ineligible.
ineluctable.
Inevitable, unavoidable.
inequable, inequitable.
The first means not even or uniform; the second means unfair.
ineradicable.
inevitable.
in excelsis.
(Lat.) “To the highest degree.”
inexcusable.
inexplicable.
inexpressible.
in extenso.
(Lat.) “At full length.”
inextinguishable.
in extremis.
(Lat.) “At the point of death” in dire circumstances.
infallible.
infer, imply.
Imply
means to suggest: “He implied that I was a fool.”
Infer
means to deduce: “After three hours of waiting, we inferred that they weren't coming.” The condition of being able to make an inference is
inferable.
infinitesimal.
infinitude.
in flagrante delicto.
(Lat.) In the act of commiting an offense.
inflammable, flammable, nonflammable.
Although
inflammable
means “capable of being burned,” it has so often been taken to mean the opposite that most authorities now suggest that it be avoided. It is deemed generally better to use
flammable
for materials that will burn and
nonflammable
for those that will not.
inflammation, inflammatory.
Not
im-.
inflation
has become so agreeably quiescent in recent years that the word and its several variant forms are much less troublesome than they were when this book first appeared. However (and just in case), it is worth noting a few definitions.
Inflation
itself means that the money supply and prices are rising.
Hyperinflation
means that they are rising rapidly (at an annual rate of at least 20 percent).
Deflation
means that they are falling, and
reflation
that they are being pushed up again after a period of deflation.
Stagflation
means that prices are rising while output is stagnant.
Disinflation
, a word so vague in sense to most readers that it is almost always better avoided, means that prices are rising but at a rate slower than before. Finally, bear in mind that if the rate of inflation was 4.5 percent last month and 3.5 percent this month, it does not mean that prices are falling; they are still rising, but at a slower rate.
inflexible.
infra dig
is the abbreviation of
infra dignitatem,
which translates to “without (or beneath) dignity.”
ingenious, ingenuous.
The first means to be clever or inventive; the second means innocent, unsophisticated, guileless.
ingénue.
Ingushetia
(or
Ingushetiya
). Russian republic.
inimical.
Harmful, antagonistic.
iniquitous.
Wicked.
Inkatha Freedom Party,
South Africa.
in loco parentis.
(Lat.) “In place of the parent.”
in media res.
(Lat.) “In the middle of things.”
in memoriam.
Not
-um.
Innes, George.
(1825â1894) American landscape painter of the Hudson River school.
innocent.
It is pedantic to insist on it too rigorously on all occasions, but it is worth noting that people do not actually plead
innocent
(since one of the hallmarks of our legal system is that innocence is presumed). Strictly, they plead guilty or not guilty.
innocuous.
innuendoes.
inoculate.
in order to.
A wordy locution. In nearly every instance, removing
in order
tightens the sentence without altering the sense. See also
IN
,
INTO
,
IN TO
.
Inouye, Daniel K.
(1924â) U.S. senator from Hawaii.
inscrutable.
insects.
It is always worth remembering that the term does not apply to spiders, mites, and ticks, which are arachnids, a different class of creature altogether. Although some dictionaries (
American Heritage
, for one) allow the looser usage in informal or in nontechnical writing, it is unquestionably incorrect and thus better avoided almost always. If you need a term to describe insects and spiders together, the word is
arthropods
.
inshallah.
(Arab.) “If Allah wills it.”
insidious, invidious.
Insidious
indicates the stealthy or tardily detected spread of something undesirable (“an insidious leak in the pipe”).
Invidious
means offensive or inviting animosity (“I was angered by his invidious remarks”).
insignia.
(Sing. and pl.) Historically,
insigne
is the correct singular, but almost no authority insists on it now.
in situ.
(Lat.) “In place.”
insofar.
(One word.)
insouciance, insouciant.
Lack of concern, carefree.
install, installment.
instantaneous.
instill.
Institut de France.
Not
-tute.
Umbrella organization for the five French academies: Académie des Beaux-Arts, Académie Française, Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Académie des Sciences, and the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques.
insuperable.
insuppressible.
insurer.
Not
-or.
intelligentsia.
The intellectual elite of a society.
intelligible.
in tenebris.
(Lat.) “In the dark,” in doubt.
intense, intensive.
Intense
should describe things that are heavy or extreme or occur to a high degree (“intense sunlight,” “intense downpour”).
Intensive
implies a concentrated focus (“intensive care,” “an intensive search”). Although the two words often come to the same thing, they needn't. An intense bombardment, as Fowler pointed out, is a severe one. An intensive bombardment is one directed at a small (or relatively small) area.
inter alia.
(Lat.) “Among other things.”
intermezzo.
In music, a short piece between longer ones; pl.
intermezzi/intermezzos.
interminable.
International Atomic Energy Agency.
Not
Authority
.
international courts.
