Difficult Words : Insipid, Insinuate, Insolent, Instigate, Insular and Insurgent





Difficult Words: Insipid, Insinuate, Insolent, Instigate, Insular and Insurgent

Insinuate (in SIN yoo ATE) v: to hint, to creep in

When I told her that I hadn't done any laundry in a month, Valerie insinuated that I was a snob.

He didn't ask us outright if we would leave. He merely insinuated, through his tone and his gestures, that it was time for us to go.

Jessica insinuated her way into the conversation by moving her chair closer and closer to where we were sitting.

Before we realized what was happening, the stray cat had insinuated itself into our household.

To insinuate is to make an insinuation.




Insipid (in SIP id) adj: dull, bland, banal

Barney's jokes were so insipid that no one in the room managed to force out so much as a chuckle.

We were bored to death at the party. It was full of insipid people making insipid conversation.

The thin soup was so insipid that all the spices in the world could not have made interesting.




Insolent (IN suh lunt) adj: arrogant, insulting

The ill-mannered four-year-old was so insolent that even adults were tempted to kick him in the rear end.

The insolent sales clerk said she was sorry but the store did not accept cash.




Instigate (IN stuh GATE) v: to provoke, to stir up

The strike was instigated by the ambitious union president who wanted to get his name into the newspapers.

The CIA tried unsuccessfully to instigate rebellion in the tiny country by distributing pamphlets that, as it turned out, were printed in the wrong language.




Insular (IN suh lur) adj: like an island, isolated

The Latin word for island is insula. From it we get the words peninsula (almost an island), insulate (insulation makes a house an island of heat) and insular, among others.

Lying flat on his back in bed for twenty-seven years, the 1,200-pound man led an insular existence.

The insular little community had very little contact with the world around it.

Something that is insular has insularity. The insularity of the little community was so complete that it was impossible to buy a big-city newspaper there.




Insurgent (in SUR junt) n: a rebel, someone who revolts against a government

The heavily armed insurgents rushed into the presidential place, but they paused to taste the fresh blueberry pie on the dinner table and the president's bodyguards captured them.

This word can also be an adjective. A rebellion is an insurgent activity.

Insurgency is another word for rebellion.




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