abject - miserable, wretched: A life of poverty can be fulfilling, uplifting, beautiful; abject poverty, on the other hand, is degrading and destroys spirituality. [abicio, abicere, abieci, abiectus - to throw down, cast down] 

conjecture - (n.) guesswork: The judge dismissed the investigative report as pure conjecture. (v.) to guess. Also: conjecturable, conjectural (involving conjecture; inclined to conjecture), conjecturer. [conicio, conicere, conieci, coniectus - to throw together, collect; to conjecture; coniectura, coniecturae, f. - guess, conjecture] 

ejaculation - 1) a brief exclamation: The placement of the hand on the burner elicited only her favorite ejaculation, "Oh, my!" 2) the ejection of semen from the body. Also: ejaculate (to exclaim vehemently; to eject semen), ejaculative, ejaculator, ejaculatory. [eiaculor, eiaculari, eiaculatus sum - to throw out] 

interject - to insert abruptly; to interrupt with: The tenacious speaker held forth from his soapbox while the audience interjected insults and obscenities. Also: interjection (act of interjecting; something interjected; a word or short phrase expressing emotion and separated by a comma or commas from the rest of the sentence), interjector, interjectory, interjectional, interjectionalize (to make into an interjection). [intericio, intericere, interieci, interiectus - throw among or between] 

igneous - 1) having to do with fire; 2) produced by the action of fire: On their first field trip, the geology students learned how to identify igneous rock. Also: ignescent (bursting into flame; giving off sparks when struck with steel). [ignesco, ignescere - to catch fire] 

imbecile - a person of defective mentality, above the level of idiocy; one incapable of mental development beyond the age of seven or eight, with an I.Q. of 25-50: If A called B an idiot and B called A an imbecile, who insulted the other more grievously? Also: imbecilic, imbecility. [imbecillus, imbecilla, imbecillum - weak, feeble]

inimitable - unable to be imitated: Who can fail to appreciate the inimitable scat singing of Ella Fitzgerald and Bobby McFerrin? Also: inimitability, inimitableness. [imitabilis, imitabile - imitable; imitamen, imitaminis, n. - an imitation, an image; imitatio, imitationis, f. - imitation, copying; imitator, imitatoris, m. - imitator; imitatrix, imitatricis, f. - female imitator]

imminent - likely to happen at any moment; impending: In the first century c.e., many Christians apparently believed in the imminent return of Jesus; some still do. Also: imminence, imminentness.

immolate - to kill as a sacrificial victim, often with fire; to offer in sacrifice: In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was prepared to immolate his daughter Iphigenia in order to obtain favorable winds from the goddess Artemis. Also: immolator, immolation. [immolatio, immolationis, f. - a sacrificing; immolator, immolatoris, m. - a sacrificer]

impede - hinder; obstruct; block the progress of: Smoking impedes running by restricting the flow of oxygen from the lungs to the blood. Also: impedance (electrical resistance; obstacle) , impeder, impedibility, impedible, impediment, impedimenta (things like baggage that impede progress), impedimental. 

impending - about to happen; threatening, likely to happen soon: Even in the aftermath of September 11, many loyal Americans were distressed at the thought of an impending war with Iraq. Also: impend, impendent (impending), impendence, impendency. [pendeo, pendere, pependi - to hang down, be suspended]

imperial - 1) of or pertaining to an empire or an emperor: Charlemagne, who was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in the year 800, had his imperial seat in Aachen. 2) having to do with the rule of one country over another. 

imperialism - the practice of extending the authority of one country over other countries: Accusations of British imperialism were greatly diminished when Great Britain surrendered control of India and Pakistan in 1947. Also: imperialist (one who favors imperialism), imperialistic (favoring imperialism).

