English Vocabulary Builder

®   Imminent: about to occur, near at hand: Unless it stops raining by tomorrow flood appears imminent.

®   Impair: worsen, diminish in value: His illness has impaired his efficiency.

®   Impartial: not favoring one more than another: Mr. Rabbani is a good empire, he is always as impartial as possible.

®   Impassive: without feeling, not affected by pain: He looked at me impassively.

®   Impeach: charge with crime in office, indict: The angry member of Assembly wanted to impeach the President.

®   Imperturbable: calm, placid: He remained imperturbable and in full command of the situation in spite of the hysteria and panic all around him.

®   Implement: carryout, into effect supply what is needed, furnish with tools: I am unwilling to implement this plan until I have assurances that it has the full approval of your officials.

®   Implication: involving or being involved: The trail resulted in the implication of several political figures.

®   Implicit: understood but not stated: It is implicit that you will come to our aid if we are attacked.

®   Imply: suggest a meaning not expressed, signify: Even though your statement does not declare that you are at war with that country, your actions imply that is the actual situation.

®   Impregnable: invulnerable: Until the development of the airplane as a military weapon, the fort was considered impregnable.

®   Improvise: compose on the spur of the moment: We slept by the road an improvised shelter.

®   Impute: attribute, ascribe: If I wished to impute blame to the officers in charge of this program, I would come out and state it definitely and without hesitation.

®   Incentive: spur, motive: The promise of bonus acted an incentive to greater efforts.

®   Incidence: falling on a body, a casual occurrence: We must determine the angle of incidence of the rays of light.

®   Incisive: cutting, sharp: His incisive remarks made us see the weakness in our plans.

®   Incorrigible: uncorrectable: Because he was an incorrigible criminal, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

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English Vocabulary Builder

®   Haphazard: disorganized, random accidental mere chance, by chance: His haphazard reading left him unacquainted with the subject.

®   Haughtiness: pride, arrogance: I resent his haughtiness because he is no better than we are.

®   Hazardous: dangerous: Your occupation is too hazardous for insurance companies to consider your application.

®   Heedless: not noticing, disregarding: He drove on, heedless of the warnings placed at the side off the road that it was dangerous.

®   Heinous: atrocious, hatefully bad: Hitler’s heinous crimes will never be forgotten.

®   Heterogeneous: dissimilar: In heterogeneous groupings, we have an unsorted grouping, while in homogeneous groupings we have people or things which have common traits.

®   Hoax: trick, practical joke: Embarrassed by the hoax, he reddened and left the room.

®   Holocaust: destruction by fire: When the hotel burned down, fifty six people died in the holocaust.

®   Homogeneous: of the same kind: Educators try to put pupils of similar abilities into classes because they believe that this homogeneous grouping is advisable.

®   Hoodwink: deceive, delude: Having been hoodwinked once by the fast-talking salesman, he was extremely cautious when he went to purchase a used car.

®   Humility: humbleness of spirit: He spoke with a humility and lack of pride which impressed his listeners.

®   Hypothecate: mortgage, pledge as security: I have no authority to hypothecate this property as security for the loan.

®   Hypothetical: based on assumptions or hypotheses: Why do we have to consider hypothetical cases when we have actual case histories which we may examine?

®   Ideology: ideas of a group of people: That ideology is dangerous to any country which embraces undemocratic philosophies.

®   Ignominious: disgraceful: The country smarted under the ignominious defeat and dreamed of the day when it would be victorious.

®   Immaculate: pure, spotless: The Army cadets were immaculate as they lined up for inspection.

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English Vocabulary Builder

®   Frantic: wild: At the time of the collision, many people became frantic with fear.

®   Fraudulent: cheating, deceitful: The government seeks to prevent fraudulent and misleading advertising.

®   Frenzied: madly excited: As soon as the smelled smoke, the frenzied animals milled about in their cages.

®   Friction: clash in opinion, rubbing against: At this time when harmony is essential, we cannot afford to have any friction in our group.

®   Fulminate: thunder, explode: The people against whom he fulminated were innocent of any wrongdoing.

®   Galvanize: stimulate by shock, stir up: In 1995 entire nation was galvanized into strong military activity by the news of Indian attack.

®   Generality: vague statement: This report is filled with generalities; you must be more specific in your statements.

