Vocabulary #2

Accoutrements: additional items of dress or equipment, or other items carried or worn by a person or used for a particular activity.

·         In order to play golf, certain accoutrements are required such as polo shirts and soft cleats.

Apogee: the highest point in the development of something; the climax or culmination.

·         The apogee of the movies was when the prince defeated the dragon.

Apropos: with reference to; concerning

·         A student came with an apropos to the teacher about her grade in class.

Bicker: argue about petty and trivial matters

·         The two boys bickered about evolution in biology.

Coalesce: come together and form one mass or whole

·         When the girl fell in between the train tracks, everyone coalesced to tip the train on one side to save the girl.

Contretemps: an unexpected and unfortunate occurrence

·         There was a contretemps when the two couples were yelling at each other about their relationship issue at the restaurant.

Convolution: a coil or twist, sprain, twirl

·         The DNA molecule structure has a convolution because of the bendable proteins within.

Cull: select from a large quantity; obtain from a variety of sources

·         In order to do my English homework, I culled from every website I can find to get my answers.

Disparate: essentially different in kind; not allowing comparison

·         Among the yellow flowers, a pink one disparate from all the other flowers in the field.

Dogmatic: inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true

·         The dogmatic dog did not listen when I told her to get off the couch.

Licentious: promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual matters; sinful

·         People who tend to act licentious don’t usually go far in life due to their actions and behaviors.

Mete: dispense or allot justice, a punishment, or harsh treatment.

·         I believe people who commit crimes should have a harsh mete rather than sitting in a cell all day.

Noxious: harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant.

·         The chemicals with fluorine are noxious; it can lead to a slow death.

Polemic: a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something.

·         During the debate, people use polemic words against those who disagree.

Populous: having a large population; densely populated.

·         In a populous country such as Japan, it’s harder to do certain things such as driving in busy street.

Probity: the quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency

·         People who have probity are usually stubborn and dogmatic.  

 Repartee: conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies

·         I usually give a repartee when someone is trying to talk to me while I am working.

Supervene: occur later than a specified or implied event or action, typically in such a way as to change the situation.

·         The movies got supervene by my friend because she was asleep.

Truncate: shorten (something) by cutting off the top or the end

·         I had to truncate my drawing to fit the matte board.

Unimpeachable: not able to be doubted, questioned, or criticized; entirely trustworthy.

·         Surgeons have to be unimpeachable when they treat patients or else they may be offended when you question their abilities.