VOCABULARY #2

accoutrements: (noun) Personal clothing, accessories, etc.
- Barbie dolls often come with accoutrements.

apogee: (noun) The highest or most distant point; climax.
- The apogee came in his speech, when speaking of George Washington.

apropos: (adverb) Fitting, at the right time, appropriate to a situation; to the purpose; opportunely.
- The article dealing with shoplifting was apropos.

bicker: (verb) Argue about petty and trivial matters.
- The couple often bickered over the smallest of things.

coalesce: (verb) To unite, to come together; to form one mass, community, or body.
- The groups of people coalesced into a large crowd.

contretemps: (noun) An inopportune occurrence; an embarrassing mischance.
- She caused a contretemps by knocking over her food at the restaurant.

convolution: (noun) A rolled up or coiled condition; a rolling or coiling together.
- The question asked by the professor caused a convolution of thoughts.

cull: (verb) To choose; select; pick.
- Samples were taken from all the bears who were culled from the mountains.

disparate: (adjective) Distinct in kind; essentially different; dissimilar.
- The two girls had disparate ideas regarding the purpose of the constitution.

dogmatic: (adjective) Inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true.
- His statement was a dogmatic assertion.

licentious: (adjective) Sexually unrestrained; disregarding rules.
- They thought they had found a kindred soul in the licentious woman.

mete: (verb) Dispense or allot justice, a punishment, or harsh treatment.
- The judge will mete out a sentence to the guilty defendant. 

noxious: (adjective) Harmful, injurious to health or physical well-being. Harmful; poisonous.
- The noxious fumes were dangerous for the young children.

polemic: (noun) A controversial argument; A person who argues in opposition to another.
- The book contained a polemic regarding the president's decisions.

populous: (adjective) Full of residents or inhabitants; heavily populated; crowded with people.
- New York city is a populous area.

probity: (noun) Integrity and uprightness; honesty.
- Good faith and probity are not often found among teenagers.

repartee: (noun) Conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies.
- He was skilled in his use of repartee.
 
supervene: (verb) To take place or occur as something additional or extraneous.
- The plans were changed by supervening events.

truncate: (verb) To shorten by cutting off a part; to cut short.
- The man truncated his explanation.

 unimpeachable: (adjective) Above suspicion; impossible to discredit; entirely trustworthy.
- The school district is in demand of unimpeachable leadership.