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attacking cherished traditions.
"Deeply iconoclastic, Jean Genet deliberately set out to shock conventional theatergoers with his radical plays." |
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the worship of idols; excessive admiration.
"Such idolatry of singers of country music is typical of the excessive enthusiasm of youth." |
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unchangeable.
"All things change over time; nothing is immutable." |
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to injure or hurt.
"Drinking alcohol can impair your ability to drive safely." |
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without feeling; imperturbable, stoical.
"Refusing to let the enemy see how deeply shaken he was by his capture, the prisoner kept his face impassive." |
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to hinder or block.
"The special prosecutor determined that the Attorney General, though inept, had not intentionally set out to impede the progress of the investigation." |
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not permitting passage through its substance.
"This new material is impermeable to liquids." |
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calm; placid.
"Wellington remained imperturbable and in full command of the situation in spite of the hysteria and panic all around him." |
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impenetrable, incapable of being damaged or distressed.
"The carpet salesmen told Simone that his most expensive brand of floor covering was warranted to be impervious to ordinary wear and tear."
"Having read so many negative reviews of his acting, the movie star had learned to ignore them, and was now impervious to criticism." |
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incapable of being pacified.
"Madame Defarge was the implacable enemy of the Evremonde family." |
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understood but not stated.
"Jack never told Jill he adored her; he believed his love was implicit in his deeds." |
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to burst inward.
"If you break a vacuum tube, the glass tube implodes." |
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unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly.
"Judy's great fear was that she might inadvertently omit a question on the exam and mismark her whole answer sheet." |
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recently begun; rudimentary; elementary.
"Before the Creation, the world was an inchoate mass." |
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a lack of harmony; absurdity.
"The incongruity of his wearing sneakers with formal attire amused the observers." |
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insignificant; unimportant.
"Brushing off Ali's apologies for having broken the wine glass, Tamara said, 'Don't worry about it, it's inconsequential.'" |
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to introduce something into a larger whole; to combine, unite.
"Breaking with precedent, President Truman ordered the military to incorporate blacks into every branch of the armed services." |
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uncertain, not clearly fixed, indefinite.
"That interest rates shall rise appears certain; when they will do so, however, remains indeterminate." |
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poverty.
"Neither the economists nor the political scientists have found a way to wipe out the inequities of wealth and eliminate indigence from our society." |
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lazy.
"Couch potatoes lead an indolent life lying back in their Lazyboy recliners watching TV." |
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inactive; lacking power to move.
"'Get up, you lazy-bones,' Tina cried to Tony, who lay in bed inert." |
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naive and trusting; young, unsophisticated.
"The woodsman did not realize how ingenuous Little Red Riding Hood was until he heard that she had gone off for a walk in the woods with the Big Bad Wolf." |
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firmly established by nature or habit.
"Katya's inherent love of justice caused her to champion anyone she considered to be treated unfairly by society." |
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harmless.
"An occasional glass of wine with dinner is relatively innocuous and should have no ill effect on most people." |
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unconscious, unresponsive.
"Sherry and I are very different; at times when I would be covered with embarrassment, she seems insensible to shame." |
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to hint; imply, creep in.
"When you said I looked robust, did you mean to insinuate that I'm getting fat?" |
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lacking in flavor; dull.
"Flat prose and flat ginger ale are equally insipid; both lack sparkle." |
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narrow-mindedness; isolation.
"The insularity of the islanders manifested itself in their suspicion of anything foreign." |
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unruly; stubborn; unyielding.
"Charlie Brown's friend Pigpen was intractable; he absolutely refused to bathe." |
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the refusal of any compromise; stubbornness.
"The negotiating team had not expected such intransigence from the striking workers, who rejected any hint of a compromise." |
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to overwhelm; flood, submerge.
"This semester I am inundated with work; you should see the piles of paperwork flooding my desk my desk." |
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accustomed; hardened.
"She became inured to the Alaskan cold." |
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abuse.
"He had expected criticism but not he invective that greeted his proposal." |
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irritable, easily angered.
"Miss Michin's irascible temper intimidated the younger schoolgirls, who feared she'd burst into a rage at any moment." |
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uncertain how to act; weak.
"Once you have made your decision, don't waver; a leader should never appear irresolute." |
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the plan of a trip.
"Disliking sudden changes in plans when she traveled abroad, Ethel refused to make any alterations in the itinerary." |
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