iodine
732
i·o·dine /'aɪədɪn||-'daɪn/ n [U] a simple substance (ELEMENT)
that is used on wounds to prevent infection and in photo-
graphy
IOM written abbrev. for ISLE OF MAN
i·on /'aɪən||'aɪən, 'aɪɔːn/ n an atom which has been given (+)
POSITIVE or (-) NEGATIVE force by the taking away or addition
of an ELECTRON
I·o·na /aɪ'əʊnə/ an island off western Scotland, one of the
Inner Hebrides, famous as the starting place in the 6th
century of Scots Christianity, and the home of the Iona
Community, an ECUMENICAL Christian group
I·o·nes·co, Eu·gène /ˌiːəʊ'neskəʊ juː'ʒiːn/ (1912–94) a
French writer of plays, born in Romania, who wrote about
the meaningless lives of human beings and their difficulty
in communicating with each other. This type of play was
known as the 'Theatre of the Absurd'. Ionesco's plays
include The Bald Prima Donna, Rhinoceros, and The Chairs.
I·on·ic /aɪ'ɒnɪk||aɪ'ɑː-/ adj like or typical of a type of ancient
Greek building which is not highly decorated → compare
CORINTHIAN, DORIC
i·on·ize also -ise BrE /'aɪənaɪz/ v [I;T] to (cause to) form ions
—ization /ˌaɪənaɪ'zeɪʃən||-nə-/ n [U]
i·on·i·zer also -iser BrE /'aɪənaɪzər/ n a machine that pro-
duces negative IONS which is believed to make the air inside
a room or building more healthy. Ionizers are often used by
people who suffer from ASTHMA.
i·on·o·sphere /aɪ'ɒnəsfɪər||aɪ'ɑː-/ n [the] the part of the
ATMOSPHERE which is between about 40 and 400 kilometres
above the Earth. It is used in helping to send radio waves
around the Earth, because radio waves will BOUNCE off the
ionosphere (=hit it and return to Earth). —spheric
/aɪˌɒnə'sfɪrɪk ||-ˌaɪn-/ adj
i·o·ta /aɪ'əʊtə/ n [S(oft) usually in negatives] a very small amount;
any at all: There's not an iota of truth in what she said!
IOU /ˌaɪ əʊ 'juː/ n abbrev. for 'I owe you'; a note that you sign
and give to someone to say that you owe them money: I
don't have any cash on me — could I give you an IOU? | an
IOU for £10
IOW written abbrev. for ISLE OF WIGHT
I·o·wa /'aɪəwə/ written abbrev. IA a state in the MIDWEST of the
US, known for its farming. It produces mainly meat, maize,
and SOYA BEANS. —Iowan n, adj
IPA, the /ˌaɪ piː 'eɪ/ n abbrev. for the International Phonetic
Alphabet; a system of special signs, used to represent the
sounds made in speech. The IPA is used for showing pro-
nunciation in this dictionary.
iPod /'aɪpɒd||-pɑːd/ trademark
a small music player made by
Apple Computers, which you
can carry around with you
and on which you can store a
very large amount of music
DOWNLOADED from the Inter-
net using MP3 technology
ipse, IPSE /ɪps/ abbrev. for
integrated project support
environment; a set of system
development tools used in
the planning, development,
and testing of some large
computer systems
ip·so fac·to /ˌɪpsəʊ
'fæktəʊ/ adv Lat fml (used for showing that something else is
known from or proved by the known facts) by the fact itself:
If she admits it is her signature on the cheque, she is ipso facto
guilty. → compare DE FACTO
IQ /ˌaɪ 'kjuː/ n abbrev. for intelligence quotient; a number that
shows a person's level of intelligence, measured by a special
test called an IQ test. An IQ of 100 is the average. The test
consists of problems related to letters, numbers, and shapes.
