Vocab #2

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

The homeless man couldn’t afford such lavish accoutrement as a waistcoat or tie.

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 apogee of Wuthering Heights was when Catherine died giving birth.

apropos - adj. of an appropriate or pertinent nature; adv. by the way; at an opportune time

Mrs. Dean’s reference to the bane of Heathcliff’s existence was apropos for the end of the story.

bicker - noun a quarrel about petty points; verb argue over petty things

I bicker constantly with my brother over what to watch on TV.

coalesce - verb fuse or cause to grow together; mix together different elements

The red and yellow paints seemed to coalesce into a vibrant orange color.

contretemps - noun an awkward clash

My friend and I had a contretemps about who was going to pay for the tickets.

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 baseball made many convolutions before settling in the catcher’s mitt.

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

They considered the smallest kitten in the litter to be a cull.

disparate - adj. including markedly dissimilar elements;fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind

Shakespeare and Poe had markedly disparate tones in their writing.

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 teacher believed his opinion on the subject to be dogmatic.

licentious - adj. lacking moral discipline; especially sexually unrestrained

Heathcliff and Catherine were very licentious characters who cared nothing for anyone else.

mete - noun a line that indicates a boundary

In gymnastics you can’t step outside the mete or you will lose points.

noxious - adj. injurious to physical or mental health

The noxious fumes coming from the factory worried the workers.

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)

Many journalists are writing polemics against the terrorist group ISIS.

populous - adj. densely populated

The Los Angeles area is very populous.

probity - noun complete and confirmed integrity; having strong moral principles

His lack of probity allowed him to be easily swayed.

repartee - noun adroitness and cleverness in reply

The debaters could hardly keep up with his repartee.

supervene - verb take place as an additional or unexpected development

The goal supervened the team’s assumed outcome.

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

Her hair was truncated by a pair of scissors.

unimpeachable - adj. beyond doubt or reproach; completely acceptable; not open to exception or reproach; free of guilt; not subject to blame

Nixon was not unimpeachable.