Difficult Words: Indulgent, Indignant, Ineffable, Inept, Inexorable and Inert

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Difficult Words : Indulgent, Indignant, Ineffable, Inept, Inexorable and Inert

Difficult Words: Indulgent, Indignant, Ineffable, Inept, Inexorable and Inert

Indignant (in DIG nunt) adj: angry, especially as a result of something unjust or unworthy, insulted

Bruno became indignant when the policeman accused him of stealing the nuclear weapon.

Isabel was indignant when we told her all the nasty things that Blake had said about her over the public address system at the big party.

Ineffable (in EF uh bul) adj: incapable of being expressed or described

The simple beauty of nature is often so ineffable that it brings tears to our eyes.

The word effable which means expressible is rarely used.

Indulgent (IN dul jent) adj: allowing, conceding

The nice mom was indulgent of her children, letting them have all the candy, cookies, and ice cream that they wanted, even for breakfast.

Our indulgent teacher never punished us for not turning in our homework. She was nice. She didn't want us to turn into ascetic grinds.

Inept (in EPT) adj: clumsy, incompetent, gauche

Joshua is an inept dancer. He is as likely to stomp on his partner's foot as he is to step on it.

Julia's inept attempt at humor drew only groans from the audience.

To be inept is to be characterized by ineptitude which is the opposite of aptitude. The woodworking class's ineptitude was both broad and deep. There was little that they were able to do, and nothing that they were able to do well.

The opposite of inept is adept. Adept and adroit are synonyms.

Inert (in URT) adj: inactive, sluggish, not reaching chemically

The baseball team seemed strangely inert. It was as though they had lost the will not only to win but even to play.

Having colds made the children inert and reluctant to get out of bed.

Helium is an inert gas: it doesn't burn, it doesn't explode and it doesn’t kill you if you inhale it.

To be inert is to be characterized by inertia. As it is most commonly used, inertia means lack of get up and go, or an inability or unwillingness to move.

In physics, inertia refers to an object's tendency to continue doing what it's doing (either moving or staying still) unless it's acted on by something else.

Inexorable (in EK sur uh bul) adj: relentless, inevitable, unavoidable

The inexorable waves pounded the shore, as they have always pounded it and as they always will pound it.

Eliot drove his father's car slowly but inexorably through the grocery store, wrecking aisle after aisle despite the manager's anguished pleading.

Inexorable death finds everyone sooner or later.

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