If a thunderstorm is likely to occur at any moment, is the storm imminent or eminent? Is an obstruction or hindrance an impairment or an impediment? If people act without thinking, are they impetuous or impetus? When on vacation, would one stay at an in or an inn? If someone is mentally deranged, would he be insane or inane?
imminent thunderstorm, flickr
imminent, eminent
If something is imminent, it is likely to occur at any moment.
The murderer was caught on camera stabbing the victim, so an arrest is imminent.
Eminent describes someone or something that is high in station, rank, or repute; prominent; distinguished. Another meaning is high in station, rank, or repute; prominent; distinguished. And it can also mean projecting or protruding; prominent.
When the eminent professor was accused of allowing several of his students to get away with cheating, disbelief spread among the other members of the faculty.
Adolph and the impediment, by Anita Dalton, flickr
impairment, impediment
If one has an impairment, one is diminished, weakened, or damaged, especially mentally or physically.
Her impairment prevented her from taking the more difficult trails with the others.
An impediment is an obstruction, a hindrance, or an obstacle. It is also a physical defect, esp one of speech, such as a stammer.
The tacks strewn across the road proved to be an impediment to the detectives following their suspect.
Flight trajectory according to Buridian’s theory of impetus, wikimedia commons
impetuous, impetus
If someone is impetuous, they act without thinking.
His impetuous actions landed him in a lot of trouble.
Impetus a force that causes something to be done or to become more active.
Continually misplacing her belongings proved to be the impetus for Sheila to clean her room.
imply, infer
To imply is to hint at something without directly stating or presenting.
Treating the identity of the killer as a game, she would only imply what his name was.
To infer is to make a guess based on evidence and reasoning.
The detective took note of all her implications and from them, he was able to infer the killer’s true identity.
pug imposter, flickr
impostor or imposter, imposture
An imposter is a person who pretends to be someone else in order to trick and deceive others. This word can also be spelled impostor.
The imposter practiced how to speak like the one she would be taking the place of.
Imposture is the act of deceiving while using a fake identity.
Melinda’s imposture had the potential to earn her millions.
Bear Mountain Inn, wikimedia commons
in, inn
In is a word with many meanings. It can be used as a preposition, an adjective, an adverb, or a noun. Also, there are many idioms that the word “in” is a part of.
Preposition – We will take a walk in the park.
Adjective – Every author’s dream is to write the in book to read.
Adverb – Please come in the house.
Noun – The town drunk has an in with the mayor.
Idiom – The child has misbehaved so much that he is in for it when they get home.
An inn is a small hotel that provides lodging, food, etc., for the public, especially travelers.
While on vacation, they stayed in at an inn in the village of Mildenhall.
insane, by Anno Malie, flickr
inane, insane
If something is inane, it lacks sense and/or purpose.
Her inane idea about how to make an outlandish amount of money received only laughter.
Insane means not of a sound mind or mentally deranged. It also means utterly senseless.
Although others thought her idea insane, she made millions from it.
blue ink, wikimedia commons
inc., ink
Inc. is an abbreviation for the following words: inclosure, included, including, inclusive, income, incorporated, increase. When used as the abbreviation for incorporated in company names, it is capitalized. When used as an abbreviation for the other words, it is not capitalized.
The U.S. abbreviation Inc. is the equivalent of the British abbreviation Ltd.
Ink is a fluid or paste used for printing, writing, and drawing.
Patsy was in the middle of taking the test she had stayed up all night studying for when her pen ran out of ink.
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