Confusing Words Clarified: Group I; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. +

(lists of "I" sections that are organized into what for some people are confusing groups of words)

If you have any problems understanding the pronunciation symbols, go to this Pronunciation Chart for clarifications.

interment, internment
interment (in TUR muhnt) (noun)
The ceremony of burial: The interment of Sharon's uncle was accompanied by special prayers and beautiful music.
internment (in TURN muhnt) (noun)
The state or condition of being imprisoned or confined: The internment, or impoundment, of certain members of the community caused a great deal of outrage.

In dangerous times, the internment of political prisoners has often led to their secret interment.

inter-mural, intermural; intramural
inter-mural, intermural (in tuhr MYOOR uhl) (adjective)
Describing the involvement of participants between two or more educational institutions, athletic clubs, or other groups; literally, "between the walls": There were friendly inter-mural debates scheduled among the rival schools.
intramural (in truh MYOOR uhl) (adjective)
Concerning something which exists or is carried on within the bounds of an institution; especially, a school, athletic club, or a group; literally, "within the walls": Kevin signed up to play intramural soccer at his school.

The winner of the intramural sports competition at each of the universities then played an inter-mural game to determine the overall championship.

international, intranational
international (in" tuhr NASH uh nuhl, in" tuhr NASH nuhl) (adjective)
Relating to or consisting of two or more independent countries: Virginia went to school to study international commerce.
intranational (in" truh NASH uh nuhl; in" truh NASH nuhl) (adjective)
Relating to something which exists or occurs within the boundaries of a single country, rather than involving different sovereign states: Voting for the President of the United States is an intranational event and so participation by other nations is not permitted.

The outcome of the intranational elections in the country had international implications for trade and commerce.

interpellate, interpolate
interpellate (in TUR pel" ayt, in tuhr" puh LAYT) (verb)
To question formally: It became necessary to interpellate the mayor regarding the charges of corruption.
interpolate (in TUR puh layt") (verb)
To insert or to place someone or something between two or more things or people: Edmond likes to interpolate clever quotations from various writers into his speeches.

The news reporter was allowed to interpellate the politician during an interview. When Lenora prepared her report, she attempted to interpolate direct quotations with the facts gleaned during her interview.

interstate, intestate, intrastate
interstate (IN tuhr stayt") (adjective)
Concerning being among two or more states: The federal government is authorized by the Constitution to regulate interstate commerce.
intestate (in TES tayt", in TES tit) (adjective)
Pertaining to something without a valid will: When Justin died, he left intestate property because he didn't think about writing a testament.
intrastate (in" truh STAYT) (adjective)
Describing something which is within one state: Intrastate commerce is regulated by each governing region.

The intrastate rules governing estates which are left intestate do not apply to interstate situations.

invade, inveighed
invade (in VAYD) (verb)
1. To enter a territory for the purpose of conquest: The ships sought to invade the country by sailing up the river.
2. To become medically dangerous: Without treatment, the doctors were afraid that gangrene would invade the wound.
inveighed (in VAYD) (verb)
Having complained or protested strongly and bitterly: The populace inveighed against the building of the highway so close to the village.

It seemed like the big box industrial building was set to invade the neighborhood despite the efforts of the local residents who inveighed in vane against the incursion.

invalid, invalid
invalid (IN vuh lid) (adjective)
Pertaining to the lack of truth or logical foundation: Maria's findings were invalid because of an error in calculation.
invalid (in VAL id) (noun)
Someone who is ill and unable to perform typical responsibilities: Martin's father was an invalid for many years and confined to a wheelchair.

The health insurance was invalid for the poor invalid.

invocation, benediction
invocation (in" vuh KAY shuhn) (noun)
1. A formula or recitation for conjuring or creating something: The children pretended to be wizards and repeated an invocation, hoping to turn their milk into ice cream.
2. A process for asking for support, help, or intercession: The priest started the church service with an invocation.
benediction (ben" i DIK shuhn) (noun)
An utterance of good wishes, often at the end of a religious service: The minister gave his benediction to the congregation at the end of the service.

Generally, an invocation comes at the beginning and a benediction comes at the end of a ceremony or religious service, etc.

The word invocation has Latin ancestors in invocare, meaning "to invoke"; for example, to call on (a higher power) for assistance, support, or inspiration".

A benediction expresses "good wishes" or "a blessing". It has ancestors in the Latin phrase bene dicere, meaning "to speak well" or "to praise".

In order to appease the many relatives, one uncle was asked to speak an invocation at the beginning of the ceremony and the other uncle was invited to give the benediction at the close of the ceremony.

invoke, revoke
invoke (in VOHK) (verb)
To appeal for or to make an earnest request: Dennis sought to invoke the help of his friends when he was building a new barn.
revoke (ri VOHK) (verb)
To take or to call back, to annul: Because of Eric's bad driving record, the police decided to revoke his driving license.

Lucinda tried to invoke the help of a magician to complete her overdue homework assignment; however, she had to revoke her appeal when her teacher said she would get a lower grade if she had outside help.

iPad, iPod; eye pad
iPad (IGH pad) (noun)
A hand-held device that will allow users to view movies, surf the internet and play high-definition games: The iPad features include the ability to browse the web and to listen to music, with photo, calendar, and maps applications.

The iPad will work with the iTunes store to let users discover and purchase music, movies and TV shows.

