Barron’s GRE Word List (Vocabulary) Test Prep- Letter I

ichthyology
study of fish; CF. ichthyo-: fish

Disciplines like Ichthyology are not often preferred by students

icon(ikon)
religious image; idol; image or representation

The young political leader is considered the youth icon

iconoclastic
attacking cherished traditions; N. iconoclast: one who attacks traditional ideas; one who destroys sacred images

The young rebel was an iconoclast

ideology
system of ideas characteristic of a group or culture

He follows the Gandhian ideology

idiom
expression whose meaning as a whole differs from the meanings of its individual words; distinctive style (of expression); ADJ. idiomatic

The idiom of the modern popular music

idiosyncrasy
individual trait usually odd in nature; behavioral peculiarity; eccentricity; attitude, behavior, or opinion peculiar to a person; anything highly individual or eccentric; ADJ. idiosyncratic

He makes idiosyncratic gestures while speaking

idolatry
worship of idols; excessive admiration or devotion; ADJ. idolatrous

The clan is obsessed with idolatry

idyllic
charmingly carefree; simple and happy

The village presented an idyllic scene

Idyll

short poem idealizing rural life; simple happy period of life (in the country); scene from such a time

It’s an idyll of two young lovers

igneous
produced by fire; of fire; volcanic; (of rocks) formed from lava;

Mostly meteorites are igneous

ignite
kindle; light; catch fire or set fire to

Her talks usually ignite fights

ignoble
unworthy; not noble; dishonorable;

Not to mention an ignoble deed

ignominy
deep disgrace; shame or dishonor; ADJ. ignominious;

She lowered her head in ignominy

illicit
illegal

They supplied cocaine illicitly

illimitable
infinite; limitless

The galaxy has illimitable wonders

illuminate
brighten; clear up or make understandable; enlighten; enable to understand;

Her remarks were illuminating

illusion
misleading vision or visual image; false idea or belief; CF. delusion

She decided that she would not fall a prey to illusion

illusive
deceiving; based on illusion; causing illusion; deceptive

His compliments sound illusive

illusory
illusive; deceptive; not real

The spectacles create am illusory effect

imbalance
lack of balance or symmetry; disproportion

There was some imbalance in the situation

imbecility
weakness of mind; state of being an imbecile; N. imbecile: stupid person; fool

His imbecility was hard to contain

imbibe
drink in

The students imbibed the concepts thoroughly

imbroglio
complicated situation (as in a play); painful or complex misunderstanding (as in a play); entanglement; confused mass (as of papers); V. embroil

Wrestling to free itself from the baleful imbroglio. –Carlyle

imbue
saturate(soak thoroughly); fill

To imbue someone with bitter feelings

immaculate
spotless; flawless; absolutely clean

The temple’s surroundings were immaculate

imminent
impending; near at hand

She’s unaware of the imminent danger

immobility
state of being immovable

The auto strike marked immobility

immolate
offer or kill as a sacrifice (by fire)

The worker threatened to immolate himself

immune
resistant to; free or exempt from; N. immunity

She has become immune to negative comments

immure
imprison; shut up in confinement; CF. wall

The girl was immured for three days

immutable
unchangeable

law is immutable

impair
injure; hurt; damage

The accident impaired her auditory faculties

impale
pierce (with a sharp point);

His skin was impaled by the spear

impalpable
imperceptible(not easily understood); intangible; OP. palpable: tangible; easily perceptible

Those occult concepts are impalpable

impartial
not biased; fair; N. impartiality

A teacher has to be impartial

impart
grant a share of; make known;

They sent the news to impart

impassable
not able to be traveled or crossed

The jungle is impassable

impasse
predicament(dangerous condition) from which there is no escape; situation allowing for no further progress

They reached an impasse in the negotiations.

impassive
without feeling; expressionless; imperturbable; stoical;

He usually wears an impassive expression

impeach
charge (a public official) with crime in office; raise doubts about; indict

