Page 303 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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iconoclast (y KON uh KLAST) n. someone who attacks and seeks to destroy
widely accepted ideas, beliefs, and so on
• Our country’s founders could be called iconoclasts for attacking the idea of
monarchy.
• To evolutionists, creationists can seem to be iconoclasts who seek to destroy
the theories of evolution; the reverse is seen by the creationists.
[-ic adj., -ically adv.]
idyll (Y dil) n. 1. a narrative poem, like a short epic; 2. a pastoral poem or prose
work; a work describing a picturesque country scene
• Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King” falls into the first category as a short epic-
type poem.
• Beethoven’s “Pastoral Symphony” (No. 6) could be called an idyll expressed
in music.
[-ic adj., -ically adv.]
igneous (IG nee uhs) adj. fiery; formed by heat, especially formed by volcanic
action
• Granite is an igneous rock.
• Basalt is another igneous rock that is formed in sheets.
• Marble is not igneous but is a metamorphic rock that began as limestone
and had its form changed by volcanic heat.
immaculate (im MAK yoo lit) adj. 1. perfectly clean; unsoiled; 2. without flaw;
perfectly correct; 3. pure
• The living room carpet looked immaculate.
• Immaculate diamonds are very rare and very expensive.
• Martha’s behavior at the coming-out party was immaculate.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. unflawed]
impede (im PEED) vt. 1. hinder, block, or delay; 2. to act as an obstacle
• Eating peas by balancing them one at a time on a knife tends to impede the
progress of dinner.
• An open drawbridge might impede one’s access to the castle.
[-d, impeding, impediment n.] [Syn. hinder]
impenetrability (im PEN i truh BIL i tee) n. 1. something that cannot be
passed through; 2. something that cannot be understood; 3. someone unreceptive
to ideas
• In the past, a castle’s wall was built for its impenetrability.
• The impenetrability of Germany’s code during World War II proved to be a
myth.
• Harold’s teachers constantly marvel at the impenetrability of his thick skull.

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