Verbs and adjectives can stand alone in a sentence and explain an action, experience, or noun.
If we wish to enhance these words and add more information, we can put an adverb before them and further explain their meanings.
Adverbs can also stand before other adverbs, depending on the structure of the sentence.
Among one hundred most common adverbs, there are almost none that begin with the letter I.
In this article, we will focus on those adverbs that begin with the letter I and explain their meanings through various examples.
The Most Common Adverbs That Start with the Letter I
Ideally
The adverb ideally explains someone or something perfect, impeccable, or close to that.
“It is obvious that the game requires an ideally perfect score.”
“Apply the lipstick first, ideally with a lip brush for an accurate result.”
We commonly use this adverb to describe the perfect situation, which may or may not be possible. The adverb, in this case, opens the sentence.
“Ideally, you would move our first.”
“Ideally, you should exercise every three days.”
The person in question should exercise whenever possible for the best results.
Often used synonyms are perfectly, impeccably, preferably, in a perfect world, and by choice.
“What a woman wants, ideally, is for a man to respect her.”
“Ideally, you should measure the edges properly for the screws to fit.”
Illegally
When some action is not done according to the law, criminally, we say that it is done illegally.
“She was arrested for parking illegally.”
The woman was arrested due to breaking the law of parking.
“They entered the country illegally.”
“He illegally obtained information from her file.”
This adverb is only used to explain an action against the law.
Immediately
“I want to see you immediately.”
The adverb immediately expresses the urgency of something that needs to happen at once or instantly.
“If you wish to catch the plane, you should leave immediately.”
“I rang immediately for the ambulance.”
The person in question called the ambulance without waiting or thinking about anything else, realizing the urgent situation.
But the adverb immediately could explain the closeness to something or someone in time or distance.
“The bank is on the left, immediately after the shop.”
“They moved in immediately after Easter.”
“In most cases, the people immediately affected by the drought are the farmers themselves.”
Immediately does not leave space or time to make a decision.
Some synonyms are straight away, right away, right now, instantly, promptly, at once, and that instant.
Implicitly
The adverb implicitly focuses on suggesting something rather than explaining a situation or an act directly.
“She implicitly suggested that I need to lose weight.”
When we wish to say that we should trust someone or something without any doubt or second thought, we might say:
“He trusts her implicitly.” or “She believed implicitly in the power of medication.”
In these examples, the focus shifts from something suggested to something specific. The man in question believed the girl implicitly or completely, no matter what she said or did.
Synonyms often used are tacitly, completely, utterly, unreservedly, and absolutely.
Incredibly
The adverb incredibly has more meanings than one; the first explains something to a great degree or more than the average.
“Anna was incredibly smart for her age.” or “Henry was incredibly brave.”
Anna was more intelligent than the rest of her peers, while Henry showed exceptional bravery.
The second meaning comes down to hard-to-believe facts or statements. We use incredibly to explain something strange or out of the ordinary.
“Incredibly, they were not hurt in the accident.”
“We missed the first class but incredibly got on time for the second.”
Another example of the adverb is to explain something or someone extreme.
“She was incredibly rich.” or “An incredibly loud bang follows the flash.”
Often used synonyms are especially, strangely, uncommonly, astonishingly, and the mentioned extremely.
Informally
“She was dressed informally.”
The woman was dressed casually, in a relaxed manner. She probably wore a t-shirt, sneakers, and comfortable pants.
We use the adverb informally to explain a behavior done in an unofficial, friendly manner, the opposite of something or someone being formal.
“The group meets informally every couple of weeks.”
The group meetings do not have a particular time or date, but they happen whenever they have free time.
We could have also said:
“The friend group meets casually once a month.” without plans or obligations.
“Jessica is known informally as “Jess” by her friends.”
“The boss informally approved my assignment, but I still need to wait for the official stamp.”
Initially
When something happens at the beginning of any given situation (friendship, meeting, conversation, social activity, etc.), we use the adverb initially to explain the time it happened.
“Initially, I thought you were a bad person.”
“The damage was more serious than I initially thought.”
Initially can explain the first thought, belief, or action.
“He was blackmailed initially because of his position.”
“Both parties initially opposed the agreement.”
This version is the only one used for this adverb.
Synonyms often used are at the beginning, at first, originally, to begin with, and in the first instance.
Intuitively
A popular synonym often used is instinctive, for a person doing something without a conscious reason based on feelings rather than facts.
“He intuitively reached out to grab her hand, sensing that she would run away.”
“Intuitively, it makes sense to start the test now.”
“The soldier intuitively jumped before the bullet to save his colleague.”
But this adverb explains a deed done with skill or some previous experience.
“Lisa intuitively left home before the earthquake began.”
This example shows that Lisa followed her so-called “gut feeling” before waiting for the earthquake to happen. It does not have to be grounded in rational thought.
Inwards
The adverb inwards means towards the inside.
“Fold the outside edges inwards.”
“She turned inwards after the accident, closing off from everybody else.”
Some often used synonyms are inside and within.
“The door began to swing inwards.”
“You must look inwards to understand the source of the problem.”
Ironically
The adverb ironically is used in an engaging, strange, or funny way because the meaning is different from what you would expect:
“Ironically, for a woman who hates love, she falls in love easily.”
When we say something with irony or ironically, we do not mean it and say it as a joke.
Irony shows the dissimilarity between how things are in reality and how they might appear.
The saying “how ironic” shows that the meaning of something is the opposite of what it is.
“Classmates ironically dubbed him the Beauty of the class.”
“I laughed ironically.”
The person did not find anything amusing, so the laugh had a different meaning than laughing because something was funny.
The irony is always perceived in a negative way.
Some often used synonyms are amusingly, playfully, jokingly, satirically, and jovially.
Other Adverbs Starting with the Letter I
Ibidem
Icily
Idealistically
Identically
Idiotically
Idly
Idolizingly
Ignorantly
Illegibly
Ill-humorlessly
Illicitly
Illogically
Illustratively
Imaginatively
Imitatively
Immaculately
Immediately
Immensely
Imminently
Immoderately
Imbalanced
Immorally
Immortally
Imperially
Impersonally
Impetuously
Impiously
Implacably
Impolitely
Impotently
Imprecisely
Impressively
Imprudently
Impulsively
Impurely
Inappropriately
Inarguable
Inarticulately
Inattentively
Incapably
Inaudibly
Incedingly
Incisively
Inclusively
Inconveniently
Incorrectly
Incorrigibly
Increasingly
Indeed
Indelicately
Independently
Indiscreetly
Indistinctly
Irately
Irksomely
Irreligiously
Irrelevantly
Irresistibly
Irrevocably
Isolated
Issuably
Itchily
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