imperative - (adj.) 1) necessary, unavoidable; 2) expressing a command; commanding; 3) denoting the mood of a verb that expresses a command or a request; (n.) 1) a command: According to Kant’s categorical imperative (a universal rule of moral conduct), one should do nothing that one would not want all others to do in similar circumstances. 2) something urgent; an unavoidable obligation; 3) the imperative mood; a verb in the imperative mood. Also: imperatival (having to do with the grammatical imperative); imperativeness. [imperator, imperatoris, m. - general, commander, ruler; imperatorius, imperatoria, imperatorium - of or pertaining to a general; imperatrix, imperatricis, f. - a female commander; imperium, imperi, n. - a command, an order; (supreme) authority]

imperious - 1) haughtily domineering; overbearing: A narcissistic, imperious person is intolerable; don’t work for one, don’t live next-door to one, and above all, don’t marry one. 2) urgent. Also: imperiousness. [imperator, imperatoris, m. - general, commander, ruler; imperatorius, imperatoria, imperatorium - of or pertaining to a general; imperatrix, imperatricis, f. - a female commander; imperium, imperi, n. - a command, an order; (supreme) authority]

impervious - incapable of being penetrated, affected, or disturbed: Happy, successful people tend to be receptive of constructive criticism but impervious to derision and calumny. Also: imperviousness. [pervius, pervia, pervium - passable, accessible]  

impetuous - 1) acting or done hastily or rashly, i.e., with little thought: She imagined that on her deathbed she would say to her impetuous son what she had said a hundred times already, "Don't drop the anchor until you know the chain has been secured." 2) moving with great force. Also: impetuosity (the quality of being impetuous), impetuousness (impetuosity).

impetus - a driving force; incentive: The derogatory quotation in the morning newspaper gave the team the impetus it needed to rise to the next level. 

impish - mischievous: The reader learns quickly that there is a serious side to the impish Huck Finn. Also: impishness. [pius, pia, pium - dutiful]

importune - to ask urgently or persistently: Fearing her parents’ reaction to a C in biology, she importuned her teacher to raise her grade. Also: importunacy (the quality or state of being importunate), importunate (annoyingly persistent in asking), importunateness (importunacy), importuner, importunity (importunateness). [importunitas, importunitatis, f. - unsuitableness]

incendiary - (adj.) 1) used for or pertaining to the willful destruction of property by fire: On Feb. 13 and 14, 1945, British and American planes dropped incendiary bombs on the German city of Dresden, in an attack that killed more than 35,000 people and accomplished little militarily. 2) stirring up strife, rebellion, sedition; inflammatory; (n.) 1) person who willfully destroys property by fire; 2) one who stirs up strife, rebellion, etc. Also: incendiarism. [candeo, candere, candui - to shine; glow with heat; incendium, incendi, n. - fire, conflagration; incendiarius, incendiaria, incendiarium - incendiary; incensio, incensionis, f. - a setting on fire; burning]

incite - to stir up, urge on, move to action: Dr. Martin Luther King was able to incite large numbers of people to take an active role in the civil rights movement. Also: incitable, incitant, incitation, inciter, incitement. 

disinclination - unwillingness, reluctance: Most students express a disinclination for homework; most teachers are deaf. Also: disincline (to make or be unwilling). [inclino, inclinare, inclinavi, inclinatus - to cause to lean or bend] 

inculcate - to impress by repeated statement or admonition: Some parents who cannot inculcate in their children positive values that they themselves do not possess, hope the schools will do it for them. Also: inculcation, inculcative, inculcatory, inculcator.

incumbent - (adj.) 1) currently holding an office; 2) obligatory; resting (on someone) as a duty; (n.) 1) the current holder of an office: Some say that congress will never pass meaningful legislation regulating campaign contributions because such legislation would diminish the re-election chances of incumbents. Also: incumbency. [incubo, incubare, incubui, incubitus - to lie on]

incursion - a hostile or harmful entrance into; an invasion: Unable to amass enough troops for a major offensive, the patriots resorted to a series of nocturnal incursions into towns and villages along the border. Also: incursive (making incursions). [incurro, incurrere, incurri (incucurri), incursurus - to run into; to make an attack; incurso, incursare, incursavi, incursatus - to run against; attack; incursus, incursus, m. - a running against; attack]

indelible - that cannot be erased, removed, or eliminated: A single indiscretion, dug up and disclosed by an overly ambitious reporter, had left an ugly, indelible blemish on an otherwise spotless career. Also: indelibility, indelibleness. 

