The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

hot air: Reports of my death were obviously inaccurate.

inactive adj. 1 passive, placid, quiet, tranquil, quiescent, serene, peaceful, pacific, resting, unmoving, motionless, immobile, immobilized, still, inert, lifeless, inanimate, sluggish, listless, lethargic, lackadaisical, languid, indolent, lazy, torpid, somnolent, idle, slothful, supine: Although there was

plenty to do round the house, he remained inactive all summer. 2 non-functioning, inoperative, dormant; unoccupied, idle, unemployed, jobless, out of work, out of a job: The volcano was inactive for a thousand years. These miners have been inactive for six months.

inactivity

n. 1 passiveness or passivity, placidity or placidness, quiet, tranquillity, serenity, peace, peacefulness; motionlessness, immobility, stillness, inertia, inertness, lifelessness, sluggishness, listlessness, lethargy, languidness, indolence, laziness, torpor, somnolence, idleness, slothfulness, sloth: She alternates between periods of activity and inactivity. 2 inaction, quiescence; hibernation, aestivation: During repairs, the reactor will be in a state of inactivity. Some animals have a period of inactivity during certain times of the year.

inadequate

adj. 1 insufficient, deficient, not enough, too little, scarce, meagre, scanty, skimpy, sparse, (in) short (supply); unsatisfactory, imperfect, incomplete, defective, unsuitable, disappointing, flawed, faulty: Funds are inadequate to meet her expenses. The terms of the agreement are inadequate. 2 inadequate to. unsuited to or for, unfit for, unqualified for,

not up to, unequal to, unworthy of, inapt for, inept for, incapable of: He proved inadequate to the demands of the job.

inadmissible

adj. disallowed, unallowable, unallowed, forbidden, unacceptable, prohibited, unsuitable, unsuited, unqualified, inappropriate, inapplicable, improper, objectionable, exceptionable, incorrect, wrong: Such evidence is inadmissible in court.

inadvertent

adj. 1 unintentional, unintended, unpremeditated, accidental,

unthinking, unwitting, chance; unconscious, unplanned, unstudied, undesigned, uncalculated: She was an inadvertent witness to the murder. I assure you that the error was entirely inadvertent. 2 careless, inattentive, negligent, heedless, unobservant: Inadvertent commentators failed to see the significance of her words.

inalienable

adj. untransferable, intransferable, absolute, inherent, unconsignable, sacrosanct, inviolable, non-negotiable, unnegotiable, unchallengeable, Law imprescriptible, entailed, indefeasible: People have an inalienable right to life,

liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

inane adj. silly, asinine, vapid, vacant, vacuous, absurd, fatuous, foolish, senseless, nonsensical, unreasonable, preposterous, ludicrous, ridiculous, laughable, risible, mad, lunatic, crazy, stupid, dumb, idiotic, moronic, imbecilic, Colloq nutty, nuts, daft, daffy, screwy, batty, dippy, wacky, cuckoo, loony, goofy, Brit bonkers, dotty: Students seem especially prone to inane behaviour.

inanimate adj. lifeless, motionless, immobile, unmoving, inactive, inert, still, spiritless, soulless, cold, dead, defunct: He just sits

there, like an inanimate piece of furniture.

inapplicable

adj. inappropriate, unsuitable, unsuited, inapt, irrelevant, unrelated, unconnected, inapposite, beside the point or question, extraneous, off the mark, Colloq US off base: That law is inapplicable in your case.

inappropriate

adj. improper, unfitting, unfit, unsuitable, unsuited, unbefitting, incompatible, malapropos, ungermane, inapt, inapposite, out of keeping, incongruous, infelicitous, inopportune, untimely, irrelevant, inapplicable: Your

facetiousness was quite inappropriate to such a solemn occasion.

inarticulate

adj. 1 disjointed, unconnected, incoherent, incomprehensible, jumbled, unintelligible, unclear, illogical, discursive, rambling, scrambled, wild, irrational, muddled, mixed-up,

confused, digressive: She sat through an inarticulate lecture on Joyce's use of the subjunctive. 2 mumbled, garbled, blurred, muffled, muttered, faltering, halting, indistinct, unclear, unintelligible: They communicate with each other in inarticulate grunts. 3 speechless, tongue-tied, (struck) dumb, mute, voiceless: Ed is inarticulate when it comes to describing Vera.

inattentive

n. unobservant, heedless, careless, negligent, neglectful, indifferent, uncaring, apathetic, slack, remiss, unconcerned, detached, unmindful, distracted, distrait(e), absent-minded, abstracted, in a brown study, day-dreaming, oscitant, wool-gathering, musing, oblivious, (with one's head) in the clouds, in a world of one's own: It was late and the children were getting restless and inattentive.

inaudible adj. unheard, imperceptible, indistinct, low, faint, muted, quiet, soft, muffled, stifled: The film was good, although some of the dialogue was inaudible.

inaugurate

v. 1 initiate, begin, commence, enter upon, start, introduce, usher in, institute, launch, originate, set up, get under way, get going: A new programme of health services has been inaugurated. 2 install or instal, induct, invest, establish, instate: The President was inaugurated last week.