®   Geniality: cheerfulness, kindliness, sympathy: This restaurant is famous and popular because of the geniality of the proprietor who tries to make everyone happy.

®   Ghastly: horrible: He made a ghastly mistake.

®   Gist: essence: She was asked to give the gist of the essay in two sentences.

®   Glossary: brief explanation of words used in the text: I have found the glossary in this book very useful; it has eliminated many trips to the dictionary

®   Glut: overstock, fill to excess: They glutted the market with apples.

®   Gregarious: sociable: He was not gregarious and preferred to be alone most of the time.

®   Grimace: a facial distortion to show feeling such as pain, disgust, etc.: Even though he remained silent, his grimace indicated his displeasure.

®   Gruesome: horrible: People screamed when his gruesome appearance was flashed on the screen.

®   Gruff: rough-mannered: Although he was blunt and gruff with most people, he was always gentle with children.

®   Guile: deceit, duplicity: He achieved his high position by guile and treachery.

®   Haggard: wasted away, gaunt: After his long illness he was pale and haggard.

®   Haggle: argue about prices: She was haggling with the shopkeeper over the price of cloth.

®   Hallucination: a vision or illusion of something which does not exist: I think you were frightened by a hallucination which you created in your own mind.

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English Vocabulary Builder

®   Facetious: humorous, jocular: Your facetious remarks are not appropriate at this serious moment.

®   Facilitate: make less difficult: He tried to facilitate matters at home by getting a part-time job.

®   Faction: party, clique, dissension: The quarrels and bickering of the two small factions within the club disturbed the majority of the members.

®   Fanaticism: excessive zeal: Fanaticism is the cause of most religious hatered.

®   Fancied: imagined, unreal: You are resenting fancied insults. No one has ever said such things about you.

®   Feasible: practical: This is an entirely feasible proposal, I suggest we adopt it.

®   Feint: trick, shift, sham blow: He made a feint in my direction, and then ran towards the house.

®   Figment: invention, imaginary thing: That incident is a figment of your imagination.

®   Finite: limited: Human knowledge is finite.

®   Flagging: weak, drooping: The encouraging cheers of the crowd lifted the team’s flagging spirits.

®   Flair: talent: He has an uncanny flair for discovering new artists before the public has become aware of their existence.

®   Flinch: hesitate, shrink: He did not flinch in the face of danger but fought back bravely.

®   Fluency: smoothness of speech: He spoke French with fluency and ease.

®   Fluster: confuse: The teacher’s sudden question flustered him and he stammered his reply.

®   Flux: flowing, series of changes: While conditions are in such state of flux, I do not wish to commit myself too deeply in this affair.

®   Foolhardy: rash: Don’t be foolhardy; get the advice of experienced people before undertaking this venture.

®   Forbearance: patience: We must use forbearance in dealing with him because he is still weak from his illness.

®   Formidable: menacing, threatening: We must not treat the battle lightly for we are facing a formidable enemy.

®   Fortitude: bravery, courage: He was awarded the medal for his fortitude in the battle.

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English Vocabulary Builder

®   Epilogue: short speech at conclusion of dramatic work: The audience was so disappointed in the play that many did not remain to hear the epilogue.

®   Equity: fairness, justice: Our courts guarantee equity to all.

®   Erode: eat away: The limestone was eroded by the dripping water.

®   Ethnic: relating to races: Intolerance between ethnic groups is deplorable and usually is based on lack of information.

®   Evasive: not frank, eluding: Your evasive answers convinced the judge that you were withholding important evidence.

®   Ex: officio by virtue of one’s office: The Mayor was ex officio chairman of the committee that decided the annual tax rate.

®   Exasperate: vex: Rashid often exasperate his mother with mischievous tricks.

®   Exchequer: treasury: There is not much left in exchequer.

®   Exemplary: serving as a model, outstanding: Her exemplary behavior was praised at commencement.

®   Exonerate: acquit, exculpate: I am sure this letter will exonerate you of the charge.

®   Exorbitant: excessive: The people grumbled at his exorbitant prices but paid them because he had a monopoly.

®   Expediency: that which is advisable or practical: He was guided by expediency rather than by ethical considerations.

®   Expeditiously: rapidly and efficiently: Please adjust this matter as expeditiously as possible as it is delaying important work.

®   Explicit: definite, open: Your remarks are explicit, no one can misinterpret them.

®   Expunge: cancel, remove: If you behave, I will expunge this bad report from your record.

