Inept

(adj.) incompetent; clumsy

1. She would rather update the budget book herself, since her assistant is so inept.

Inert

(adj.) not reacting chemically; inactive

1. Inert gases like krypton and argon can enhance window insulation.

Inevitable

(adj.) sure to happen; unavoidable

1. A confrontation between the disagreeing neighbors seemed inevitable.

Infamous

(adj.) having a bad reputation; notorious

1. After producing machines that developed many problems, the production company became infamous for poor manufacturing.
2. The infamous gang was known for robbery.

Infamy

(n.) a bad reputation

1. The town had only 98 residents, so all it took was one bad apple to bring infamy on the whole place.

Infer

(v.) form an opinion; conclude

1. From the broad outline he supplied it was easy to infer that the applicant knew a great deal about trains.

Ingenious

(adj.) clever, resourceful

1. His ingenious idea made it possible to double production at no extra cost.

Ingénue

(n.) an unworldly young woman

1. As an ingénue, Corky had no experience outside of her small town.

Ingenuous

(adj.) noble; honorable; candid; also naive, simple, artless, without guile

1. The ingenuous doctor had a great bedside manner, especially when it came to laying out the full implications of an illness.

Ingratiate

(v.) to bring into one's good graces

1. The man was hoping to ingratiate himself with his wife by buying a bouquet of flowers and candy.

Ingratitude

(n.) ungratefulness

1. When she failed to send a thank-you card, her friend took it as a sign of ingratitude.

Inherent

(adj.) part of the essential character; intrinsic

1. A constant smile is inherent in pageant competitors.
2. The inherent desire to do well is present throughout the family.

Inimical

(adj.) hostile, unfriendly

1. The chess player directed an inimical stare at his opponent to knock him off his game.

Iniquitous

(adj.) wicked; unjust

1. The verbal abuse towards the man was truly iniquitous.

Initiate

(v.; n.) begin; admit into a group; a person who is in the process of being admitted into a group

1. He initiated the dinner discussion by asking his father to borrow the car.
2. As an initiate to the Explorers, George was expected to have a taste for the outdoor life.

Innate

(adj.) natural; inborn

1. Her talent is wondrous: it hardly matters whether it's innate or acquired.
2. A lion's hunting skills are innate.

Innocuous

(adj.) harmless; dull; innocent

1. The remark was rude but innocuous.
2. He couldn't bear to sit through another innocuous lecture.
3. The teens engaged in an innocuous game of touch football.

Innovate

(v.) introduce a change; depart from the old

1. She innovated a new product for the home construction market.

Innuendo

(n.) an indirect remark; insinuation

1. The student made an innuendo referring to the professor.
2. The office was rife with innuendo that a takeover was in the works.

Inquisitive

(adj.) eager to ask questions in order to learn

1. An inquisitive youngster is likely to become a wise adult.

Insinuate

(v.) to work into gradually and indirectly

1. He will insinuate his need for a vacation by saying how tired he has been lately.

Insipid

(adj.) uninteresting, boring flat, dull

1. Many people left the insipid movie before it was finished.
2. Declaring the offerings insipid, the critic grudgingly awarded the restaurant one star.

Insolvent

(adj.) unable to pay debts

1. The insolvent state of his bank account kept him from writing any checks.

Instigate

(v.) start; provoke

1. It was uncertain to the police as to which party instigated the riot.

Insular

(adj.) having the characteristics of an island; narrow-minded, provincial

1. After walking along the entire perimeter and seeing that the spit of land was actually insular, we realized it was time to build a boat.
2. His insular approach to education makes him a pariah among liberals.

Insularity

(n.) having the characteristics of an island

1. The insularity of the country made it a great place to build a resort.

Intangible

(adj.) incapable of being touched; immaterial

1. Intangible though it may be, sometimes just knowing that the work you do helps others is reward enough.

Intercede

(v.) to plead on behalf of another; mediate

1. The superpowers were called on to intercede in the talks between the two warring nations.

Intermittent

(adj.) periodic; occasional

1. Luckily, the snow was only intermittent, so the accumulation was slight.
2. The intermittent blinking light was distracting.

Intractable

(adj.) stubborn, obstinate; not easily taught or disciplined

1. Every teacher in the school became frustrated with the intractable student and sent him to the principal's office.
2. An intractable pet can be very frustrating.

Intransigent

(adj.) uncompromising

1. With intransigent values, no amount of arguing could change her mind.
2. The baseball owners and players remained intransigent, so a deal was never struck.

Intrepid

(adj.) fearless, bold

1. The intrepid photographer flew on some of the fiercest bombing raids of the war.
2. Her intrepid actions deserved a medal.

Inundate

(v.) to flood; to overwhelm with a large amount of

1. The broken water main inundated the business district with water.
2. Surfing the Internet can inundate you with information: That's why a web browser comes in handy.

Inured

(adj.) accustomed to pain

1. Beekeepers eventually become inured to bee stings.

Inveterate

(adj.) a practice settled on over a long period of time

1. The inveterate induction ceremony bespoke one of the school's great traditions.

Invoke

(v.) ask for; call upon

Iota

(n.) a very small piece

1. There wasn't one iota of evidence to suggest a conspiracy.

Irascible

(adj.) prone to anger

1. The irascible teenager was known to cause fights when upset.
2. Knowing that the king was irascible, the servants decided not to tell him about the broken crystal.

Ironic

(adj.) contradictory, inconsistent; sarcastic

1. Is it not ironic that Americans will toss out leftover French fries while people around the globe continue to starve?

Irrational

(adj.) not logical

1. It would be irrational to climb Mt. Everest without some very warm clothing.

Irreparable

(adj.) that which cannot be repaired or regained

1. The damage to the house after the flood was irreparable.
2. The head-on collision left the car irreparable.

Irreproachable

(adj.) without blame or faults

1. The honesty of the priest made him irreproachable.

Itinerary

(n.) travel plan; schedule; course

1. Their trip's itinerary was disrupted by an unexpected snow storm.

Jaded

(adj.) worn-out

1. A person may become jaded if forced to work too many hours.

Jargon

(n.) incoherent speech; specialized vocabulary in certain fields

1. The conversation was nothing but jargon, but then the speakers were nothing but cartoon characters who specialize in an oddly bracing form of gibberish.
2. The engineers' jargon is indecipherable to a layperson.

Jeopardy

(n.) danger; peril

1. The campers realized they were in potential jeopardy when the bears surrounded their camp.

Jester

(n.) a person employed to amuse

1. The jester tried all of his tricks to get the girl to laugh.

Jettison

(v.) to throw overboard goods to lighten a vehicle; to discard

1. To raise the balloon above the storm clouds, they had to jettison the ballast.

Jocund

(adj.) happy, cheerful, genial, gay

1. The puppy kept a smile on the jocund boy's face.
2. The jocund atmosphere was due to the team's victory in the playoffs.

Jollity

(n.) being fun or jolly

1. The jollity of the crowd was seen in the cheering and laughing.