Tuesday, September 2, 2014

VOCABULARY #2

Accoutrements:
1.       (noun) additional items of dress or equipment, or other items carried or worn by a person or used for a particular activity.
Ex.) The new system will provide the country with all the communications accoutrements of a more developed economy.
Apogee:
1.      (noun) the highest point in the development of something; the climax or culmination.
2.      (noun) the point in the orbit of the moon or a satellite at which it is furthest from the earth.
Ex.) The White House is considered the apogee of American achievement.
Apropos:
1.      (preposition) with reference to; concerning.
2.      (adverb) used to state a speaker's belief that someone's comments or acts are unrelated to any previous discussion or situation.
3.      (adjective) very appropriate to a particular situation
Ex.) The composer's reference to child's play is apropos.
Bicker:
1.      (verb) argue about petty and trivial matters.
2.      (verb) (of water) flow or fall with a gentle repetitive noise; patter.
Ex.) Whenever the phone rings, they bicker over who must answer it.
Coalesce:
1.      (verb) come together and form one mass or whole
2.      (verb) combine (elements) in a mass or whole.
Ex.) The puddles had coalesced into shallow streams.
Contretemps:
1.      (noun) an unexpected and unfortunate occurrence
2.      (noun) a minor dispute or disagreement.
Ex.) The hotel had to deal with more than one contretemps before the end of the night.
Convolution:
1.      (noun) a coil or twist, especially one of many.
2.      (noun) a function derived from two given functions by integration that expresses how the shape of one is modified by the other.
Ex.) Crosses adorned with elaborate convolutions.
Cull:
1.      (verb) select from a large quantity; obtain from a variety of sources.
2.      (noun) a selective slaughter of wild animals.
Ex.) Anecdotes culled from Greek and Roman history.
Disparate:
1.      (adjective) essentially different in kind; not allowing comparison.
2.      (noun) things so unlike that there is no basis for comparison.
Ex.) They inhabit disparate worlds of thought.
Dogmatic:
1.      (adjective) inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true.
Ex.) He gives his opinion without trying to be dogmatic.
Licentious:
1.      (adjective) promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual matters.
2.      (adjective) disregarding accepted rules or conventions, especially in grammar or literary style.
Ex.) Even the most licentious of these have been fitted by Mahommedan theologians with a mystical interpretation.
Mete:
1.      (verb) dispense or allot justice, a punishment, or harsh treatment.
2.      (verb) (in biblical use) measure out.
Ex.) He denounced the maltreatment meted out to minorities.
Noxious:
1.      (adjective) harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant.
Ex.) They were overcome by the noxious fumes.
Polemic:
1.      (noun) a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something.
2.      (adjective) another term for polemical.
Ex.) His polemic against the cultural relativism of the sixties.
Populous:
1.      (adjective) having a large population; densely populated.
Ex.) That was a very populous island.
Probity:
1.      (noun) the quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency.
Ex.) The committee feels that he has demonstrated little probity in this matter.
Repartee:
1.      (noun) conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies.
Ex.) It was an evening of wit and repartee.
Supervene:
1.      (verb) occur later than a specified or implied event or action, typically in such a way as to change the situation.
2.      (verb) (of a fact or property) be entailed by or consequent on the existence or establishment of another.
Ex.) Any plan that is made is liable to be disrupted by supervening events.
Truncate:
1.      (verb) shorten (something) by cutting off the top or the end.
2.      (adjective) (of a leaf, feather, or other part) ending abruptly as if cut off across the base or tip.
Ex.) His descriptions were truncated in the middle of words or phrases.
Unimpeachable:
1.     (adjective) not able to be doubted, questioned, or criticized; entirely trustworthy.
Ex.) She is an unimpeachable witness. 

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