Some people criticize this test because it only measures one
specific type of intelligence, and it may not be fair to people
from certain races or social backgrounds: She has an IQ of
127. | a high IQ
ir- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
IRA /'aɪərə/ abbrev. for Individual Retirement Account; a personal
PENSION plan available to American citizens and other peo-
ple who live in the US
IRA, the /ˌaɪ ɑːr 'eɪ/ abbrev. for the Irish Republican Army; an
illegal military organization that wants Northern Ireland to
leave the UK and become part of the Republic of Ireland. It
was originally established in 1919 to fight for Ireland's inde-
pendence from Britain. From 1969, it was been active both in
Northern Ireland and in England, and it is known for using
violence in order to achieve its aims, for example by killing
British soldiers and by bombing public buildings. Although it
is closely connected with the political party SINN FEIN, the
two organizations are separate. → see also PROVISIONAL IRA
I·ran /ɪ'rɑːn, -æn/ a country in southwest Asia, between Iraq
and Afghanistan. Population: 68,278,826 (2003). Capital:
Tehran. Iran was called Persia until 1935, and is an important
oil-producing country. It was at war with Iraq from 1980 to
1988. Iran is a strongly Muslim country and, although it is a
DEMOCRACY Muslim priests have held a lot of political
power there since the Shah (=King) was removed in 1979,
when the Ayatollah KHOMEINI came to power. —Iranian
/ɪ'reɪniən/ n, adj
I·ran·gate /'ɪrɑːngeɪt, ɪ'ræn-/, the ˌI·ran-'Contra
Afˌfair a political SCANDAL in 1987, when it was discovered
that members of President REAGAN's government had sold
weapons to Iran in exchange for the return of US HOSTAGES
(=people kept as prisoners by an enemy), and had then used
the profits to support the Contras, an unofficial army that
was fighting the government in Nicaragua → see also NORTH,
OLIVER
Iˌranian 'Embassy ˌSiege a SIEGE which lasted for six
days at the Iranian Embassy in Knightsbridge, West London,
in May 1980 when Iranian terrorists demanded freedom for
political prisoners in Iran. It was ended by British SAS
troops, who broke into the building killing some of the
TERRORISTS and rescuing 19 HOSTAGES. The terrorists killed
two Iranian officials.
Iˌran-I'raq 'War a war between Iran and Iraq from 1980 to
1988
I·raq /ɪ'rɑːk, -æk/ an oil-producing country in southwest Asia,
between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Population: 24,683,313
(2003). Capital: Baghdad. Under its leader Saddam Hussein,
Iraq was at war with Iran from 1980 to 1988. In 1990 it
INVADED Kuwait and this led to the Gulf War. In 2003,
military forces led by the US invaded Iraq to remove Hussein
from power, and to find the WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
that they believed he was hiding. They caught Hussein but
were not able to find any weapons of mass destruction. The
military forces and a council of Iraqi leaders replaced Hus-
sein's government until an elected government could be
established. —Iraqi n, adj
i·ras·ci·ble /ɪ'ræsɪbəl/ adj fml (of a person) tending to get
angry easily: an irascible old man —bly adv —bility
/ˌɪræsɪ'bɪlɪti/ n [U]
i·rate /aɪ'reɪt/ adj very angry, especially because one's
moral feelings have been offended: The television station got
lots of complaints from irate viewers. | an irate letter —ly adv
ire /aɪər/ n [U] written anger: His book aroused the ire of the
Church (=made them angry)
Ire·land /'aɪələnd||'aɪər-/ a large island to the west of Great
Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea. It is
divided politically into NORTHERN IRELAND and the REPUBLIC
OF IRELAND. Northern Ireland is part of the UK, and many
people there belong to the Protestant religion. The Republic
of Ireland has been an independent state since 1921, and
most people there belong to the Roman Catholic religion.
Ireland, especially the Republic of Ireland, is known for its
beautiful green countryside, and is sometimes called the
Emerald Isle. Many great writers in English come from Ire-
land, including Oscar WILDE, James JOYCE, George Bernard
SHAW, and Samuel BECKETT. → see also REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
ir·i·des·cent /ˌɪrɪ'desənt/ adj showing changing colours as
light falls on it: the butterfly's iridescent wings —cence n
[U]
ir·i·dol·o·gy /ˌɪrɪ'dɒlədʒi||-'dɑː-/ n [U] a method of discover-
ing an illness by looking at the round coloured part of a
person's eye