Vocabulary #2

accoutrements-a piece of clothing or equipment that is used in a particular place or for a particular activity
The soldier went off to war with all of the accoutrements that he needed.
apogee-culmination: the best or greatest point
The apogee of her achievements was when she won the spelling bee.
apropos-just right: appropriate in a specific situation
The article in the newspaper was apropos for the worldly events at the time.
bicker- to argue in a bad-tempered way about something unimportant
My brother and I bicker all the time.
coalesce- to merge or cause things to merge into a single body or group
The political parties will have to learn how to coalesce if they want to accomplish anything.
contretemps-an unfortunate occurrence, especially an awkward or embarrassing one
I was in the store and witnessed the contretemps of  a mother trying to control her child.  
convolution-twisted shape: a curve, coil, or twist
The book had a lot of convolutions in its plot.
cull-remove somebody or something as worthless: to remove an inferior person or thing from a group
They had to cull him from their country club because he didn't make as much money as he initially said.
disparate-very different: describes people or things so completely unlike one another that they cannot be compared
The two sisters were so disparate from each other in their looks that everyone suspected one of them of being adopted.
dogmatic-expressing rigid opinions: prone to expressing strongly held beliefs and opinions
He was dogmatic about some topics, whereas in others he was completely uninformed.
licentious- pursuing desires aggressively and selfishly, unchecked by morality, especially in sexual matters
He was a licentious man.
mete-to distribute or apportion by measure; allot; dole
The mother was careful to mete out punishment only when her children deserved it.
noxious-harmful to life or health, especially by being poisonous
My dog has noxious gas.
polemic-passionate argument: a passionate, strongly worded, and often controversial argument against or, less often, in favor of somebody or something
There are often polemics between people of opposite political parties.
populous-densely populated
California is very populous.
probity- absolute moral correctness
When she was growing up, the girl's aspiration in life was to become a nun as she was raised in total probity.
repartee- conversation consisting of witty remarks
The two chess geeks had a repartee regarding the rules of the game.
supervene- to follow or come about unexpectedly, usually interrupting or changing what is going on
The announcement regarding the change in plans surprised everyone, as it supervened what everyone thought was going on.
truncate-shorten something by removing part
The car was truncated when the wannabe hoodlums altered it so it sat almost touching the ground.
unimpeachable- impossible to discredit or challenge
People like to believe that certain politicians are unimpeachable, but that isn't true.