The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate (23 page)

ingenious
(in-JEEN-y
e
s)
adjective

1. clever at inventing new things or methods.

2. cleverly contrived.

Do not confuse
ingenious
with
ingenuous
, which see.

Related words:
ingeniously
adverb
,
ingeniousness
and
ingenuity
(
IN
-j
e
-NOO-i-tee)
both nouns
.

ingenuous
(in-JEN-yoo-
e
s)
adjective

1. open, frank, sincere.

2. unsophisticated, naive.

The adjective
ingenuous
seems to have an attraction for ill-educated writers and speakers who are beguiled by the word's relative rareness compared with
ingenious
, a more common adjective they understand well. While
ingenuous
and
ingenious
a long time ago were synonyms, they now have entirely different meanings despite their similar spellings. Whatever the reason for the confusion of the two words, you must use them correctly.
Ingenuous
means
unsophisticated
, and
ingenious
means
clever at inventing
.
Ingenious
inventers who are
ingenuous
, therefore, will do well to hire a lawyer to protect their interests, lest they fail to protect themselves when dealing with possibly unscrupulous manufacturers interested in putting attractive inventions on the market.

Related words:
ingenuously
adverb
,
ingenuousness
noun
.

ingratiate
(in-GRAY-shee-
AYT
)
verb

bring (oneself) into a person's favor, especially in order to gain an advantage.

Related words:
ingratiating
and
ingratiatory
(in-GRAY-shee-
e
-
TOR
-ee)
both adjectives
,
ingratiation
(in-
GRAY
-shee-AY-sh
e
n)
noun
.

innocuous
(i-NOK-yoo-
e
s)
adjective

1. not injurious, harmless.

2. insignificant and dull.

Related words:
innocuously
adverb
,
innocuousness
and
innocuity
(
IN
-
e
-KYOO-i-tee)
both nouns
.

inordinate
(in-OR-d
e
-nit)
adjective

excessive; immoderate, intemperate.

Related words:
inordinately
adverb
,
inordinateness
noun
.

insatiate
(in-SAY-shee-it)
adjective

never satisfied.

Related words:
insatiately
adverb
,
insatiateness
and
insatiety
(
IN
-s
e
-T
I
-
e
-tee)
both nouns
.

inscrutable
(in-SKROO-t
e
-b
e
l)
adjective

1. impossible to understand or interpret.

2. mysterious, baffling.

Related words:
inscrutability
(in-
SKROO
-t
e
-BIL-i-tee) and
inscrutableness
(in-SKROO-t
e
-b
e
l-nis)
both nouns
,
inscrutably
adverb
.

insensate
(in-SEN-sayt)
adjective

1. without physical sensation, unfeeling.

2. without good sense, foolish.

Related words:
insensately
adverb
,
insensateness
noun
.

instauration
(
IN
-staw-RAY-sh
e
n)
noun

restoration, renewal, renovation.

Related word:
instaurator
(IN-staw-
RAY
-t
e
r)
noun
.

internecine
(
IN
-t
e
r-NEE-seen)
adjective
, also given as
internecive
(
IN
-t
e
r-NEE-siv)

1. mutually destructive; deadly.

2. of a struggle within a nation, organization, or the like.

Sense 2 of
internecine
has given thoughtful writers and some lexicographers much to argue about. They prefer not to use this adjective in any sense but
mutually destructive or deadly
, as in “The
internecine
war we waged in Europe in World War II,” which clearly was not
a struggle within a nation
. But anyone who holds to this puristic view is bound to lose out. You are well advised to use the term in either of the senses given above and not argue against either sense. Notwithstanding, when you wish to use
internecine
, make sure the context indicates clearly which sense you intend.

intestate
(in-TES-tayt)
adjective

not having made a valid will before death occurs.

Related word:
intestacy
(in-TES-t
e
-see)
noun
.

intumesce
(
IN
-tuu-MES)
verb

swell up, become swollen.

Related words:
intumescence
(
IN
-tuu-MES-
e
ns)
noun
,
intumescent
adjective
.

inure
(in-YUUR)
verb

accustom, especially to something unpleasant; habituate.

Related word:
inuredness
(in-YUUR-id-nis) and
inurement
,
both nouns
.

inveigh
(in-VAY)
verb

attack violently or bitterly in words; revile.

Related word:
inveigher
noun
.

inveterate
(in-VET-
e
r-it)
adjective

1. habitual.

2. firmly established.

