Impertinence means to be rude. His impertinence in class wasted valuable time. Pertinence means having logical precise relevance to the matter at hand. The memorial has particular pertinence to the victim’s families.
Category: Confusing Words
Difference between Impel and Induce
Impel means to force an action. Factories are impelled to follow the environmental regulations. Induce means to persuade or to cause to do something. The doctor prescribed a mild drug to induce sleep.
Difference between Impassable and Impassible
Impassable means not passable or cannot be traveled over. The road is impassable in winter and early spring. Impassible, a theological term, means incapable of suffering. He believes God does not suffer and is therefore impassible.
Difference between Impartable and Impartible
Impartable means capable of being transmitted, communicated, or shared. The blacksmith’s knowledge is impartable, if only we listen. Impartible means not divisible or not subject to partition. The children were sad to learn their father’s estate is impartible.
Difference between Immure and Inure
Immure means to enclose within, imprison, or confine. She locked all the doors and immured herself in the house. Inure means to get used to something difficult, painful, or unpleasant. He has become inured to the difficulty of the English language.
Difference between Immunity and Impunity
Immunity means exempt from disease or obligation. The new vaccine provides immunity against chicken pox. The church was granted immunity from any local taxation. Impunity means exempt from harm, penalty, or punishment. The favorite child teased his brother with impunity.
Difference between Immemorial, Immortal and In memoriam
Immemorial means ancient beyond memory. His family had farmed that land since time immemorial. Immortal means deathless or eternal. In literature, Shakespeare is a true immortal. In memoriam means in memory of (obituary).
Difference between Immature and Premature
Immature means not developed or fully grown. That child appears immature compared to the rest of the class. Premature means before the expected time (too soon). The premature infant was born at only seven months.
Difference between Imaginary and Imaginative
Imaginary means not real. Imaginary friends are typical for kids between ages 3 and 6. Imaginative means to show an imagination. Jim Henson’s imaginative ability brought joy to many families.
Difference between Illegible and Unreadable
Illegible means impossible to read because the words cannot be made out. For me, not the pharmacist, the prescription is illegible. Unreadable means the material is uninteresting or poorly written. The grammatical errors made the letter simply unreadable.
Difference between Ignorant and Stupid
Ignorant means not having learned. They tend to assume that people in earlier times were ignorant. Stupid means not able to learn. The worker was uneducated, but not necessarily stupid.
Difference between If I was and If I were
If I were is the correct phrase when one is referring to a conditional future event. If I were president, I would stress feeding the hungry.