Vocabulary list #4

1. Apostate: person who forsakes his religion, party.
2. Effusive: expressing feelings of gratitude, pleasure, or approval in an unrestrained or heartfelt manner; lacking reserve.
3. Impasse: position or situation of no escape; deadlock.
4. Euphoria: a feeling of happiness, confidence, or well-being
5. Lugubrious: looking or sounding sad or and dismal.
6. Bravado: A bold manner or a show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate; pretentious, swaggering display of courage.
7. Consensus: General agreement; majority opinion
8. Dichotomy: A division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different
9. Constrict: Make narrower, esp. by encircling pressure
10. Gothic: Of or in the style of architecture prevalent in western Europe in the 12th–16th centuries, characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, and flying buttresses, together with large windows and elaborate tracery; portentously gloomy or horrifying
11. Punctilio: A fine or petty point of conduct or procedure; a fine point, particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure.
12. Metamorphosis: A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.
13. sine qua non: An essential condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary
14. quixotic: Exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical
15. raconteur: A person who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way
16. vendetta: A prolonged bitter quarrel with or campaign against someone; A blood feud in which the family of a murdered person seeks vengeance on the murderer or the murderer's family
17. non sequitur: “does not follow”; statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement
18. mystique: A fascinating aura of mystery, awe, and power surrounding someone or something;
19. quagmire: A soft boggy area of land that gives way underfoot; anything soft or flabby
20. parlous: Full of danger or uncertainty; precarious