Word Smart 4Th Edition (Set 14)

Front 1

HEYDAY (HAY day) n

Back 1

golden age; prime

In his heyday, Vernon was a world-class athlete; today he’s just Vernon.

Front 2

HIATUS (hye AY tus) n

Back 2

a break or interruption, often from work

Spencer looked forward to spring break as a welcome hiatus from the rigors of campus parties.

Front 3

HIERARCHY (HYE uh rahr kee) n

Back 3

an organization based on rank or degree; pecking order

Kendra was very low in the State Department hierarchy. In fact, her phone number wasn’t even listed in the State Department directory.

Front 4

HISTRIONIC (his tree AHN ik) adj

Back 4

overly dramatic; theatrical

Gina's histrionic request for a raise embarrassed everyone in the office. She gesticulated wildly, jumped up and down, pulled out handfuls of hair, threw herself to the ground, and groaned in agony.

Front 5

HOMILY (HAHM uh lee) n

Back 5

a sermon

The football coach often began practice with a lengthy homily on the virtues of clean living.

Front 6

HOMOGENEOUS (hoh muh JEE nee us) adj

Back 6

uniform; made entirely of one thing

The kindergarten class was extremely homogeneous: All the children had blond hair, blue eyes, red shoes, and the same last name.

Front 7

HETEROGENEOUS (het ur uh JEE nee us) adj

Back 7

to be mixed or varied

On Halloween the children amassed a heterogeneous collection of candy, chewing gum, popcorn, and cookies.

Front 8

HUSBANDRY (HUZ bun dree) n

Back 8

thrifty management of resources; livestock farming

Husbandry is the practice of conserving money or resources. To husband is to economize.

Front 9

HYPERBOLE (hye PUR buh lee) n

Back 9

an exaggeration used as a figure of speech; exaggeration

When Joe said, “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse,” he was using hyperbole to convey the extent of his hunger.

Front 10

HYPOTHETICAL (hye puh THET uh kul) adj

Back 10

uncertain; unproven

There were several hypothetical explanations for the strange phenomenon, but no one could say for certain what had caused it.

Front 11

ICONOCLAST (eye KAHN uh klast) n

Back 11

one who attacks popular beliefs or institutions

To study and go to class is to be an iconoclast on that campus, which has a reputation for being the biggest party school in the country if not the world.

Front 12

IDEOLOGY (eye dee AHL uh jee) n

Back 12

a system of social or political ideas

Conservatism and liberalism are competing ideologies.

The candidate never managed to communicate his ideology to the voters, so few people were able to grasp what he stood for.

Front 13

IDIOSYNCRASY (id ee oh SINK ruh see) n

Back 13

a peculiarity; an eccentricity

Eating green beans drenched in ketchup for breakfast was one of Joana’s idiosyncrasies.

Front 14

IDYLLIC (eye DIL ik) adj

Back 14

charming in a rustic way; naturally peaceful

They built their house on an idyllic spot. There was a babbling brook in back and an unbroken view of wooded hills in front.

An idyllic time or place could also be called an idyll (EYE dul).

Front 15

IGNOMINY (IG nuh min ee) n

Back 15

deep disgrace

The ignominy of losing the spelling bee was too much for Arnold, who decided to give up spelling altogether.

Something that is deeply disgraceful is ignominious (ig nuh MIN ee us).

Front 16

ILLICIT (i LIS it) adj

Back 16

illegal; not permitted

Criminals engage in illicit activities.

Don’t confuse this word with elicit, listed previously.

The police interviewed hundreds of witnesses, trying to elicit clues that might help them stop an illicit business.

Front 17

IMMIGRATE (IM i grayt) v

Back 17

to move permanently to a new country

It’s easy to confuse this word with emigrate. To avoid this, just remember that emigrate means exit, and immigrate means come in.

Edwin immigrated to Canada, thinking the move would give his two-year-old daughter a better shot at attending the University of Toronto preschool.

