Vocabulary Week #2

Biggs/Garcia – Sheltered English I

Week #2 Words dowry disconsolate tapestries pauper exorbitant flat instigate depreciate scrutiny coveted

Dowry

(n.) - money or property brought by a bride to her husband at marriage

Disconsolate

(adj.) – very unhappy

Tapestries

(n.) – heavy cloths woven with decorative designs

Pauper

(n.) – a very poor person

Exorbitant

(adj.) – much too high in price or amount, very expensive

Flat

(n.) – an apartment

Instigate

(v.) – to provoke, to “start something”

Depreciate

(v.) – to lower the value of

Scrutiny

(n.)- close inspection; the act of looking at something very carefully with attention to detail

Coveted

(adj.)- longed for, desired, wanted

Week #2 Definitions Dowry (n.) - money or property brought by a bride to

her husband at marriage. Disconsolate (adj.) – very unhappy. Tapestries (n.) – heavy cloths woven with decorative

designs. Pauper (n.) – a very poor person . Exorbitant (adj.) – much too high in price or amount,

very expensive. Flat (n.) – an apartment. Instigate (v.) – to provoke, to “start something”. Depreciate (v.) – to lower the value of. Scrutiny (n.)- close inspection; the act of looking at

something very carefully with attention to detail. Coveted (adj.)- longed for, desired, wanted.

Week #2 Words in Contextfrom “The Necklace” “With no dowry, no prospects, no way of any kind of being met,

understood, loved, and married by a man both prosperous and famous…” (221)

“The sight of the little Breton girl who did her humble housework roused in her disconsolate regrets and wild daydreams.” (221)

“She would dream of silent chambers, draped with Oriental tapestries and lighted by tall bronze floor lamps…” (221)

“It’s embarrassing not to have a jewel or a gem – nothing to wear on my dress. I’ll look like a pauper.” (223)

“Finally, all was paid back, everything including the exorbitant rates of the loan sharks and accumulated compound interest.” (227)

Week #2 Words in Contextfrom “The Gift of the Magi” “…take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week.”

(204)

“Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.” (204)

“Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the air shaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty’s jewels and gifts.” (204)

“For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight dollars a week or a million a year – what is the difference?” (206)

“And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone.” (206)