®   Extort: wring from, get money by threats: The blackmailer extorted money from his victim.

®   Extricate: free, disentangle: He found that he could not extricate himself from the trap.

®   Extrovert: person interested mostly in external objects and actions: A good salesman is usually an extrovert, who likes to mingle with people.

®   Exuberant: abundant, effusive, lavish: His speeches were famous for his exuberant language and vivid imagery.

®   Fabricate: build, lie: I do not want to attend the meeting and shall fabricate some excuse.

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English Vocabulary Builder

®   Duplicity: double-dealing hypocrisy: People were shocked and dismayed when they learned of his duplicity in this affair for he had always seemed honest and straightforward.

®   Dynamic: active, efficient: A dynamic government is necessary to meet the demands of a changing society.

®   Ejaculation: exclamation: He could not repress an ejaculation of surprise when he heard the news.

®   Elation: a rise in spirits, exaltation: He felt no elation at finding his lost purse.

®   Elusive: evasive, baffling, hard to grasp: His elusive dreams of wealth were costly to those of his friends, who supported him financially.

®   Emancipate: set free: At first, the attempts of the Abolitionists to emancipate the slaves were unpopular in New England as well as in the South.

®   Embezzlement: diverting (money etc.) fraudenty to one’s own use: The firm’s accountant confessed his embezzlement of the funds.

®   Embryonic: undeveloped, rudimentary: The evil of class and race hatred must be eliminated while it is still in an embryonic state; otherwise it may grow to dangerous proportions.

®   Eminent: high, lofty: After his appointment to this eminent position, he seldom had time for his former friends.

®   Emolument: salary, compensation: His emolument as a part time lecturer amounts to Rs. 75,000/- a year.

®   Encroachment: gradual intrusion: The encroachment of the factories upon the neighborhood lowered the value of the real estate.

®   Energize: invigorate, make forceful and active: We shall have to re-energize our activities by getting new members to carry on.

®   Enhance: advance, improve: Your chances for promotion in this department will be enhanced if you take some more courses in evening school.

®   Enigma: puzzle: He has worked here for years but he is still an enigma to all of us.

®   Enigmatic: obscure, puzzling: Many have sought to fathom the enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa.

®   Enormity: hugeness (in a bad sense): He did not realize the enormity of his crime until he saw what suffering he had caused.

®   Ensue: follow: The evils that ensued were the direct result of the miscalculations of the leaders.

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English Vocabulary Builder

®   Devoid: lacking: He was devoid of any personal desire for gain in his endeavor to secure improvement in the community.

®   Dictum: authoritative and weighty statement: He repeated the statement as though it were the dictum of the most expert worker in the group.

®   Diffidence: shyness: You must overcome your diffidence if you intend to become a salesperson.

®   Diffusion: wordiness, spreading in all directions like a gas: Your composition suffers from a diffusion of ideas, try to be more compact.

®   Dilemma: problem, choice of two unsatisfactory alternatives: In this dilemma, he knew no one to whom he could turn for advice.

®   Dint: means, effort: He succeeded by dint of sheer hard work.

®   Dire: disastrous: People ignored hiss dire predictions of an approaching depression.

®   Disdain: treat with scorn or contempt: You make enemies of all you disdain.

®   Dismember: cut into small parts: The hungry lion dismembered the deer.

®   Disparity: difference, condition of inequality: The disparity in their ages made no difference at all.

®   Dissimulate: pretend, conceal by feigning: She tried to dissimulate her grief by her gay attitude.

®   Dissolute: loose in morals: The dissolute life led by these people is indeed shocking.

®   Distortion: twisting out of shape: It is difficult to believe the newspaper accounts of this event because of the distortions and exaggerations written by the reporters.

®   Distraught: upset, distracted by anxiety: The distraught parents searched the jungle for their lost child.

®   Diverse: differing in some characteristics, various: There are diverse ways of approaching this problem.

®   Docile: obedient, easily managed: As docile as he seems today, that old lion was once a ferocious, snarling beast.

®   Dogmatic: positive, arbitrary: Do not be so dogmatic about that statement, it can be easily refuted.

®   Dormant: sleeping, lethargic, torpid: Sometimes dormant talents in our friends surprise those of us who never realize, how gifted our acquaintances really are.

®   Dubious: doubtful: I am dubious about the wisdom of the action.

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