The President was impeached

impeccable
faultless

She has an impeccable character

impecunious
without money

His impecunious condition was at worst

impede
hide; retard or obstruct the progress of; block

Diffidence impeded her career growth

impediment
hindrance; stumbling-block; speech defect preventing clear articulation; Ex. speech impediment

He suffers from a speech impediment

impel
drive or force onward; drive to take action; urge to action

The students were impelled to perform well in the exams

impenetrable
not able to be pierced or entered; beyond understanding; impossible to understand;

The mystery seems to be impenetrable

impenitent
not repentant

An impenitent soul

imperative
absolutely necessary; that must be done; critically important; expressing command; N: something that must be done

It is imperative that all the employees sign the register

imperceptible
unnoticeable; impossible to perceive; undetectable

The error is imperceptible

imperial
like an emperor; related to an empire; CF. imperialism

His imperial manners irritated one and all

imperil
put in danger

The hijacker imperiled the lives of passengers

imperious
domineering; too commanding; haughty; CF. imperial/emperor

The boy behaved imperiously

impermeable
impervious; not permitting passage through its substance; impossible to permeate

He’s is impermeably obstinate

impertinent
insolent; rude; not pertinent; N. impertinence

He impertinent answers made her lose during the interview

imperturbable
unshakably calm; placid

His peace of mind is imperturbable

impervious
impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed; incapable of being affected (in one’s opinions);

The cell wall is impervious to water/criticism

impetuous
violent; hasty; rash; impulsive; without careful thought;

That was an impetuous decision

impetus
moving force; momentum; force of a moving body; incentive; stimulus; impulse

She had no impetus to work

impiety
irreverence; lack of respect for God or piety

Those impieties for which they are now visited. –Shak

impinge
infringe; encroach; influence; touch; collide with;

The effects are impinging on every aspect of our lives.

impious
irreverent

It is impious to speak loudly in the temple

implacable
incapable of being pacified; impossible to appease;

Her grief is implacable

implausible
unlikely (to be true); unbelievable

Her reasons are implausible

implement
put into effect; enforce; carry out; supply with tools; Ex. implement the plan/suggestion; N: tool or instrument

The plan was implemented

implicate
incriminate; involve incriminatingly; show to be involved (in a crime); Ex. implicate someone in the crime

The criminal was implicated

implication
something hinted at or suggested; implying; implicating

The implication was understood by all the members present

implicit
understood but not stated; implied; unquestioning and complete; Ex. implicit trust

The meaning of a proverb is implicit

implode
burst inward; CF. vaccum tube

A vacuole implodes

implore
beg

The politician implored the villages to vote for him

impolitic
not wise; not expedient; not politic

It is impolitic to comment on the results now

imponderable
weightless; that cannot undergo precise evaluation; CF. pound

She made an imponderable speech

import
significance; importance; meaning

The speech had much import

importunate
urging; always demanding; troublesomely urgent or persistent

He’s an importunate job seeker

imposture
assuming a false identity; masquerade; CF. impostor

From new legends and fill the world with follies and impostures. –Johnson

impotent
weak; ineffective; lacking in physical strength or power

His plans sound rather impotent

imprecation
curse; swearword

The saint cast an imprecation over the obsessed lady

impregnable
invulnerable; impossible to capture or enter by force;

It was an impregnable fort

impromptu
without previous preparation; off the cuff(end of a sleeve); on the spur of the moment

The students were suggested to make an impromptu speech

impropriety
improperness; unsuitableness

Her attitude demonstrated gross impropriety

improvident
thriftless; not providing for the future

His lifestyle was improvident

improvise
compose on the spur of the moment

The project was improvised in the lab

imprudent
lacking caution; not prudent; injudicious

She was blamed for her imprudent behavior

impudence
impertinence; insolence

Children passing through that phase of life are impudent

impugn
dispute or contradict (often in an insulting way); attack as false or questionable; challenge; gainsay; CF. fight

