesses
deals every week.
