India ink
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the British from 1757 until 1947, and is now the largest
DEMOCRACY in the world. The official languages are Hindi
and English, and most people belong to the HINDU religion,
although there are also large populations of Muslims and
Sikhs. Because of the long connection between India and
the UK, the two countries have had a great influence on
each other's CULTURE. Many British people are of Indian
ORIGIN (=they were born in India or their parents, grand-
parents etc were born in India), and Indian food is very
popular in the UK. There have also been many well-known
books, films, TV programmes etc about the British in India. →
see also GANDHI, MAHATMA
'India ,ink n [U] AmE INDIAN INK
In·di·an¹ /'ɪndiən/ n 1 someone from India 2 someone
from one of the races that lived in North, South, and
Central America before Europeans arrived
Indian² adj 1 from or connected with India 2 connected
with Indians
In·di·an·a /ˌɪndi'ænə/ written abbrev. IN a state in the MIDWEST
of the US, known for its farming
In·di·a·nap·o·lis /ˌɪndiə'næpəlɪs/ the capital city of the US
state of Indiana. An important car race called the Indianapo-
lis 500 takes place there every year.
Indianapolis 500, the /ˌɪndiəˌnæpəlɪs ˌfaɪv ˈhʌndrəd/ a
500-mile car race held at the end of May each year, at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the US state of Indiana. It is
usually referred to as the Indy 500.
,Indian 'corn n [U] AmE an old-fashioned word for MAIZE now
used to mean maize in several different colours which is
used for decoration, especially at THANKSGIVING
'Indian ,file n [U] if people walk in Indian file, they walk one
behind another; SINGLE FILE
,Indian 'giver n AmE infml an expression that is now consid-
ered offensive meaning someone who gives you something
and then takes it back —Indian giving n [U]
,Indian 'Guide also Y-Indian Guide n.infml a member of a
club for young boys and their fathers run by the YMCA in
the US. The YWCA runs a similar programme for young girls
and their mothers called Indian Maidens.
,Indian 'ink BrE || India ink AmE— n [U] black ink used
especially for Chinese or Japanese writing with a brush
,Indian 'Mutiny, the violent action taken by Indian sol-
diers in 1857 against their British officers, which led to a
general attempt by the people of north and central India to
take back power from the British. The mutiny eventually
failed, and the British established control again in 1858.
,Indian 'Ocean, the the third largest ocean in the world,
which lies between Africa and Australia
,Indian 'summer n 1 a period of warm weather in the late
autumn 2 a pleasant or successful time happening near the
end of a certain period, especially towards the end of a
person's life
'Indian ,Territory an area of land west of the Mississippi
River in the US, mainly in the state of Oklahoma, to which
many Native Americans were forced to move in the middle
of the 19th century. The land was later taken back from
them by the US government. → see also TRAIL OF TEARS, THE
,Indian 'Wars, the the wars in the US between white
Europeans and Native Americans in the 18th and 19th centu-
ries. The fighting increased after 1830, when the government
began to force Native American tribes to leave their land and
live in RESERVATIONS (=special areas of land kept separate for
Native Americans). By 1880, most of the fighting had ended.
,Indian 'wrestling n [U] AmE a game in which you stand
facing someone with your foot touching theirs, and try to
push them over by pushing their hand
,india 'rubber n [U] tech or old-fash (sometimes cap.) rubber,
especially as used for making toys or rubbing out pencil
marks: an india-rubber ball
in·di·cate /'ɪndɪkeɪt/ v 1 [T] to point to; draw attention to:
I asked him where my sister was and he indicated the shop
opposite. 2 [T] to show or make clear, especially by means of
a sign: He indicated his willingness with a nod of his head. |
[+that] The government has indicated that it intends to cut
taxes. | Research indicates that men find it easier to give up
smoking than women. | [+wh-] She indicated where I should
go. 3 [I;T] especially BrE || signal AmE — to show (the direction
in which one is turning in a vehicle) with hand signals,
lights etc: He's indicating left. | Don't forget to indicate before
turning. 4 [T often pass.] especially med to show a need for;
suggest: The change in his illness indicates the use of stronger
drugs. | Stern measures may be indicated in a crisis.
