Vocab #2

accoutrement- additional items of dress or equipment, or other items carried or worn by a person or used for a particular activity.
-The Navy men board the ship carrying their weapons and accoutrements.
apogee - noun apoapsis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is at the greatest distance from the Earth; a final climactic stage; the highest point in the development of something; the climax or culmination.
-We, Americans, hope that the U.S. debt is arriving at its apogee, or else we will be in some serious trouble.
apropos - adj. of an appropriate or pertinent nature; adv. by the way; at an opportune time
-The writer's reference to ancient history in his book is apropos.
bicker - noun a quarrel about petty points; verb argue over petty things
-Our very own US politicians continue to bicker over the extraneous in life rather than dealing with and taking care of the complications that have existed for several years.
coalesce - verb fuse or cause to grow together; mix together different elements
-As individuals continue to spend more and more time with one another, they eventually coalesce.
contretemps - noun an awkward clash
-The contretemps with the two students has been firmly addressed by their authority figures.
convolution - noun the action of coiling or twisting or winding together; a convex fold or elevation in the surface of the brain; the shape of something rotating rapidly
-The convolution of the ideas and theories of the colleagues initiated what was to be one of the best partnerships to take place in present day America.
cull - noun the person or thing that is rejected or set aside as inferior in quality; verb remove something that has been rejected; look for and gather
-Mr. Price, from The Poisenwood Bible, occured to be the cull throughout the course of the story,
disparate - adj. including markedly dissimilar elements; fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind
-The disparate beliefs of Beowulf and Grendel result in a physical dispute between the two.
dogmatic - adj. characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles; relating to or involving dogma; of or pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative
-The creation of humans and life on earth is dogmatic.
licentious - adj. lacking moral discipline; especially sexually unrestrained
-One who does not contain manners or good behavior is believed to be licentious.
mete - noun a line that indicates a boundary
-The criminal will receive a mete assigned by the judge that could possibly direct him to the rest of his life in prison.
noxious - adj. injurious to physical or mental health
-The drugs individuals are consuming and producing today are extremely noxious.
polemic - adj. of or involving dispute or controversy; noun a controversy (especially over a belief or dogma); a writer who argues in opposition to others (especially in theology)
-The document "The Right to Your Own Opinion" is one that is overly polemic and has the ability to cause big disputes between individuals who have opposing views on the topic.
populous - adj. densely populated
-America is one of the few populous and diverse countries in the world.
probity - noun complete and confirmed integrity; having strong moral principles
-In our society, a majority of the individuals are ones who lack probity.
repartee - noun adroitness and cleverness in reply
-When concerning your teachers, do not be intimidated or fearful, but also do not expect to be disrespectful or repartee either.
supervene - verb take place as an additional or unexpected development
-After the heart surgery was completed, doctors noticed a supervene valve blockage that forced them to perform yet another procedure on their patient.
truncate - adj. terminating abruptly by having or as if having an end or point cut off; verb make shorter as if by cutting off; approximate by ignoring all terms beyond a chosen one; replace a corner by a plane
-If you wanted to truncate a lengthy, drawn-out story, all you would have to do is omit certain aspects that do not have such a big impact on the story itself.
unimpeachable - adj. beyond doubt or reproach; completely acceptable; not open to exception or reproach; free of guilt; not subject to blame
-Some citizens may believe Obama is extremely impeachable, while others may believe he is unimpeachable.