Vocabulary 2

Accouterments or accoutrement (British spelling): n. personal clothing or equipment (of a soldier)

       Her accouterment matched her bright and bubbly personality.

 

Apogee: n. a point of orbit when a heavenly body (moon or satellite) is the furthest from the earth… or the highest point or climax

       The apogee in Pride and Prejudice is when Mr. Darcy first proposes to Elizabeth and she reads his letter after she rejects him.

      

Apropos: adv. Fitting, at the right time… adj. opportune

       Her apropos remarks made an impact on her opponent in her debate.

Bicker: v. to engage in petulant or peevish argument, to flicker or glitter, to move quickly

       The siblings bickered on and on until their mother put them in time out.

Coalesce: v. to grow together into one body, to unite so as to form as one mass, to blend or come together

       The high school coalesced into a united front as it faced a tragic accident.

Contretemps: n. the inopportune occurrence; an embarrassing mischance

       The girl caused a contretemps when she accidentally spilled her drink on the party host.

Convolution: n. rolled up or coiled condition, a rolling or coiling together, a turn of anything coiled

       The convolution of the wire created a whirling effect on the sculpture.

Cull: v.  to choose or pick, to gather the choice things or parts from, to collect… n.  the act of culling, something culled

       She culled through the trinkets box, looking for anything interesting for her “found objects” sculpture.

Disparate: adj. distinct in kind, essentially different

       The girls had disparate ideas when it came to how a friendship should work.

Dogmatic: adj. the nature of a dogma, asserting opinions in an arrogant matter, opinionated

       The dogmatic boy thrust his opinions down people’s throats regardless of the time or place.

Licentious: adj. sexually unrestrained, unrestrained by law or general morality, going beyond customary or proper bounds or limits

       She was so licentious that she went back on her word and her friends in order to get further in life even if it meant putting others down.

Mete: v. to distribute or apportion by measure, dole (followed by out)

       The teacher meted out the punishment because the class didn’t listen to the substitute teacher.

Noxious: adj. harmful to health or well-being, morally harmful or corrupting

       The noxious fumes caused the girl to faint.

Polemic: n. a controversial argument against some opinion, a person who argues in opposition to another… adj. controversial

       She defended herself against the polemic that was playing the devil’s advocate.

Populous: adj. full of residents as a region, jammed or crowded with people, forming a large number or quantity

       Sold out months in advance, the concert was bound to be populous.

Probity: n. uprightness, honesty

       The man’s probity was, at times brutal, but greatly welcomed.

Repartee: n. a quick or witty reply, conversation of such replies, a skill in making such replies

       Brenna was known for her repartees in conversations and arguments.

Supervene: v. to take place or occur as something additional or extraneous (followed by on or upon), to ensue

       The wedding was to supervene upon a starry night when shooting stars were to be visible.

Truncate: v. to shorten by cutting off a part, to cut short

       The teacher told his class to truncate summaries of the book in order to build on their evidence.

Unimpeachable: adj. above suspicion, impossible to discredit, impeccable

       They came forth with evidence about the case that was unimpeachable.