in·di·ca·tion /ˌɪndɪ'keɪʃən/ n [C;U(of)] a sign or suggestion
that indicates something: There is every indication (=a very
strong probability) of a change in the weather. | Can you give
me any indication of how I did in the test? | [+that] There are
some indications that interest rates will soon fall. → compare
INDEX¹
in·dic·a·tive¹ /ɪn'dɪkətɪv/ adj 1 [F+of] showing or suggest-
ing: His presence is indicative of his willingness to help. 2 of
or being the indicative: an indicative verb (form) —ly adv
indicative² n tech (in grammar) a verb form, or a set of verb
forms (a MOOD), that describes an action or states a fact: In the
sentences 'He comes here often' and 'She passed the test' the
verbs 'comes' and 'passed' are indicatives/are in the indica-
tive. → compare IMPERATIVE², SUBJUNCTIVE
in·di·ca·tor /'ɪndɪkeɪtə/ n 1 a needle or pointer on a
machine showing a measurement, e.g. of temperature, pres-
sure, amount of petrol etc 2 especially BrE || turn signal, signal
AmE — any of the lights on a car which flash to show which
way it is turning → see picture at CAR 3 a fact, quality, or
situation that indicates something: All the main economic
indicators suggest that trade is improving.
in·di·ces /'ɪndɪsiz/ pl. of INDEX (2,3)
in·dict /ɪn'daɪt/ v [T(for)] to charge (someone) officially with
an offence in law —ment n [C;U]
in·dict·a·ble /ɪn'daɪtəbəl/ adj law for which one can be
indicted: an indictable offence
in·die /'ɪndi/ also 'indie ,music n [U] music produced by
small, independent record companies in the 1980s and 1990s.
Indie bands usually have a singer, GUITAR players, and a
drummer, and are popular especially with young people.
Examples include The Verve and Radiohead.
in·dif·fer·ent /ɪn'dɪfərənt/ adj 1 [F(to, towards)] not inter-
ested in; not caring about or noticing: I was so excited to see
snow that I was indifferent to the cold. | His manner was cold
and indifferent. 2 not very good; MEDIOCRE: Was it good, bad,
or indifferent? | I'm an indifferent cook. —ly adv —ence n
[U(to, towards)] He treats her with complete indifference.
in·di·ge·nous /ɪn'dɪdʒənəs/ adj [(to)] fml or tech originating,
growing, or living naturally (in a particular place): a plant
indigenous to New Zealand —ly adv
in·di·gent /'ɪndɪdʒənt/ adj fml poor; lacking money and
goods —gence n [U]
in·di·gest·i·ble /ˌɪndɪ'dʒestʃəbəl/ adj 1 (of food) which
cannot be easily broken down in the stomach into sub-
stances to be used by the body 2 (of facts) which cannot
easily be taken into the mind —bly adv —bility
/ˌɪndɪdʒestɪ'blɪti/ n [U]
in·di·ges·tion /ˌɪndɪ'dʒestʃən/ n [U] illness or pain caused
by the stomach being unable to deal with the food which
has been eaten → compare DIGESTION
in·dig·nant /ɪn'dɪgnənt/ adj [(at)] expressing or feeling sur-
prised anger (because of something wrong or unjust) —ly adv
in·dig·na·tion /ˌɪndɪg'neɪʃən/ n [U(at)] feelings of surprised
anger (because of something wrong or unjust): I expressed
my indignation at being unfairly dismissed. | righteous indig-
nation
in·dig·ni·ty /ɪn'dɪgnɪti/ n [C;U] a state or situation that
makes one feel ashamed or feel loss of respect (DIGNITY): I
suffered the indignity of having to say I was sorry in front of
all those people.
in·di·go /'ɪndɪgəʊ/ adj dark blue-purple —indigo n [U]
in·di·rect /ˌɪndɪ'rekt/ adj 1 not straight; not directly con-
nected (to or with): an indirect route to avoid the town
centre 2 a) meaning something which is not directly
mentioned: an indirect remark/answer | an indirect way of
telling me to leave b) happening in addition to, or instead
of, what is directly intended: The accident was the indirect
result of the bus being late. 3 (of a tax) not paid directly but