Related words:
inveteracy
and
inveterateness
both nouns
,
inveterately
adverb
.

invidious
(in-VID-ee-
e
s)
adjective

1. likely to cause resentment because of real or imagined injustice.

2. hateful.

Related words:
invidiously
adverb
,
invidiousness
noun
.

irascible
(i-RAS-
e
-b
e
l)
adjective

irritable, hot-tempered.

Related words:
irascibility
(i-
RAS
-
e
-BIL-i-tee) and
irascibleness
both nouns
,
irascibly
adverb
.

irrefragable
(i-REF-r
e
-g
e
-b
e
l)
adjective

indisputable, incontestable; unanswerable.

Related words:
irrefragability
(i-
REF
-r
e
-g
e
-BIL-i-tee) and
irrefragableness
(i-REF-r
e
-g
e
-b
e
l-nis)
both nouns
,
irrefragably
(i-REF-r
e
-g
e
-blee)
adverb
.

isocracy
(
I
-SOK-r
e
-see)
noun, plural
isocracies

a government in which all individuals have equal political power.

Related words:
isocrat
(
I
-s
e
-
KRAT
)
noun
,
isocratic
(
I
-s
e
-KRAT-ik)
adjective
.

iterate
(IT-
e
-
RAYT
)
verb

utter again; repeat or perform again.

Related words:
iteration
(
IT
-
e
-RAY-sh
e
n)
noun
,
iterative
(IT-
e
r-
e
-tiv)
adjective
,
iteratively
adverb
.

jactation
(jak-TAY-sh
e
n)
noun

boasting; bragging.

janissary
(JAN-
e
-
SER
-ee)
noun, plural
janissaries
; also given as
janizary
(JAN-
e
-
ZER
-ee),
plural
janizaries

1. a devoted follower or supporter.

2. a Turkish soldier.

3. from the 14th to the 19th century, a member of the Turkish Sultan's guard.

jaundiced
(JAWN-dist)
adjective

1. discolored as if by jaundice (a disease marked by yellowness of the skin, of the whites of the eyes, etc.).

2. filled with resentment, envy, or jealousy.

jejune
(ji-JOON)
adjective

1. scanty.

2. meager, not nourishing.

3. unsatisfying to the mind; without significance; insipid.

4. puerile, childish; immature.

Related words:
jejunely
adverb
,
jejuneness
and
jejunity
(ji-JOON-
e
-tee)
both nouns
.

jeremiad
(
JER
-
e
-M
I
-
e
d)
noun

1. a prolonged mournful complaint about one's troubles.

2. a lamentation.

jerkin
(JUR-kin)
noun

a sleeveless jacket or vest.

jetsam
(JET-s
e
m)
noun

goods thrown overboard from a ship in distress to lighten it, especially such goods that are washed ashore.

See
flotsam
.

jettison
(JET-
e
-s
e
n)
verb

1. throw (goods) overboard, especially to lighten a ship in distress.

2. discard (something that is no longer wanted); abandon.

Related word:
jettisonable
(JET-
e
-s
e
n-
e
-b
e
l)
adjective
.

jocular
(JOK-y
e
-l
e
r)
adjective

1. given to joking or jesting.

2. humorous; waggish.

Related words:
jocularity
(
JOK
-y
e
-LAR-i-tee)
noun
,
jocularly
(JOK-y
e
-l
e
r-lee)
adverb
.

jocund
(JOK-
e
nd)
adjective

merry; cheerful; sprightly.

Related words:
jocundity
(joh-KUN-di-tee)
noun
,
jocundly
(JOK-
e
nd-lee)
adverb
.

jodhpurs
(JOD-p
e
rz)
noun

riding breeches cut full about the hips and fitting closely from the kness to the ankles.

The aspect of
jodhpurs
that demands attention is its pronunciation, which is mistakenly and often heard as JOD-f
e
rz. Take note of the correct pronunciation, JOD-p
e
rz, and remember to pronounce
jodhpurs
correctly.

joust
(jowst
or
joost,
also pronounced
just)
verb

1. compete or struggle.

2. contend in a jousting tournament.

Related word:
jouster
noun
.

justiciable
(ju-STISH-
e
-b
e
l)
adjective

capable of being settled by the action of a court.

Related word:
justiciability
(ju-
STISH
-
e
-BIL-i-tee)
noun
.

juxtapose
(JUK-st
e
-
POHZ
)
verb

place side by side or close together, especially for purposes of comparison or contrast.

Related word:
juxtaposition
(
JUK
-st
e
-p
e
-ZISH-
e
n)
noun
.