contraindicate - to make a certain treatment inadvisable: An ulcer contraindicates aspirin. Also: contraindication (a condition that contraindicates a certain treatment), contraindicative. [contra (prep. with acc.) - against] 

indite - to put in writing, compose: "I to you this poem indite / With all my soul and might," wrote the would-be poet. Also: inditement (act of inditing; composition), inditer. [dico, dicere, dixi, dictus - say]

indigence - serious poverty, lack of the necessities of life: What can be done to eliminate indigence among law-abiding people who are willing to work hard? Also: indigent. [indigens, indigentis - needing, in want of; indigentia, indigentiae, f. - want, need; indiges, indigis - needy] 

indulgent - yielding, lenient, permissive: As a child, he had taken advantage of his indulgent parents; later, as a parent, he appreciated the necessity of placing limits on indulgence. Also: indulge (yield to; allow oneself something), indulgence. [indulgentia, indulgentiae, f. - a yielding] 

inebriated - drunk, intoxicated: Inebriated people may think they are impressing those around them with their newfound wit, but all too often they are making fools of themselves; there is nothing impressive about inebriety. Also: inebriant (an intoxicant), inebriate (to make drunk), inebriation, inebriety (drunkenness, intoxication). [ebrietas, ebrietatis, f. - drunkenness; ebriositas, ebriositatis, f. - habitual drunkenness; ebriosus, ebriosa, ebriosum - given to drink, drink-loving; ebrius, ebria, ebrium - drunk]

ineffable -1) too overwhelming to be expressed in words: Many say that God is ineffable and then go on to write or speak volumes about him (her, it). 2) too sacred to be spoken. Also: ineffability, ineffableness.

ineluctable - inescapable, unavoidable: Even children know that death is ineluctable, but old people feel it in their bones. Also: ineluctability. [eluctor, eluctari, elucatus sum - to struggle out; to overcome]

inertia - 1) tendency to stay at rest or in motion; 2) immobility, inactivity, sluggishness: The CEO warned all employees not to succumb to inertia; what the company needs, he stressed, is a high level of energy. Also: inert, inertial, inertness [inertia, inertiae, f. - unskillfulness; sluggishness]

infernal - 1) having to do with hell or the lower world; 2) hellish, diabolical: Any new idea that threatened to undermine her moral comfort zone was labeled infernal and rejected outright. 3) extremely annoying, outrageous. Also: inferno (hell or a place resembling hell). [inferiae, inferiarum, f. - sacrifices in honor of the dead; inferus, infera, inferum - lower; (pl. substantive) inhabitants of the lower world, the dead, shades]

infer - 1) to conclude from reasoning, judge from evidence: Is it always permissible to infer agreement and approval from an absence of expressed disagreement and disapproval? 2) to indicate, imply. Also: inferable, inferrer, inference. [fero, ferre, tuli, latus - to bear, carry]

inference - conclusion derived by reasoning from evidence: In politics, voter inferences should be based on candidates’ actions, not their words; that is, when a consistent voting record and campaign rhetoric conflict, disregard the latter. Also: inferable, inferrer, inference, inferential. [fero, ferre, tuli, latus - to bring, bear, carry]

infusion - the act or process of instilling or imbuing (inspiring): The press attributed the team’s amazing comeback to a massive infusion of determination at halftime. Also: infuse, infuser, infusability, infusible (1 - incapable of being fused; 2 - capable of being infused), infusibleness, infusionism (doctrine that a preexisting soul is infused into a body at conception or birth), infusionist, infusive (inspiring). [fundo, fundere, fudi, fusus - to pour; fusio, fusionis, f. - an outpouring]

ingenuity - cleverness, inventiveness, resourcefulness: One of the finalists was praised for his knowledge, the other for his ingenuity; the latter got the job. Also: disingenuous (lacking in frankness, insincere), disingenuousness, ingenious (clever, inventive, resourceful), ingénue (a naive, innocent, unworldly girl or young woman, especially as represented on the stage), ingenuous (candid, sincere; naive), ingenuousness. [ingenuus, ingenua, ingenuum - native, indigenous; free-born; noble, upright]

disingenuous - lacking in frankness, insincere: Disingenuous people are hard to abide; they can look at you with big, honest eyes and tell one lie after another. Also: disingenuousness, ingenuous (candid, sincere; naive), ingenuousness. 

