Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Vocab List #2

accoutrement
noun a piece of clothing or equipment that is used in a specific place or activity
ex: The custodian was excited by all the cleaning accoutrements he was offered.
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: At the very apogee of the movie, the main character did something very important that changed the outcome of the story.
apropos
adj. of an appropriate or pertinent nature; adv. by the way; at an opportune time
ex: The young boys’ notion were apropos murder trial.
bicker
noun a quarrel about petty points; verb argue over petty things
ex: The kids bickered over who had the better Yu-Gi-Oh! deck.
coalesce
verb fuse or cause to grow together; mix together different elements
ex: Carbon fiber and titanium are very strong when coalesced into “Carbo-tanium”
contretemps
noun an awkward clash
ex: The nerds performed contretemps over who they thought was the coolest Yu-Gi-Oh! player.
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 convolution of putting Christmas lights on a Christmas tree is very complicated.
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 last pick for the dodgeball game was the cull of the team.
disparate
adj. including markedly dissimilar elements; fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind
ex: The disparate population of the US is what makes the country great.
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: The dogmatic statement that we are the center of the universe was accepted my many.
licentious
adj. lacking moral discipline; especially sexually unrestrained
ex: Terry’s licentious pit bull violently humped the unsuspecting victim.
mete
noun a line that indicates a boundary
ex: You crossed the mete!
noxious
adj. injurious to physical or mental health
ex: The carbon monoxide gas was noxious to the students but they pressed on… and died.
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: There is much polemic about the whole “Climate change” topic.
populous
adj. densely populated
ex: My crib is populous with chicks, homie.
probity
noun complete and confirmed integrity; having strong moral principles
ex: The probity of the young boy took many by surprise.
repartee
noun adroitness and cleverness in reply
ex: The students’ repartee to the teachers insult was followed by a unanimous, “OOOHHHH” by his fellow classmates.
supervene
verb take place as an additional or unexpected development
ex: Don’t supervene the boring day with hours of watching paint dry.
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: I will truncate this sentence by-
unimpeachable
adj. beyond doubt or reproach; completely acceptable; not open to exception or reproach; free of guilt; not subject to blame
ex: The thought that Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time is unimpeachable.