Vocabulary List #2: Definitions & Sentences

1. accoutrements-  additional items of dress or equipment, or other items carried or worn by a person or used for a particular activity
 Ex: A purse is a common accoutrement to a girls daily outfit.
2. 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
 Ex: Senior year is seen as the apogee of high school.
3. apropos - adj. of an appropriate or pertinent nature; adv. by the way; at an opportune time
 Ex: It is apropos for a writer to use statisctics as evidence.
4. bicker - noun a quarrel about petty points; verb argue over petty things
 Ex: It is common for siblings to bicker all the time.
5. coalesce - verb fuse or cause to grow together; mix together different elements
 Ex: The more and more time people spend together, the more they coalesce.
6. contretemps - noun an awkward clash
 Ex: Its contretemps when two people say the same thing at the same time.
7. 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
 Ex: The complexity of the Sistine Chapel brought about convolutions of color.
8. 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
 Ex: The popular kids cull the nerds from their party.
9. disparate - adj. including markedly dissimilar elements;fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind
 Ex: A dog and a seal are considered disparate from one another.
10. 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
 Ex: He voiced his opinion without being dogmatic.
11. licentious - adj. lacking moral discipline; especially sexually unrestrained
 Ex: A rude child probably grew up in a licentious environment. 
12. mete - noun to distribute equally
 Ex: Candy is meted among children in school.
13. noxious - adj. injurious to physical or mental health
 Ex: Drugs are noxious to anyone whom uses them.
14. 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)
 Ex: In society, abortion is very polemic.
15. populous - adj. densely populated
 Ex: During the summer, Hawaii is very populous. 
16. probity - noun complete and confirmed integrity; having strong moral principles
 Ex: Most teenagers lack probity. 
17. repartee - noun adroitness and cleverness in reply
 Ex: Political figures usually have a well developed repartee. 
18. supervene - verb take place as an additional or unexpected development
 Ex: Plans made in advance have a high chance to be ruined by supervening occurences.
19. 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
 Ex: Because she got a perfect score on the test, the chance for a curve was truncated.
20. unimpeachable - adj. beyond doubt or reproach; completely acceptable; not open to exception or reproach; free of guilt; not subject to blame
 Ex: The judge believed the unimpeachable withness just like everyone else did.