9 • Lesson 11 Word List

(n) 1. A feature that contributes to physical comfort.
Air conditioning is an amenity that many in the torrid South consider essential.

2. A feature that increases the attractiveness or value of a location.
The freshwater lake on the edge of town was an amenity all the residents enjoyed.

amenities (n, pl) Acts of social courtesy.
The company president did not waste time on amenities but told the employees immediately how serious the situation was.

(adj) Having a feeling of opposition or distaste.
My parents are averse to our watching television while we eat dinner.

aversion (n)
Helene?s aversion to city life led her to rent a cabin in the mountains for a year.

(adj) So self-satisfied that one sees no need for change; unconcerned.
?I don?t need to study,? was Sidell?s complacent answer when reminded of tomorrow?s final test.

complacency (n)
My sister?s complacency about her musical ability was shaken when she was not chosen for a solo in the opera.

(v) To decay or to break down into basic elements.
If we add these kitchen scraps to the grass cuttings, over time they will decompose into a rich garden mulch.

(v) To supply the money for; to pay.
Our school has money in the budget to defray the cost of the class?s trip.

(v) To come out from a source.
As the boys crept down the basement stairs, a low humming noise emanated from the furnace.

(v) To picture in one?s mind; to imagine something in the future.
Few of the Native Americans living in the 1600s could have envisaged that the forests surrounding them would be gone within a few hundred years.

(adj) Playfully or inappropriately humorous.
Joelle claims she was just being facetious when she asked if your new ring was a prize from the bubble-gum machine.

(n) A false or mistaken idea.
Uncle Walter argues that it is a fallacy to think that the the storm won?t hit the town.

fallacious (adj)
Mayor Thompson?s argument is persuasive, but it?s based on a fallacious idea.

(n) An uproar; a state of great anger or excitement.
When the surprise witness for the prosecution turned out to be the best friend of the accused, the courtroom was thrown into a furor.

(n) An episode or experience that is calm and carefree.
Our summer idyll ended when the boat came to take us off the island.

idyllic (adj)
The park near the lake was an idyllic spot for our picnic.

(n) Scarcity; smallness in number or amount.
The paucity of the harvest became very clear when we looked at the half-empty barrel of apples.

(adj) Full of tiny holes or spaces; easily penetrated by gas or liquid.
The amount of clay in the soil prevents it from being very porous, so rainwater often accumulates in large pools.

(v) To replace; to cause to be set aside because of superiority.
By the 1960s, airplanes had superseded ships as the most common means for long-distance travel.

(adj) 1. Real; able to be touched.
The museum guide pointed to a small stamp on the bottom of the vase as tangible proof of its antiquity.

2. Possible to understand or realize; not vague or uncertain.
A tangible benefit of the insurance policy is that it cannot be canceled for any reason.