9 • Lesson 9 Word List

allure

(n) The power to attract or charm.
For many travelers the canals and winding streets of Venice have a particular allure.

antiquity (n) 1. The ancient world, especially before the Middle Ages.
Emperor Nero of Rome was one of the great despots of antiquity.

2. The quality of great age.
Only an expert can establish the antiquity of these jeweled brooches.

antiquities (n) Valuable objects from ancient times.
Among the Mayan antiquities were several beaded masks.

appraise

(v) 1. To estimate the value of.
A real-estate agent appraised the house across the street at $125,000.

2. To form a judgment of; to evaluate.
The foreman looked long and hard at the woman?s resumé, appraising it carefully before offering her the job.

cleave

(v) 1. To cling to or be faithful to.
Many people cleave to their values of simplicity and self-sufficiency.

2. To split with force or a sharp instrument.
I cleaved a chunk of wood from the block with an axe.

depreciate

(v) 1. To make or become less in value.
Real estate in a good location can be a wise investment because it seldom depreciates.

2. To represent as of little value; to belittle.
People who admire classical painters may depreciate contemporary art.

facet

(n) 1. Any of the many small, flat surfaces on a precious stone made by cutting.
The poorly cut facets detract from the value of that emerald.

2. One of many sides or aspects of something.
We examined every facet of the scheduling problem before proposing a solution.

facsimile

(n) An exact copy.
Though the birth certificate was a facsimile of the original, the detective could discern the difference.

impervious

(adj) 1. Incapable of being penetrated.
We stayed dry in the downpour because our tent is impervious to rain.

2. Not affected or disturbed by.
His calm demeanor as he faced the huge audience showed that he was impervious to stage fright, even though he?d never performed before.

nondescript

(adj) Hard to describe because of a lack of distinctive qualities or features.
I walked along the endless row of nondescript houses looking for number 136.

quandary

(n) A state of being in doubt about what to do.
The lawyers were in a quandary about whether controversial material on the Internet is protected by the First Amendment.

repose

(v) 1. To lie at rest.
Until it was time to leave, I reposed in the hammock on the porch.

2. To place (power, etc.) in some person or group.
The nation reposes its trust in the fairness of the federal court system.

(n) A state of rest or relaxation.
Juliet?s visage in repose was serene.

scintillate

(v) To flash or sparkle.
The mirrors on the revolving ball suspended from the ceiling scintillated above the dancers.

(adj) Lively and witty.
People often invited my father to dinner because his conversation was so scintillating.

scrutinize

(v) To examine with great care.
My parents scrutinized each line of my essay before I turned it in for the contest.

scrutiny (n) Close examination.
The detective?s careful scrutiny of the crime scene helped solve the mystery.

synthetic*

(adj) Not naturally produced; made by artificial processes.
Most cloth today is colored with synthetic dyes.

transmute

(v) To change the form or appearance of.
In the fairy tale ?Rumpelstiltskin,? the foolish miller claimed that his daughter could transmute straw into gold.