inimical - 1) hostile; unfriendly; 2) unfavorable: The withdrawal of the ambassador was seen by most commentators in the United States and in Europe as inimical to the cause of peace. Also: inimicable, inimicalness, inimicality. 

insidious - 1) treacherous or deceitful: A warm smile, a firm handshake, and sustained eye contact are our culture’s indicators of fine character; unfortunately, they are also the stock in trade of many an insidious individual. 2) intended to entrap or delude; 3) working inconspicuously but with grave effect. Also: insidiousness. [insidiator, insidiatoris, m. - one who lies in ambush; insidiosus, insidiosa, insidiosum - deceitful, cunning, treacherous]

instigate - 1) to urge on, incite, provoke; 2) to cause by urging: The riot was instigated by out-of-state radicals, who had come to the biracial gathering with the intention of fomenting discord. Also: instigation, instigative, instigator. [instigator, instigatoris, m. - one who instigates] 

insular - 1) like an island; isolated; 2) narrow-minded: The blatantly insular ideas expressed by the Prime Minister evoked criticism from around the globe. Also: insularism (state or quality of being insular), insularity. 

insulate - set apart, detach from the rest: Her parents tried to insulate her from harmful influences. Also: insulation, insulator. 

integral -1) essential to the whole; necessary for completeness: She believes, and tries to make us all believe, that each student and each teacher is an integral part of the school. 2) whole; complete. Also: integrate (to make whole or complete), integration. 

integrity - 1) uprightness; honesty; sincerity: Uncompromised integrity, says my teacher, is an unattainable ideal. No one's perfect, says my grandpa. 2) wholeness; completeness. 

interim - the period of time between: The spring semester ends in the middle of May, and the summer session does not begin until the first week of June; in the interim, we will relax on a lake in New Hampshire. 

interlinear - inserted between the lines: Students are not permitted to write interlinear comments and translations in books borrowed from the school. Also: interlineal (interlinear). [linea, lineae, f. - thread, string; line] 

internecine - harmful or destructive to both sides involved in a conflict: The major military powers of the world struggle with the question of intervention in the internecine conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda. [interneco, internecare, internecavi, internecatus - to exterminate, destroy utterly] 

interpolate - to insert, as new material, into a book, a play, music, etc:. The contract with the author was carefully worded to allow the director the right to interpolate several scenes of his own. Also: interpolable, interpolater, interpolator, interpolatory, interpolation, interpolative. [interpolo, interpolare, interpolavi, interpolatus - to polish, dress up; to alter, falsify] 

intersperse - 1) to diversify by means of other things scattered here and there: She interspersed her one-hour lecture with anecdotes from her youth, which made the time fly. 2) to scatter among other things. Also: interspersion, interspersal. [spargo, spargere, sparsi, sparsus - to strew; to sprinkle] 

disinterested - 1) unbiased, impartial: Only conscientious auditing by disinterested accountants will prevent the recurrence of an Enron debacle. 2) not interested, unconcerned, indifferent. Also: disinterest (indifference), disinterestedness. [inter, prep. w/ acc. - between, among; sum, esse, fui, futurus - to be]

intimate (v.) - to make known indirectly; hint: In his letter he had intimated that he would be in town at the end of the month; however, the 31st had come and gone, and still she had heard nothing. Also: inimater, intimation. 

