Vocabulary #4

Apostate - a person who has forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.
         ex. The apostate left the church when he learned the truth of the religious practices they did.
Effusive - lacking reserve
         ex. Our guests had suspiciously effusive comments on our choice of silverware.
Impasse - a position or situation in which there is no escape, deadlock
         ex. It seemed as we had reached an impasse as we approached the huge tree trunk blocking our path.
Euphoria - a state of intense happiness and self-confidence
         ex. After her crush told her how pretty she looked, Amy was in a state of complete euphoria for the rest of the day.
Lugubrious - mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner
         ex. We had to endure the endless playlist of lugubrious break up songs all the way home.
Bravado - swaggering display of courage
         ex. The little boy showed much bravado after standing up to the neighborhood bully.
Consensus - majority of opinion, general agreement
         ex. We reached the consensus that our meetings should be moved from Monday to Friday.
Dichotomoy - division into two opposed or contradictory groups
         ex. The teacher asked the student to explain the dichotomy between malesand females.
Constrict - cause to contract or shrink, compress
         ex. Squeezing my throat, constricting air flow into my lungs, and the constant beating of my head was causing me to black out.
Gothic - a certain type of architecture that features flying buttresses, ornamental gables, etc.
         ex. We sneaked towards the ancient, gothic-style house, wary from all the stories we've heard of murderers, ghosts, and demons roaming the hallways.
Punctilio - strict attention to minute points of etiquette
         ex. They will not part with the least punctilio in their opinions and practices.
Metamorphosis - any complete change in character, appearance, circumstance, etc.
         ex. His complete change metamorphosis into this "hot jock" was quite a shock for everyone in the school.
Raconteur - a person who is skilled in relation stories interestingly
         ex. The local raconteur sat with all the village children surrounding him, each child anticipating the latest story that was to come.
Sine qua non - something essential; indispensable condition, element, or factor
         ex. The president of the prom committee was sine qua non to the setting up of the decorations, for she knew where everything was to be put.
Quixotic - exceedingly idealistic, unrealistic and impractical
         ex. As a child, my days at the playground were always taken up by the quixotic obsession of climbing the slide with my socks on.
Vendetta - any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention, etc.
         ex. An example of a vendetta would be the dealings between the Capulets and Montagues.
Non sequitur - a statement containing an illogical conclusion
         ex. Would you like fries with that?
Mystique - an aura of mystery, mystical power, or awe
         ex. The way he carried himself had a touch of mystique, as if there was something we didn't know about this man.
Quagmire (giggity.) - a situation from which extrication is very diffucult
         ex. The scientists have been stuck in this quagmire for the longest time, not finding any solution to the problem.
Parlous - perilous, dangerous
         ex. The parlous economic state in which the government found themselves was not good. Not good at all.