The audience impugned the judge

impuissance
powerlessness; feebleness

Their own impuissance and weakness. –Holland

impunity
freedom from punishment or harm

Heaven, though slow to wrath, Is never with impunity defied. –Cowper

impute
attribute; ascribe; charge; N. imputation

The children imputed magical powers to the old woman

inadvertently
unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly

The comment was made inadvertently

inalienable
not to be taken away; nontransferable;

Those are inalienable rights

inane
silly; senseless;

He made inane remarks

inanimate
lifeless; not animate

He lay inanimate and supine

inarticulate
speechless; producing indistinct speech; not articulate; not expressing oneself clearly

Overwhelmed by grief she made an inarticulate speech

inaugurate
begin formally; install in office; induct into office by a formal ceremony; N. inauguration; ADJ. inaugural

The new stadium was inaugurated

incandescent
strikingly bright; shining with intense heat; emitting visible light when heated;

It is an incandescent light bulb

incantation
singing or chanting of magic spells; magical formula; (the saying of) words used in magic; CF. enchant

The incantation evokes angels

incapacitate
disable; N. incapacity: lack of capacity

The drug incapacitates body movements

incarcerate
imprison

The criminal was incarcerated for a lifetime

incarnate
endowed with flesh; invested with bodily form; personified;

He’s a devil incarnate

incendiary
arsonist; ADJ: causing fire; of arson;

An incendiary bomb

incense
enrage; infuriate(make furious); make extremely angry; outrage; N: aromatic substance burned to produce a pleasant odor

Her comments incensed public anger

incentive
spur; motive; something which encourages one to greater activity

The executives were promised an incentive

inception
start; beginning

The plan was shelved right at its inception

incessant
uninterrupted; unceasing

The incessant rains caused lot many troubles

inchoate
(of desire, wish, plan) recently begun; not explicit; at the beginning of development; rudimentary; elementary;

An embryo is an inchoate mass of cells

incidence
rate of occurrence; particular occurrence;

The state witnessed a high incidence of infant mortality

incidental
not essential; minor; N: something incidental

She met him incidentally

incident
event; event that causes a crisis

The incident changed his life forever

incinerate
burn to ashes

The tent was incinerated

incipient
beginning; in an early stage

The fetus is till in an incipient stage

incisive
(appreciatively) cutting; sharp;

His incisive remarks were hard to bear

incite
arouse to action; goad; motivate; induce to exist;

The politician intended to incite a riot

inclement
stormy; unkind; unmerciful; CF. clement

The inclement weather posed a major problem

incline
slope; slant;

That’s a steep incline

inclusive
tending to include all; all-inclusive;

The price is inclusive of all additional charges

incognito
with identity concealed; using an assumed name; ADJ.

Kings of the yore roamed around incognito

incoherent
unintelligible; muddled; unable to express one’s thoughts in an orderly manner; illogical; lacking cohesion; not coherent

He spoke incoherently

incommodious
not spacious; inconvenient

The place seems to be incommodious

incompatible
inharmonious; N. incompatibility

There was a profound incompatibility between the couple

incongruity
lack of harmony; absurdity; ADJ. incongruous: lacking in harmony; inappropriate

The clans were incongruous

inconsequential
insignificant; unimportant

Their comments are inconsequential

inconsistency
state of being self-contradictory; lack of uniformity or steadiness; ADJ. inconsistent: displaying a lack of consistency; erratic; contradictory; incompatible

His behavior is marked with inconsistency

incontinent
lacking self-restraint; not continent; licentious

Victorian era witnessed many incontinent people

incontrovertible
indisputable; impossible to dispute; not open to question; unquestionable

The queens position is incontrovertible

incorporate
introduce something into a larger whole; include; embody; give material form to; ADJ.

Changes have been incorporated

incorporeal
without a material body; insubstantial

Saints have an incorporeal existence

incorrigible
uncorrectable

The defendant was incorrigible

incredulity
tendency to disbelief