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- idle/idol/idyl (idyllic): idle is being inactive; idol is an ideal or an object of worship; idyl is a brief pastoral poem, with idyllic meaning “charming” or “picturesque” and not meaning the same as “ideal”
- illegal/illicit/elicit: society writes laws to define illegal acts; an illicit act is typically considered to include moral culpability; elicit is a verb meaning to draw or call forth (to seek to bring about)
- illegible/unreadable: illegible is handwriting or printing that is too sloppy or indistinct to be read; unreadable is material so poorly written to be completely misunderstood or insufferably dull
- illusion/delusion: an illusion is a misperception; a false belief is a delusion
- immigrate/emigrate: immigrate is to move to a country other than one's homeland; emigrate is to leave one’s country to reside in another; a person who has left Ireland to live in the USA is an emigrate in Ireland and immigrant in the USA
- impact: although technically correct, impact as a verb is overused: it nearly can typically be replaced with “influence” or “affect”
- impasse/stalemate: stalemate is a true, final, and irreversible end that has been reached; an impasse is a dead end that, unlike a stalemate, allows one to turn around
- impassable/impassive: impassable means that passive is impossible; impassive is insensible, apathetic, stoic, phlegmatic
- impelled/compelled: to be impelled is to be driven (but not forced) forward, usually because one is convinced of the need for action; to be compelled is to be forced into action by compelling force
- implicit/explicit: implicit is material that is suggested strongly enough to be understood through implication; explicit is purposeful material leaving no question about meaning or intent
- imply/infer: to imply is to hint or to suggest; to infer is to deduce
- immanent/imminent: immanent is something inherent or indwelling; imminent is something impending or just around the corner
- incredible/incredulous: incredible means unbelievable; incredulous means skeptical or dubious
- indiscreet/indiscrete: indiscreet means lacking sense or prudence; indiscrete means separation into distinct portions
- induce/deduce/adduce: induce is to use specific observations to form general conclusions; deduce is to develop specific conclusions from general propositions; adduce is to cite an example, provide as a reason, or present as proof
- infectious/contagious: infectious is related to a disease cause; contagious is about a mode of transmission, as in spread by contact. An infectious disease may or may not be contagious (pneumonia is infectious but not contagious; influenza is infectious and contagious)
- inflammable/flammable: inflammable is ambiguous to significant numbers of persons (it means flammable); flammable is preferred
- innervate/enervate: to innervate is to generate or stimulate energy; to enervate is to deplete or sap of vigor
- innumerable/enumerable: innumerable is an amount so large it can’t be counted; enumerable means something can be counted
- irregardless: wrong. Use regardless.
- insure/ensure/assure: to insure is to underwrite with an insurance policy; to ensure is to verify that something will or will not happen; to assure is to promise or give comfort that all is well
- invent/discover: something new is invented ; a thing that exists is discovered
- its/it’s: its is the possessive pronoun for it; it’s is a contraction for “it is”
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