introspection - observation or examination of one's own thoughts and feelings: Excessive introspection can be emotionally paralyzing. Also: introspectable, introspectible, introspective, introspectiveness, introspector. [introspicio, introspicere, introspexi, introspectus - look within; examine] 

inviolate - 1) not violated, injured, or profaned: Because of man’s pollution and wastefulness, no part of nature--not the top of the highest mountain or the bottom of the deepest sea--has remained inviolate. 2) untouched, undisturbed. Also: inviolable, inviolability, inviolableness, inviolacy, inviolateness. [violatio, violationis, f. - violation, profanement, injury; violator, violatoris, m. - one who injures, violates, or profanes; violo, violare, violavi, violatus - to violate, injure, profane]

ire - anger: Though deeply offended by the remarks of his colleague, he maintained a working relationship devoid of ire and vengeance. Also: ireful (irate). 

irascible - 1) easily provoked to anger; irritable: Everyone knew better than to joke with the irascible coach about football losses. Also: irascibility (quickness of temper), irascibleness. [irascor, irasci, iratus sum - to become angry] 

itinerant - traveling from place to place as a requirement of one's job: Itinerant farm workers work long hours for little money. Also: itinerancy, itinerate (to travel from place to place as a requirement of one's job). 

itinerary - 1) a plan of travel: We've come up with an exciting itinerary that takes us from London to Rome via Munich, Innsbruck, and Florence. 2) a record of travel. 

reiterate - to say or do again and again; repeat several times: Negotiations ground to a standstill as each side did little more than reiterate its previous position. Also: iterate, reiterable, reiterant (repeating), reiteration, reiterative. [iteratio, iterationis, f. - repetition; itero, iterare, itaravi, iteratus - to do a second time; repeat]

jussive - expressing a mild command: Latin has a jussive subjunctive--a present-tense verb in the subjunctive mood used to express a mild command and usually translated into English with the help of the verb let. [iussum, iussi, n. - an order, command]

jocund - cheerful: The song “Gaudeamus Igitur,” traditionally sung by jocund groups of college students, contains the phrase “post iucundam iuventutem” (after a pleasant youth). Also: jocundity. [iucunditas, iucunditatis, f. - agreeableness, pleasantness] 

adjudge - 1) to declare by law: The aggrieved family was confident that, after all the testimony had been heard and reviewed thoroughly, the defendant would be adjudged guilty. 2) to settle by law; adjudicate; 3) to sentence by law. [adiudico, cf. adjudicate] 

adjudicate - (trans.) to decide by law; (intrans.) to serve as judge; pass judgment: The defense lawyer insists that no one can be found to adjudicate who is not already familiar with the details of the case. Also: adjudication, adjudicative, adjudicator, adjudicatory. [adiudico, adiudicare, adiudicavi, adiudicatus - to grant or award as a judge] 

judicable - capable of being judged; likely to be judged: One cannot take questions of beauty before a civil judge; aesthetic disagreements are not judicable in a civil court. Also: judicative (judicial), judicature (the administration of justice; the function or authority of a judge; a court of justice; a group of judges). 

judicature - 1) the administration of justice: The Judicature Act of 1873 established in England a Supreme Court of Judicature, which replaced several overlapping and competitive courts in the heretofore cluttered English court system. 2) a body of judges; 3) the power of administering justice by legal trial. Also: judicable, judicative. [iudex, iudicis, m. - a judge; iudicatio, iudicationis, f. - investigation; judgment; iudicatus, iudicatus, m. - office of judge; iudicialis, iudiciale - judicial; iudiciarius, iudiciaria, iudiciarium - of or pertaining to a court of justice; judiciary]

judiciary - 1) the branch of government responsible for administering justice: The judiciary is authorized to interpret laws, not to write them. 2) courts of law or judges collectively. [iudiciarius, iudiciaria, iudiciarium - pertaining to a court of justice] 

judicious - using or showing good judgment; wise: The research paper was made more readable and more convincing by the judicious use of quotations. Also: injudicious, judiciousness. [iudicium, iudici, n. - trial, court of law] 