Front 18

IMMINENT (IM uh nunt) adj

Back 18

just about to happen

The pink glow in the east made it clear that sunrise was imminent.

Front 19

IMMUTABLE (i MYOO tuh bul) adj

Back 19

unchangeable

The statue of the former principal looked down on the students with an immutable scowl.

Something that is changeable is said to be mutable.

The mutable shoreline shifted continually as the tides moved sand first in one direction and then in another.

Front 20

IMPARTIAL (im PAHR shul) adj

Back 20

fair; not favoring one side or the other; unbiased

Jurors are supposed to be impartial rather than partial; they aren’t supposed to make up their minds until they’ve heard all the evidence.

Front 21

IMPECCABLE (im PEK uh bul) adj

Back 21

flawless; entirely without sin

Hal’s clothes were always impeccable; even the wrinkles were perfectly creased.

By the way, peccable means liable to sin. And while we’re at it, a peccadillo is a minor sin.

Front 22

IMPERIAL (im PEER ee ul) adj

Back 22

like an emperor or an empire

The palace was decorated with imperial splendor.

Front 23

IMPERIOUS (im PEER ee us) ADJ

Back 23

bossy, arrogant

The director’s imperious style rubbed every one the wrong way; he always seemed to be giving orders, and he never listened to what anyone said.

Front 24

IMPERVIOUS (im PUR vee us) adj

Back 24

not allowing anything to pass through; impenetrable

A raincoat, if it is any good, is impervious to water. It is made of an impervious material.

Front 25

IMPETUOUS (im PECH oo wus) adj

Back 25

impulsive; extremely impatient

Samantha was so impetuous that she never took more than a few seconds to make up her mind.

Front 26

IMPLEMENT (IM pluh munt) v

Back 26

to carry out

The government was better at creating new laws than at implementing them.

Front 27

IMPOTENT (IM puh tunt) adj

Back 27

powerless; helpless; unable to perform sexual intercourse

We felt impotent in the face of their overpowering opposition to our plan.

Omnipotent (ahm NIP uh tunt) means all powerful. After winning a dozen games in a row, the football team began to feel omnipotent.

Front 28

IMPUGN (im PYOON) v

Back 28

to attack, especially to attack the truth or integrity of some thing

The critic impugned the originality of Jacob’s novel, claiming that long stretches of it had been lifted from the work of someone else.

Front 29

INANE (i NAYN) adj

Back 29

silly; senseless

Their plan to make an indoor swimming pool by flooding their basement was inane.

Something that is inane is an inanity (i NAN i tee).

Front 30

INAUGURATE (in AW gyuh rayt) v

Back 30

to begin officially; to induct formally into office

The team’s loss inaugurated an era of defeat that lasted for several years.

To inaugurate a United States president is to make him take the oath of office and then give him the keys to the White House.

Front 31

INCANDESCENT (in kun DES unt) adj

Back 31

brilliant; giving off heat or light

An incandescent light bulb is one containing a wire or filament that gives off light when it is heated. An incandescent person is one who gives off light or energy in a figurative sense.

Front 32

INCANTATION (in kan TAY shun) n

Back 32

a chant; the repetition of statements or phrases in a way reminiscent of a chant

Much to our delight, the wizard’s incantation eventually caused the small stone to turn into a sleek black BMW.

Front 33

INCENSE (in SENS) v

Back 33

to make very angry

My comment about the lovely painting of a tree incensed the artist, who said it was actually a portrait of his mother.

Front 34

INCESSANT (in SES unt) adj

Back 34

unceasing

I will go deaf and lose my mind if your children don’t stop the incessant bickering.

A cessation is a ceasing.

Front 35

INCIPIENT (in SIP ee unt) adj

Back 35

beginning; emerging

Sitting in class, Henrietta detected an incipient tingle of boredom that told her she would soon be asleep.

The inception of something is its start or formal beginning.