inauspicious

adj. unpromising, unlucky, unfortunate, unfavourable, unpropitious, untoward, ill-starred, ominous, ill-omened, ill-fated, portentous, menacing, doomed, sinister, dark, gloomy, cloudy, clouded, black: The middle of a recession is an inauspicious time to set up a business.

inborn adj. innate, congenital, inherent, inherited, hereditary, inbred, natural, native, constitutional, deep-seated, deep-rooted, ingrained, instinctive or instinctual, Technical connate: A gift for music is inborn.

incandescent

adj. glowing, red-hot, white-hot, alight, aflame, flaming, burning, fiery, candent, flaring: Light-bulbs contain an

incandescent filament.

incapable adj. 1 Often, incapable of. unable (to), powerless (to), incompetent (to), unfit (to), unqualified (to), impotent (to), unequal to, not up to: He seems incapable of completing his assignment. 2 incapable of. insusceptible to, resistant to, impervious to, ill-disposed to, disinclined to, not open to: He is incapable of dishonesty.

incapacitate

v. disable, cripple, paralyse, lame, wound, maim, impair, weaken, enfeeble, enervate, exhaust, devitalize; immobilize, inactivate, deactivate, put out of action, indispose: Severely incapacitated in the crash, John cannot walk without the aid of crutches. The power plant was incapacitated by one well-placed grenade.

incentive n. incitement, impetus, encouragement, goad, prod, provocation, spur, impulse, enticement, lure, inducement, stimulus,

motivation, Colloq carrot: The discount is offered as an incentive to buy a new car.

incidence n. frequency, rate, degree, extent, occurrence, prevalence; quantity, amount, number: The incidence of heart disease is high in Britain.

incident n. 1 event, occasion, occurrence, proceeding, circumstance, fact, happening, experience, episode: A curious incident led to the discovery. 2 disturbance, scene, affair, upset, commotion, fracas, skirmish, set-to, Colloq to-do, do: The police were called because of an incident at the pub next door.

incidental

adj. 1 casual, chance, fortuitous, aleatory, random, haphazard, serendipitous, unpredictable, accidental, adventitious,

unplanned, unlooked-for, Colloq fluky: Any good that came from the war was incidental. 2 subordinate, secondary, ancillary, minor, lesser, non-essential, unimportant, trivial, negligible, inconsequential, insignificant, petty, trifling, paltry: The incidental events were not covered by the press.

incidentally

adv. 1 by the way, by the by, apropos (of), parenthetically:

Incidentally, I won't be able to go the party tonight. 2 casually, as luck would have it, accidentally, by chance, perchance: In addition to being held for murder, he was incidentally charged with possession of an illegal weapon.

incision n. cut, gash, slit, slash: The surgeon made an incision in the abdominal wall.

incisive adj. 1 keen, sharp, acute, piercing, perspicacious, perceptive, percipient, penetrating, trenchant, canny, shrewd: Shirley offered some incisive observations on the matter. 2 sarcastic, biting, mordant, cutting, caustic, sardonic, ironic(al), sharp, acid, tart, acrid, acrimonious, bitter, acerbic, cynical,

stinging, critical: Your incisive comments are not really appreciated, George.

incite v. stimulate, inspire, prompt, move, stir, stir or whip or work up, bestir, excite, fire, exhort, agitate, foment, inflame, provoke, rally, goad, spur, prick, prod, drive, push, egg on,

encourage, urge, influence, wake, waken, awaken, rouse, arouse: Who was it that incited the crowd to violence?

incitement

n. 1 stimulation, instigating, spurring, urging, influencing, awakening, wakening, arousing, prodding, prompting, stirring, whipping, exciting, firing, exhorting, agitating, fomenting, inflaming, firing, provoking, rallying, goading, prodding, pricking, needling: Certain rabble-rousers have been accused of incitement of the crowds at the football stadiums. 2 stimulus, incentive, inducement, enticement, temptation, impulse, motivation, influence, instigation, provocation, inspiration, persuasion, exhortation, agitation, fomentation, inflammation, arousal, encouragement, excitement: Greed is a powerful incitement to dishonesty.

incivility

n. rudeness, boorishness, coarseness, discourtesy, uncourtliness, unmannerliness, indecorum, indecorousness, discourteousness, impoliteness, tactlessness, ungentlemanliness, bad breeding, ill breeding, bad manners, misbehaviour: The incivility with which the ambassador was treated is unforgivable.

inclement adj. extreme, intemperate, severe, harsh, rigorous; stormy, violent, rainy, squally, blustery, raw, bad, tempestuous: We are expecting inclement weather for the weekend.

inclination

n. 1 bow, bowing, bend, bending, nod, nodding, tilt, tilting: His tacit sign of recognition was an inclination of his head. 2 slope, slant, angle, bend, incline, tilt: The inclination of

the track is far too steep for such a vehicle. 3 disposition, predisposition, tendency, bent, bias, leaning, preference, turn, cast, proclivity, propensity, attitude, proneness, susceptibility, predilection, partiality, affection, taste,

liking, desire, velleity: His inclination in favour of the offer is largely instinctive. 4 desire, longing, craving, appetite, taste, stomach, sympathy, predilection, penchant,

fancy, eagerness, enthusiasm, zeal, fervour, ardour: I have no inclination to watch open-heart surgery.

incline v. 1 tend, lean, bend, bow, slant, tilt, angle, bank, slope, ascend, rise, descend: The road inclines to the horizontal after a curve. 2 dispose, influence, persuade, predispose, make, lead, prejudice, bias: Their accents might incline you to think of them as foreigners. 3 tend, lean, gravitate, show favour or preference, be attracted to, be biased or prejudiced, have a mind; be disposed or predisposed, lean, tend: I incline towards the other candidate. He inclines towards corpulence.