adjunct - 1) something added that is of secondary importance; 2) an assistant; (adj.) connected in a part-time position: Many colleges and universities depend on an adjunct faculty to teach classes that would otherwise overload the regular faculty. Also: adjunctive. [adiungo, adiungere, adiunxi, adiunctus - to connect, fasten on] 

conjunctive - 1) connecting, joining together; 2) united, joined together; 3) (in grammar) used as a conjunction: Conjunctive adverbs, like "moreover" and "therefore,” are often preceded by semicolons. Also: conjunctional. [coniungo, coniungere, coniunxi, coniunctus - to bind together, fasten together; coniunctio, coniunctionis, f. - a joining together] 

disjunctive - 1) separating or causing separation; 2) showing a contrast or choice between two clauses, phrases, words, etc.: In English, "or" and "but" are disjunctive conjunctions, while "otherwise" and "nevertheless" are disjunctive adverbs. Also: disjunct (separated), disjunction (separation). [disiungo, disiungere, disiunxi, disiunctus - to separate, unbind; disiunctio, disiunctionis, f. - separation] 

injunction - 1) command; 2) order from a court: Regardless of their personal views, policemen are expected to enforce all laws and court injunctions. [iniungo, iniungere, iniunxi, iniunctus - to attach; to impose, enjoin] 

juncture - 1) a point in time: No matter what the year, no matter what the day, we are told by orators and would-be orators that we stand at a crucial juncture in the history of the world. 2) a joining; 3) a joint. [iunctura, iuncturae, f. - joining] 

abjure - 1) to renounce or reject (rights, claims, etc.) solemnly: In 1936, King Edward VIII abjured his right to the throne of England in order to marry Wallis Simpson, a commoner. 2) to renounce publicly opinions or beliefs formerly held. Also: abjuration, abjuratory, abjurer. [abiuro, abiurare, abiuravi, abiuratus - to deny with an oath] 

adjure - to command or entreat solemnly: In a desperate move, the regent adjured each court official "by the living God" to disclose what he knew about the conspiracy. Also: adjuration, adjuratory, adjurer, adjuror. [adiuro, adiurare, adiuravi, adiuratus - to swear in addition, add an oath] 

conjure - 1) to compel a spirit to appear by using magic words: Faust conjures Mephistopheles and makes a deal with him. 2) to cause to happen by magic; 3) to entreat solemnly. Also: conjuration (act of invoking by a sacred name; practice of magic; magic spell), conjurator (one who practices conjuration), conjurer. [coniuro, coniurare, coniuravi, coniuratus - to unite by oath; to conspire; coniuratio, coniurationis, f. - sworn union; conspiracy] 

jurisprudence - 1) the science or philosophy of law: Goethe's Faust has studied philosophy, theology, medicine, and jurisprudence, and he feels he is no wiser than before. Also: jurisprudential. [prudentia, prudentiae, f. - foreseeing; knowledge; discretion] 

justification - 1) showing something to be just or right; 2) a fact or circumstance that shows something to be just or right; good reason: Pacifists can find no justification for war, period. Also: justifiable, justify. 

perjury - lying under oath; swearing falsely. We would have more honest trials if perjury were prosecuted more vigorously and if the punishment for perjury were more severe. Also: perjure (to lie under oath), perjurious, perjuriousness. [periuro, periurare, periuravi, periuratus - to swear untruthfully, commit perjury] 

 

iuvenis, iuvene - young, youthful

juvenilia - writings or works of art produced in one’s youth: Can anyone think of an artist or an author whose juvenilia are esteemed as masterpieces? Also: juvenescence (youthfulness), juvenescent (youthful), juvenile, juvenility, juvenilize (to make more appealing to children), juvenilization, rejuvenate, rejuvenation, rejuvenative, rejuvenator, rejuvenescence, rejuvenescent, rejuvenize. [iuvenalis, iuvenale - youthful; iuventa, iuventae, f. - youth (the time of youth); iuventas, iuventatis, f. - youth (the time of youth); iuventus, iuventutis, f. - the prime of life]

Moutoux, Latin Derivatives