Like the iPhone, the iPad has a virtual keyboard, is about half an inch thick (1.27 centimeters), weighs 1.5 pounds (.68 kilograms), has a 9.7-inch (24.64-centimeter) display, and offers internal storage option capacities of 16GB, 32GB or 64GB.

iPod (IGH pahd) (noun)
1. A portable music player developed by Apple Computer: Although it is an Apple product, the iPod can be used with both Macs and PCs.
2. A combination of a portable digital media player and hard drive from Apple Computer: An iPod has a reputation for being user-friendly because he or she can navigate with what Apple calls a "touch wheel", which is a centrally-placed circular disk designed for one-hand operation.

Popular iPod features include a calendar, address book, to-do list, alarm clock with sleep timer, games, and a text reader.

eye pad (IGH pahd) (noun)
A sterile oval shaped, thin cushion which has soft, cotton and a lint-free outer covering for a patient's comfort: An eye pad may be pre-moistened with pure cucumber juice and other rejuvenating natural extracts including chamomile, aloe vera, and green tea.

When an eye pad is applied to an eye, it will cool and reduce puffiness and dark circles.

Bonita's eyes got so tired when she was using Mark's iPad that she needed to rest them by placing a tea-soaked eye pad on each eye and while she was resting, she listened to Lucinda's iPod.

iron, iron, iron, ironic
iron (IGH uhrn) (noun)
1. A metallic element (Fe) occurring in meteorites and igneous rock: The explorers were looking for substances that contained iron in order to create a new mining industry in the region.
2. An instrument or tool used for removing the creases and wrinkles in cloth: In pioneer homes, the iron for pressing clothing was heavy and difficult to use.
iron (IGH uhrn) (adjective)
Robust, healthy, strong: Bill's iron will was legendary among the tycoons of industry.
iron (IGH uhrn) (verb)
To remove puckers in cloth by pressing with a heated instrument: Melba asked Gregory if he would like for her to iron his shirt.
ironic (igh RAHN ik) (adjective)
1. Descriptive of a difference or inconsistency between reality and expectations: It is ironic that the shoes of the cobbler's children often had holes in them.
2. A reference to a mocking or an oblique comment: Donald's ironic sense of humor often conveyed the truth about what he was thinking.

It was sadly ironic that Jason's uncle, who had always had an iron constitution, became seriously ill when he was just 40 years old.

irrational, unreasonable
irrational (i RASH uh nuhl) (adjective)
1. Descriptive of someone who is incapable of logical thought, unconcerned, careless: Joshua's father became more irrational as his fever got worse.

Some politicians become irrational in the way they spend and waste money.

2. Affected by loss of usual or normal mental clarity; incoherent, as from a shock: Greg commented, "Tami, your fears and your behavior are irrational."
3. Unsound, illogical, unreasonable, not based on reality, nonsensical, foolish: Addie tends to be more irrational every day as a result of her demented condition.
unreasonable (un REE zuh nuh buhl) (adjective)
1. Pertaining to a lack in good sense, unfair, unacceptable: Jane said, "Come on, Carl, it's unreasonable for you to expect the weather to be cool in the summer."
2. Referring to a person who exceeds normal limits; obstinate, headstrong, stubborn, inflexible, obdurate, prejudiced: Andrew is a spoiled and unreasonable person.
3. Excessive, too great, exorbitant, extravagant, immoderate, unjustifiable: The company's management considers the union's demands as being totally unreasonable.

It is not unreasonable to fear that Tim's irrational anger could translate into aggression which might become unreasonably physical.

It seemed that authorities had to use unreasonable force to control Harold whose mental state could be described as increasingly irrational.

irrelevant, irreverent
irrelevant (i REL uh vuhnt) (adjective)
Unrelated to, not applicable to the matter at hand; not pertinent; not relating to the point: In an effort to sound important, Samuel included many irrelevant comments.
irreverent (i REV uhr uhnt) (adjective)
Lacking in respect or seriousness; disrespectful; especially, to what is sacred: Keith's irreverent statements regarding religion and religious people were unacceptable and inexcusable.

The way some people use God's name in their irreverent and vulgar statements indicates how impudent and inconsiderate some people are.

In a response to the social columnist’s propensity to make irreverent comments in her newspaper columns, the readers started to think of Celeste as old fashioned and irrelevant for these times.

its, it's
its (ITS) (pronoun)
1. A possessive pronoun: Every animal is proud of its young.
2. Used as a modifier before a noun: The airline canceled its flight to New York.

Like "his", another possessive pronoun, its never takes an apostrophe.

it's (ITS) (pronoun/verb)
A contraction of "it is" or "it has": It's [It has] been nice to meet you and it's [it is] good to know I'll see you again next month.

Since an "i" is missing, an apostrophe must be inserted to show the omission, but it is never used as a possessive.

Its is the possessive form of the pronoun it and is correctly written without an apostrophe.

This should not be confused with the contraction it's (for it is or it has), which should always be written with an apostrophe.

It's come to my attention that many people have no understanding of the difference between it's; as in, "It's going to be sunny today." and its; as in, "I put each flower in its proper place in the garden."

Pointing to explanation of homonyms, homophones, and homographs, etc. Confusing Words: Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs; explained and demonstrated.

Pointing back to Confusing Words Quizzes, Part AConfusing Words: Units, Groups A to Z.

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