--n. 4 slope, pitch, grade, gradient, slant, ramp, hill, dip, descent, declivity, rise, ascent, acclivity: The car picked up speed going down one incline and slowed going up the next.

inclined adj. 1 tending, disposed, predisposed, prone, willing, keen, eager, Colloq of a mind: Though she is inclined to believe she has doubts. 2 likely, apt, liable, minded, prone: He is

equally inclined to kiss you as kill you. 3 sloping, slanting, leaning, bending, tilting, gravitating, bearing, verging: This wall is slightly inclined towards the river.

include v. 1 incorporate, embody, comprise, embrace, cover, encompass, take in, subsume, comprehend, contain: Staff changes are

included in the plan for reorganization. 2 classify, categorize, group, file, list, catalogue, tabulate, register: Did you include psychology among the social sciences? 3

adj. incredible, unbelievable, unthinkable, unimaginable, incomprehensible, unheard-of, undreamed of or undreamt of, unthought of, impossible, overwhelming, staggering, Colloq mind-boggling: Putting a man on Mars before 2000 is inconceivable.

inconclusive

adj. indecisive, unresolved, indefinite, unsettled, open, indeterminate, in limbo, Colloq up in the air: The test results are inconclusive, so we must continue our investigations.

incongruous

adj. inconsistent, inharmonious, disharmonious, discordant, dissonant, disconsonant, incoherent, incompatible, incongruent, conflicting, unbecoming, unseemly, unsuited, unsuitable, unapt, inappropriate, misallied, unfitting, unfit, improper,

malapropos, unmeet, absurd, discrepant, disparate, different, divergent, disagreeing, contrary, contradictory, paradoxical, out of step, out of keeping, out of line: That jacket looks incongruous with those trousers. It was incongruous to see two octogenarians dancing at the disco.

inconsequential

adj. unimportant, insignificant, trivial, trifling, nugatory, inconsiderable, inappreciable, negligible, minor, paltry, petty, immaterial, slight, lightweight, worthless, Colloq piddling: Why dwell on inconsequential details?

inconsiderate

adj. thoughtless, unthoughtful, unthinking, unconcerned, uncaring, unmindful, heedless, unheeding, insensitive, unsympathetic, tactless, intolerant, rude, ungracious: How could you be so inconsiderate as to work late on my birthday?

inconsistent

adj. 1 See incongruous. 2 irregular, capricious, fickle, erratic, inconstant, uneven, unpredictable, unreliable, undependable, unstable, unsteady, changeable, variable: Their behaviour is so inconsistent that I can't tell what they'll do next.

inconsolable

adj. disconsolate, broken-hearted, heart-broken, desolate,

forlorn, despairing, miserable, wretched, grief-stricken: They are inconsolable over the death of their dog.

inconspicuous

adj. unnoticeable, unnoticed, unobtrusive, unostentatious, insignificant, indefinite, indistinguishable, undistinguished; modest, unassuming, discreet: Wearing a grey coat and hat, he was quite inconspicuous in the crowd. He played an inconspicuous role in the entire affair.

inconstancy

n. changeableness, fickleness, irregularity, mutability, variability, unsteadiness, unsteadfastness, capriciousness, volatility, mercurialness or mercuriality, inconsistency, unreliability; faithlessness, unfaithfulness: How do you deal with inconstancy in one you thought a friend?

inconstant

adj. changeable, mutable, fickle, capricious, mercurial, volatile, vacillating, unsteady, unsteadfast, irresolute, unreliable, undependable, fluctuating, wavering, erratic, inconsistent, flighty, unstable, unsettled, fitful, vague, indefinite, variable, moody: His supporters proved inconstant, and he fell from power. The inconstant wind blew their craft hither and thither.

incontinent

adj. 1 unrestrained, unconstrained, unrestricted, uncontrolled, uncontrollable, ungoverned, ungovernable, unbridled, uncurbed: She must learn to suppress her incontinent tongue. 2 lecherous, libidinous, lascivious, libertine, lustful, lewd, debauched, wanton, dissolute, loose, lubricious or lubricous, salacious, profligate, obscene, dirty, filthy: Members of the Hell-Fire Club were well known for their incontinent behaviour. 3 self-soiling, bedwetting, Medicine enuretic: Some old people lose control and become incontinent.

incontrovertible

adj. irrefutable, indisputable, indubitable, undeniable, incontestable, unquestionable, sure, certain, definite, definitive, established, absolute, positive: The fingerprint was incontrovertible evidence that he had been there.