Understandably, these sometimes cause confusion. The International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, is an offspring of the United Nations and deals with disputes between or among UN member states. The European Court of Justice, in Luxembourg, is a European Union institution dealing exclusively with disputes involving EU member states. The European Court of Human Rights, in Strasbourg, France, addresses issues of civil liberties arising from the European Convention on Human Rights. It has no connection with the United Nations or European Union.
International Olympic Committee.
Not
Olympics
.
internecine.
For more than two hundred years writers have used
internecine
in the sense of a costly or self-destructive conflict, even though etymologically the word signifies only a slaughter or massacre without any explicit sense of cost to the victor. It has been misused for so long that it would be pedantic and wildly optimistic to try to enforce its original meaning, but it should at least be reserved for bloody and violent disputes and not mere squabblings.
interpolate.
To insert.
interregnum.
Period between reigns; pl.
interregnums.
interrelated.
Note
-rr-.
in toto.
(Lat.) “In total.”
intransitive verbs
are those that do not require a direct object, as with
sleep
in the sentence “He sleeps all night.”
intrauterine device.
intra vires.
(Lat.) “Within one's powers.”
intrigue.
Originally
intrigue
signified underhanded plotting and nothing else. The looser meaning of arousing or fascinating (“We found the lecture intriguing”) is now established. It is, however, greatly overworked and almost always better replaced by a more telling word.
in utero.
(Lat.) “In the uterus.”
in vacuo.
(Lat.) “In a vacuum.”
invariably
does not mean
frequently
or
usually
. It means fixed, constant, not subject to changeâin short, without variance.
inveigh, inveigle.
Occasionally confused. The first means to speak strongly against (“He inveighed against the rise in taxes”). The second means to entice or cajole (“They inveigled an invitation to the party”).
invidious, insidious.
Invidious
means unfair or likely to cause offense;
insidious
describes the stealthy spread of something undesirable.
in vino veritas.
(Lat.) “In wine there is truth.”
in vitro.
(Lat.) Literally “in glass,” i.e., in a test tube, as with in vitro fertilization.
in vivo.
(Lat.) “In a living organism.”
ipissima verba.
(Lat.) “The very words.”
IPO.
Short for
initial public offering,
the term for stock issued on a company's market debut.
ipso facto.
(Lat.) “By the very fact.”
IQ.
Intelligence quotient.
Iraqi, Iraqis.
Ireland, Republic of
(in Gaelic, Eire), consists of the following provinces (and their counties): Connacht (Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo), Leinster (Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow), Munster (Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford), and Ulster (Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan).
Irgun Zvai Leumi.
Jewish guerrilla organization whose aim was to establish a state in Israel.
iridescence, iridescent.
irony, sarcasm.
Irony
is the use of words to convey a contradiction between the literal and intended meanings.
Sarcasm
is very like irony except that it is more stinging. Where the primary intent behind irony is to amuse, with sarcasm it is to wound or score points.
Iroquois.
Native American group consisting of Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora peoples; pl. same.
Irrawaddy.
Principal river of Burma.
irreconcilable.
irrefragable, irrefrangible.
The first means indisputable, the second indestructible, but both are inescapably pretentious when such useful synonyms are available.
irregardless
is not a real word; make it
regardless
.
irrelevance, irrelevant.
irreparable.
irreplaceable.
irrepressible.
irresistible.
irreversible.
Isaiah.
Book of the Old Testament.
Isakson, Johnny.
(1944â) U.S. senator from Georgia.
ISBN.
International Standard Book Number, an identifying number on books.
Ischia.
Volcanic island in the Bay of Naples, Italy.
-ise/-ize.
Since about the time of Noah Webster, American users have been strongly inclined to use
-ize
terminations on verbs such as
recognize
and
conceptualize
, while in Britain
-ise
endings remain more common. However, it is worth noting that even under the
-ize
system, certain verbs continue always to end in-
ise
, of which the following are the main ones:
advertise, apprise, chastise, circumcise, comprise, compromise, demise, despise, devise, disguise, excise, exercise, franchise, improvise, incise, merchandise, reprise, supervise, surmise, surprise, televise
.
Iseult/Isolde/Isolt/Ysolt.
In Arthurian legend, an Irish princess who falls tragically in love with Tristan, the nephew of a Cornish king. Wagner's opera is
Tristan und Isolde
.
Ishiguro, Kazuo.
(1954â) British novelist.
isosceles triangle.
One with two equal sides.
Isozaki, Arata.
(1931â) Japanese architect.
Issigonis, Sir Alec.
(1906â1988) Turkish-born British car designer.
Italy
is divided into twenty regions: Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, FriuliâVenezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia (Lombardy), Marche (Marches), Molise, Piemonte (Piedmont), Puglia (Apulia), Sardegna (Sardinia), Sicilia (Sicily), TrentinoâAlto Adige, Toscana (Tuscany), Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto.