G
- garrulous
- (adj.) talkative, wordy (Some talk-show hosts are so garrulous that their guests can’t get a word in edgewise.)
- grandiloquence
- (n.) lofty, pompous language (The student thought her grandiloquence would make her sound smart, but neither the class nor the teacher bought it.)
- gregarious
- (adj.) drawn to the company of others, sociable (Well, if you’re not gregarious, I don’t know why you would want to go to a singles party!)
H
- hackneyed
- (adj.) unoriginal, trite (A girl can only hear “I love you” so many times before it begins to sound hackneyed and meaningless.)
- hapless
- (adj.) unlucky (My poor, hapless family never seems to pick a sunny week to go on vacation.)
- harangue
- 1. (n.) a ranting speech (Everyone had heard the teacher’s harangue about gum chewing in class before.)
- 2. (v.) to give such a speech (But this time the teacher harangued the class about the importance of brushing your teeth after chewing gum.)
- hegemony
- (n.) domination over others (Britain’s hegemony over its colonies was threatened once nationalist sentiment began to spread around the world.)
I
- iconoclast
- (n.) one who attacks common beliefs or institutions (Jane goes to one protest after another, but she seems to be an iconoclast rather than an activist with a progressive agenda.)
- ignominious
- (adj.) humiliating, disgracing (It was really ignominious to be kicked out of the dorm for having an illegal gas stove in my room.)
- impassive
- (adj.) stoic, not susceptible to suffering (Stop being so impassive; it’s healthy to cry every now and then.)
- imperious
- (adj.) commanding, domineering (The imperious nature of your manner led me to dislike you at once.)
- impertinent
- (adj.) rude, insolent (Most of your comments are so impertinent that I don’t wish to dignify them with an answer.)
- impervious
- (adj.) impenetrable, incapable of being affected (Because of their thick layer of fur, many seals are almost impervious to the cold.)
- impetuous
- (adj.) rash; hastily done (Hilda’s hasty slaying of the king was an impetuous, thoughtless action.)
- impinge
- 1. (v.) to impact, affect, make an impression (The hail impinged the roof, leaving large dents.)
- 2. (v.) to encroach, infringe (I apologize for impinging upon you like this, but I really need to use your bathroom. Now.)
- implacable
- (adj.) incapable of being appeased or mitigated (Watch out: Once you shun Grandma’s cooking, she is totally implacable.)
- impudent
- (adj.) casually rude, insolent, impertinent (The impudent young man looked the princess up and down and told her she was hot even though she hadn’t asked him.)
- inchoate
- (adj.) unformed or formless, in a beginning stage (The country’s government is still inchoate and, because it has no great tradition, quite unstable.)
- incontrovertible
- (adj.) indisputable (Only stubborn Tina would attempt to disprove the incontrovertible laws of physics.)
- indefatigable
- (adj.) incapable of defeat, failure, decay (Even after traveling 62 miles, the indefatigable runner kept on moving.)